Peanut butter whiskey? Sounds nutty, but tastes good

Take a peanut butter chiffon pie. Toss it into a still. Voila! You’ve got yourself Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey — a weird and wonderful elixir Texas imbibers can now find nearby.

Skrewball is a Californiabased spirit developed by the husband-and-wife tag team of Steven Yeng and Brittany Merrill Yeng. Their first bottles hit shelves in the Golden State a year ago, and they’ve expanded into 14 states, including Texas, since.

Along the way, Skrewball picked up a couple of awards at spirits competitions. The Taste Team recently received a sample of this newcomer, and you can count us as fans as well.

The first thing we noticed about Skrewball is the remarkably thick and syruplike body — not to mention a powerful, wafting aroma of booze and peanuts. This has the kind of heft that would make an outstanding adults-only drizzle over ice cream.

All that body comes along with an intense sweetness. This makes Skrewball a compelling player behind the bar, with enough sugar to stand in for simple syrup in some cocktails.

There is room for Skrewball in the classic cocktail canon. I shook up a modified Brandy Alexander — a simple 1:1:1 ratio of brandy, crème de cacao and cream — substituting Skrewball for half the crème de cacao. The results were strongly reminiscent of a chocolate-dunked peanut butter truffle.

Of course, if it’s dessert time, you can just sip the stuff neat. We certainly did, and have no regrets about it.

Look for Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey in San Antonioarea liquor stores priced around $27 for a 750 milliliter bottle.

Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey is now available in Texas liquor stores and bars.