Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey: It's Not Just for Shots Anymore
There are certain bottles that come with a reputation before you ever pour them. Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey is one of those bottles.
Mention Skrewball at a party and there's a pretty good chance someone will immediately think of a shot. The distinctive bottle has become almost synonymous with the sweet, nutty whiskey that helped make peanut butter whiskey a recognizable category. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But here's the thing: Skrewball is capable of doing considerably more than occupying a shot glass.
After spending some time looking at the whiskey from a cocktail perspective, we think it's time to reconsider what this unconventional spirit can bring to the bar. Because once you stop thinking of Skrewball as the peanut butter whiskey you take shots of and start thinking of it as a cocktail ingredient, things get considerably more interesting.
A Peanut Butter Whiskey That Started With a Cocktail
Skrewball's story is almost as unconventional as the whiskey itself.
The brand was founded in San Diego in 2018 by husband-and-wife team Steven and Brittany Yeng. But the idea for Skrewball didn't begin with a distillery or a boardroom. It began with a cocktail at the couple's restaurant in Ocean Beach, California.
The peanut butter whiskey cocktail became a hit, convincing the Yengs that the unusual combination of whiskey and creamy peanut butter had potential beyond their bar. Steven brought the flavor inspiration, while Brittany, who had a background as both a lawyer and chemist, worked alongside him to develop a standalone spirit that could deliver that distinctive flavor while also working in cocktails.
That became Skrewball. The brand partnered with Infinium Spirits as it began expanding beyond its San Diego roots, eventually reaching distribution across all 50 states. International expansion followed as the brand continued to grow.
The growth was substantial. By 2022, Skrewball had surpassed 500,000 nine-liter cases sold, and in 2023 Pernod Ricard announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the brand. Not bad for a spirit that started with the seemingly unlikely combination of whiskey and peanut butter.
So What Exactly Is Skrewball?
Let's clear up one thing right away. Skrewball isn't bourbon. It's whiskey with natural flavors, bottled at 35% ABV (70 proof). The result is a spirit built around a very specific flavor profile: whiskey combined with pronounced peanut butter character, along with sweet notes and hints of caramel and vanilla. And yes, the peanut butter is unmistakable.
On the Nose
There's really no mystery here. Open the bottle and the peanut butter arrives first. It's sweet, nutty and immediately recognizable. To some, including us, it is mouth-watering. There's also a softer sweetness underneath it that keeps the aroma from becoming one-dimensional.
On the Palate
Skrewball isn't trying to replicate a traditional bourbon or rye. Instead, it combines a whiskey base with a pronounced peanut butter flavor, accompanied by sweet notes and hints of caramel and vanilla.
It's approachable, sweet and deliberately unconventional. And that's important to remember. Skrewball isn't trying to be something it isn't. It was created to deliver a completely different whiskey experience.
The Shot Isn't the Problem. It's the Limitation.
This is where we think Skrewball gets interesting. The shot has become part of the brand's identity. And honestly, we understand why. Skrewball is fun, approachable and different.
But even though it works perfectly well in a shot glass, that's only one way to enjoy it. When you look at what peanut butter brings to a cocktail, the possibilities become much broader.
Peanut butter naturally works with:
- Fruit
- Chocolate
- Banana
- Coffee
- Caramel
- Cream
- Ginger
- Citrus
That gives Skrewball an unusually broad playground behind the bar. So rather than simply telling you that Skrewball can be used in cocktails, we decided to put that idea to the test.
Here are three very different ways to look at this whiskey.
Peanut Butter Transfusion
Let's start with something refreshing and what is quickly becoming the perfect golf cocktail!
The Peanut Butter Transfusion takes Skrewball in a direction you might not immediately expect: grape juice, fresh lime and ginger ale.
But think about the flavor combination for a second. Peanut butter and grape? That's basically the liquid version of a PB&J.
The lime adds some much-needed acidity while the ginger ale brings carbonation and a little bite.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz. Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey
- 3 oz. grape juice
- 0.5 oz. fresh lime juice
- Ginger ale
Directions
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add Skrewball, grape juice and fresh lime juice. Stir gently to combine. Top with ginger ale and give it a light stir. Garnish with a lime wheel or fresh grapes, if desired. It doesn't get much easier that that!
Our Take
This is perhaps the most approachable of the three cocktails. The grape juice plays directly into Skrewball's sweeter side, while the lime and ginger ale keep the drink from becoming heavy.
