Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/844641
90 / the tasting panel / july 2017 CATEGORY REPORT Seasonal, Southern Cream Liqueurs from JACKSON MORGAN When the Wetherington family started dreaming of a line of spirits in 2013, they knew they wanted to honor their great-grandfather, who had made illegal whiskey during Prohibition, and pay tribute to their Southern roots. The vision became a Tennessee whiskey–based line of cream liqueurs with flavors ubiquitous below the Mason-Dixon line. The seven-flavor collection of Jackson Morgan Southern Creams (SRP $23-25) run through the sea- sons: Brown Sugar & Cinnamon and Southern Bread Pudding are fall favorites; Peppermint Mocha is the winter go-to; Salted Caramel is a year- round bestseller; and in the warmer months, Peaches & Cream, Banana Pudding and Whipped Orange are top picks. Liqueurs are made under the direction of Spirits of Tennessee in Fayetteville, TN, with the help of a Jack Daniels alum and, at times, their mother. The Banana Pudding flavor, released earlier this year, was her idea. "They say your mom is always right," Morgan says. "And the Banana Pudding won Double Gold and Best in Show at the WSWA 2017 competition." Morgan says Banana Pudding is closing in on Salted Caramel as their bestselling flavor. "We really wanted to make something that was different, and we wanted something a little bit more fun and some- thing you could drink year-round in frozen drinks or coffee for brunch," she adds. Banana Pudding, Whipped Orange and Peaches & Cream mix well with vodka—"like a Southern White Russian"—and in iced coffee. She likes to mix them with a little almond milk over ice for a lighter cream cocktail in the evenings. "They're also good in a milkshake this time of year," she says. "Just put a little vanilla ice cream and ice cubes in a blender, and it's good to go." —Amy Collins www.sipjacksonmorgan.com Tasting Notes Jackson Morgan Southern Whipped Orange Cream is a fun ride at 30 proof: the bright melon-salmon hue, the nose that evokes a Creamsicle in the heat of summer, the crafted jug bottle. The cream slips and slides down the palate, leav- ing a vanilla-pineapple echo behind its perfumed orange flower and smooth finish. 92 —Meridith May Jackson Morgan Southern Cream Salted Caramel Liqueur sports a base of Tennessee whiskey like its Whipped Orange Cream cousin, but the spirit is second fiddle to a most sensational mocha-caramel nose with a salt tip. The taste goes deep; base notes of coffee marry well with the mocha caramel, and the sweetness melts into an authentic lake of creaminess. 91 —M. M. JACKSON MORGAN