Historic Louisiana

SOUTHERN
COMFORT AND
M. W. HERON
From the start, Southern Comfort was
destined to become an American icon like its
founder—New Orleans bartender Martin
Wilkes (M.W.) Heron. Now a multi-million case
brand available in nearly sixty countries
worldwide, Southern Comfort’s story begins
with an innovative young entrepreneur in the
heart of New Orleans.
During the 1870s, Mississippi riverboats
ruled the waterways, playing a critical role in
developing communities along the river.
New Orleans benefited from the flow of cargo
and passengers in and out of the community,
and was soon teeming with crowds wanting to
see the great floating palaces. As the population
grew, so did competition among local
businesses. It also attracted young
entrepreneurs like M. W. Heron.
Born in Ireland on July 4, 1850, Heron
immigrated to the United States as an infant with
his family. He spent much of his early adult life
traveling the Mississippi River, selling his skills as
a whisky rectifier and bartender. According to
historians, Heron was working as a bartender at
McCauley’s Saloon in the French Quarter when
he created a smooth inviting drink capturing the
spirit of New Orleans. Dubbed “Cuff & Buttons,”
the unique spirit was a big success.
Heron recognized the 1885 World’s
Industrial and Cotton Exposition in New
Orleans as a great marketing opportunity. He
changed the name of his drink to “Southern
Comfort” and gave it the slogan “The Grand Old
Drink of the South.”
To keep up with the demand for his
creation, Heron began bottling Southern
Comfort and obtained a copyright from the
U.S. Patent Office. “The Grand Old Drink of
the South” continued to grow in popularity
until the advent of Prohibition. In April 1920,
Heron passed away, just months after
Prohibition was enacted.
Southern Comfort was reintroduced to the
world in 1934 in its distinctive fluted bottle
and the Currier & Ives illustration of
Woodland Plantation on the label. Built in
1834, the plantation house is located in West
Point à La Hache in Plaquemines Parish about
thirty-four miles southwest of New Orleans.
The property has been completely restored
and now serves as a country inn. The original
painting of Woodland Plantation was by
artist Andrew Waud,
called A Home on
the Mississippi.
Today, Heron’s
unique drink lives
on. Purchased by
Brown-Forman in
1979, Southern
Comfort continues to
promote its New
Orleans heritage as
the forty-ninth largest
inter-national spirits
brand and the second
largest liqueur brand
in the world.
✧
Top, left: Woodland Plantation has graced
the label of Southern Comfort since 1934.
Below: Southern Comfort received its first
gold medal for taste and quality at the 1900
World Exposition in Paris, France.
Reflecting the honor, labels included M. W.
Heron’s trademark slogan, “None Genuine
But Mine.”
SHARING THE HERITAGE
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