When the Sazerac Company bought Southern Comfort from the liquor conglomerate Brown-Forman last year, the business motivation was clear.

“If you and I ended on a desert island and there was a bottle of liquor, there’s an even-money chance it would be Southern Comfort,” Mark Brown, the chief executive of Sazerac, said in a phone interview.

Very likely. But it’s also a 50-50 proposition whether any castaway would actually drink it. Southern Comfort has long borne a double-edged reputation as being both famous and infamous.

The blend of spirits and fruit and spice flavorings is a storied brand, with roots that are believed to go back to the 19th century, and it can be found in nearly every bar in America. Yet it is widely regarded as the drink of unwise youths and undiscriminating palates. The last time it was cool may have been when Janis Joplin made a show of swigging it day and night. (The company thanked her for the free advertising by giving her a fur coat.)