Martin Wilkes Heron (July 4, 1850 – April 17, 1920) was an

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

, saloon-keeper, and liquor manufacturer best known for creating the liqueur known as

Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (often abbreviated SoCo) is an American naturally fruit-flavored whiskey liqueur with fruit and spice accents. The brand was created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, using whiskey as the base spirit. Whi ...

. He is often credited as being the "original

mixologist A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

" long before the term became widely popular.

Life

Heron was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, (Although their website says he was born in Ireland) the son of an immigrant boat-builder. According to the Brown-Forman Corporation (manufacturers of Southern Comfort), in the early 1870s Heron was living in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, working as a liquor rectifier and bar tender. According to company "legend" Heron created the formula for

(reportedly originally known as "Cuffs and Buttons") in 1874 while working at Arthur McCauley's saloon at the southeast corner of the intersection of Richard Street and South Peters Street in the

Lower Garden District Lower Garden District is a neighborhoods in New Orleans, neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are: St. Charles Aven ...

section of New Orleans. By 1883 Heron had returned to St. Louis, where he was employed by A.M. Hellman & Company Liquor Wholesalers. Helman & Co. was a partnership owned by Abraham Hellman and Myer Harris, located at 122 Pine St. in downtown St. Louis. Heron lived at 3004 Pine. He later moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, where he operated as a "Liquor Dealer". Heron's Memphis business (and residence) was located at 515 Main St.

In 1889 Heron patented his formula, and began selling it in sealed bottles with the slogans, "W.H. Heron's Famous Southern Comfort" and "None Genuine But Mine". By 1890, Heron hired an assistant, Grant M. Peoples who served as clerk and book keeper. Peoples worked with him for the rest of his life, producing and marketing Southern Comfort. By 1910 Heron returned to

, where he operated a drinking establishment on the St Louis river front and continued to market Southern Comfort. He served a "St. Louis Cocktail" which included Southern Comfort. His bar featured a sign which informed patrons: "Two per customer. No Gentleman would ask for more." Mr. Heron's "saloon" was famed for the high quality of his liquors, its "ante-bellum gentility", and the host's skill as a raconteur. ''Gould's St Louis Red Book'' (a city business directory) located Heron's saloon at 319 Pine Street near the St. Louis riverfront. The former location of Heron's tavern is approximately 1000 feet from the north leg of

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

at the

Gateway Arch National Park Gateway Arch National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a List of nationa ...

(the current day location of the garden cafe at the St. Louis Crowne Plaza Hotel). Martin Wilkes Heron Grave

In his old age, Wilkes lived at 4950 McPherson Ave, in a St. Louis neighborhood now known as the

Central West End The Central West End is a Neighborhoods of St. Louis, Missouri, neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, stretching from Midtown St. Louis, Midtown's western edge to Union Boulevard and bordering on Forest Park (St. Louis), Forest Park with its array ...

. Martin Wilkes Heron died in St. Louis on April 17, 1920. He left an estate valued in excess of $90,000 (in 1921) with the majority of assets being distributed to family members. His Pine street establishment and his liquor patents were left to his business associate Mr. Peoples. Heron is buried in his family's plot in Calvary Cemetery in St. LouisM. W. Heron Death Certificate. He does not have an individual headstone, but his grave lies directly in front of the family plot marker, which is topped by an individual stone dedicated to his sister Margaret.

Awards

In 1900, the liqueur was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universalle (the 1900 Paris World's Fair). In 1904 Heron was awarded a Gold Medal for Southern Comfort at the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federa ...

(the St. Louis World's Fair).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron, Martin Wilkes 1850 births 1920 deaths American people of Irish descent American bartenders Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis)