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Adored by some and reviled by others, Southern Comfort is a drink known to divide opinion. Some know it best as Janis Joplin’s signature stage companion; to others, it’s something you had in college once or twice and probably shouldn’t have. But before judging the sweet, brown booze, let’s get one thing straight: it’s whiskey, right?

The answer to that isn’t exactly simple. For one thing, the recipe has changed dramatically several times since the drink’s inception in the late 1800s, and today, Southern Comfort has multiple products on shelves, all with different specifications that affect how they’re legally classified. Bottles labeled “Southern Comfort Original” can contain a diverse range of beverages depending on the jurisdiction in which it’s being sold, including 30-proof and 42-proof malt liquors and a 70-proof whiskey-based drink. What all of these versions have in common, however, is that technically, none of them are whiskey.

Under U.S. law, for a spirit to be categorized as whiskey, it needs to be bottled at no less than 40% alcohol by volume, or 80 proof (in the U.S., “proof” refers to the ABV times two). So technically, only Southern Comfort Black and Southern Comfort 100, which are 80 and 100 proof, respectively, are actually whiskey. The other versions are either malt beverages or whiskey liqueurs. And if you haven’t had SoCo recently, you may not have tried any of them.

Regardless of the type of Southern Comfort you’ve experienced, they all blend whiskey, fruit, and spice flavors together. However, the similarities stop there. The 30 and 42-proof Southern Comfort, being malt liquors, are not spirits. Legally, they fall under the category of beer and other malt beverages, similar to Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice. Hence, you can purchase them in places without full liquor licenses. The amount of real whiskey in them is minimal, if any, for flavoring purposes.

In contrast, the 70-proof SoCo is made using actual whiskey. But since the Alcohol By Volume (ABV) standard for whiskey is not met, it’s technically considered a whiskey-based liqueur, not whiskey itself, akin to Fireball. Southern Comfort Black and 100 are counted as proper blended whiskeys that have additional flavorings.

This classification only applies to the SoCo versions available in the U.S. Some of the brand’s products, including a 60-proof version and a few ready-to-drink cocktails, are solely available in other countries. Regardless of your location, always check the label to determine the version you are consuming. There is a stark contrast between a 15% ABV malt beverage and a 50% ABV flavor-infused spirit.

If you haven’t had Southern Comfort since before 2016, you might not remember its distinct taste. The original formulation was created in 1874 by a New Orleans bartender named Martin Wilkes Heron. He mixed low-quality Kentucky bourbon with fruit and spices to enhance its flavor. However, Heron passed away in 1920. After prohibition ceased, the brand was relaunched under new ownership. The new owners decided to forego whiskey, opting for less expensive neutral grain spirits, such as vodka. As a result, for a significant portion of its history, this illustrious Southern beverage contained no whiskey.

But in 2016, SoCo was purchased by Sazerac, another historic alcohol brand with New Orleans roots, and the SoCo known for most of the 20th century was no more. The new ownership reformulated the flavored booze, again making real whiskey the base of the 70-proof SoCo Original and later introducing the boozier Black and 100 versions. So if it’s been a minute since you’ve mixed up an Alabama Slammer, it’s worth another go. Try it with the 70, 80, and 100-proof versions to see which strikes your perfect balance between fruity sweetness and a boozy kick.

Read the original article on Daily Meal.