It's refreshing, fun and a pretty convincing argument that peanut butter whiskey doesn't automatically mean a dessert cocktail. Sometimes peanut butter just wants to hang out with grape juice!
The King
If there's one classic flavor combination that feels almost destined to meet Skrewball, it's peanut butter and banana. You know we're going with this, don't you? Shake your hips and curl up that top lip because here comes The King.
Skrewball joins banana liqueur and Irish cream in a rich, dessert-inspired cocktail that's built for sipping rather than shooting. And the name is certainly appropriate.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz. Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey
- 0.5 oz. banana liqueur
- 0.25 oz. Irish cream
Directions
Build the ingredients in a mixing glass. Stir well. Pour over ice and garnish with dried banana chips.
Our Take
The King is where Skrewball's dessert potential really comes through. The banana liqueur reinforces the whiskey's sweet, nutty personality, while the Irish cream adds richness and texture.
This is the kind of cocktail that could easily find a place at the end of a dinner rather than the beginning of a party. It's indulgent without requiring a complicated ingredient list. And the dried banana garnish is a nice finishing touch. In our opinion, the colder the better on this one!
Strawberry Cold Foam PB&J Espresso Shooters
And then there's this. This one takes a little more of a skill set to accomplish, but the rewards are nothing short of delicious!
If the first cocktail shows Skrewball's refreshing side and The King takes it into dessert territory, the Strawberry Cold Foam PB&J Espresso Shooters take the concept somewhere entirely different.
We're talking Skrewball, Kahlúa, espresso and strawberry cold foam. In other words: peanut butter and jelly meets coffee. And as huge coffee buffs, this one (admittedly after about 3 tries) was the perfect late afternoon treat.
Ingredients
Cocktail
- 3 oz. Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey
- 3 oz. Kahlúa
- 3 oz. espresso
Strawberry Cold Foam
- 4 tbsp. heavy cream
- ½ tbsp. strawberry purée
Directions
Add Skrewball, Kahlúa and espresso to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled and well combined.
Strain evenly into shooter glasses.
In a separate bowl or frother, whisk together the heavy cream and strawberry purée until light and frothy. Top each shooter with the strawberry cold foam and serve immediately.
Our Take
This is probably the most playful of the three.
The coffee and peanut butter combination makes immediate sense, but the strawberry cold foam is what makes the drink really interesting. It brings the "jelly" component of the PB&J idea into the cocktail while adding a creamy, colorful finish.
And yes, these are "technically" shooters. But they're a far cry from simply throwing an ounce and a half of Skrewball into a shot glass and calling it a night. So we're going to call them classy shooters!
Three Cocktails. Three Very Different Sides of Skrewball.
That's what we found most interesting about these recipes. The Peanut Butter Transfusion demonstrates that Skrewball can be bright, fruity and refreshing. The King leans into the natural relationship between peanut butter, banana and cream. And the Strawberry Cold Foam PB&J Espresso Shooter takes the whiskey into coffee and dessert territory while having a little fun with the PB&J concept.
Three cocktails with three completely different personalities. And that's the point.
Skrewball Has Already Broken the Rules
There's something appropriate about the fact that Skrewball was created by people who weren't afraid to challenge conventional thinking about whiskey. Traditional whiskey has a fairly defined vocabulary: oak, caramel, vanilla, spice, fruit, smoke, grain.
Skrewball essentially looked at that vocabulary and said:
What if we added peanut butter?
It sounds ridiculous until you taste it. Then it starts to make sense.
The brand's rapid growth suggests consumers were more than ready for that kind of experimentation. Skrewball didn't simply create another flavored whiskey. It helped make peanut butter whiskey something consumers recognize as its own category.
And now the question isn't whether people will take a shot of it. We already know they will. The more interesting question is: What else can you do with it?
Final Pour
We're not here to tell you to abandon the shot glass. We love a shot of chilled Skrewball on card night! But we'd argue that stopping there sells the bottle short.
The whiskey's combination of sweetness, peanut butter, caramel and vanilla gives bartenders and home cocktail enthusiasts plenty to work with. And if these three cocktails demonstrate anything, it's that Skrewball can move comfortably from refreshing highballs to dessert-inspired drinks and coffee cocktails.
So the next time someone pulls a bottle of Skrewball out at a party, don't automatically reach for the shot glasses. Maybe mix something. Shake something. Pour it over ice. Experiment! Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey may have earned its reputation one shot at a time—but we think it's ready for something more.
Please enjoy responsibly.
