Peanut Butter Manhattan: a Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey Recipe : Ugly Duckling Bakery

Name: Peanut Butter Manhattan
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 ounces Skrewball whiskey or other peanut butter whiskey; 1 ounce dry vermouth; 1 dash Angostura bitters; Luxardo cherries, maraschino, or peanut butter cookie (for garnish)

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This dry peanut butter manhattan recipe is made with peanut butter whiskey, dry vermouth, and a dash of bitters. It’s a unique variation of a classic cocktail that’s bursting with peanut butter flavor.

A peanut butter manhattan may not be the first peanut butter cocktail you think about making. But it’s one you’ll make again and again.

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The Story

I was inspired by my peanut butter chocolate drip cake to make a peanut butter cup cocktail using peanut butter whiskey. But no matter what combination of Skrewball peanut butter whiskey and chocolate liqueur I tried, I couldn’t re-create that rich and creamy chocolate and peanut butter combination.

Skrewball peanut butter whiskey bottle and peanut butter manhattan garnished with cookie.

Update: April 2022: I did succeed in making a peanut butter cup cocktail for the 52 weeks of cocktails challenge. But I still prefer this peanut butter manhattan recipe!

Key Technique: The Manhattan

The classic manhattan recipe is made with two ounces of rye or bourbon whiskey, one ounce of sweet vermouth, and a dash or two of bitters. It’s stirred with ice cubes and then served over ice in a lowball glass or neat in a coupe or other chilled cocktail glass.

ProTip: The general rule of thumb is that cocktails with citrus juices should be shaken. And cocktails with only liquor should be stirred, because shaking makes for a cloudy cocktail.

Key Ingredient: Peanut Butter Whiskey

Skrewball peanut butter whiskey was the first. It supposedly came about after the Skrewball founder, Steven Yeng, created a peanut butter and whiskey cocktail at his bar and restaurant.

Since then other distillers have started making peanut butter whiskeys following the success of Skrewball. One of these days, I will do a taste test comparison to recommend the best peanut butter whiskey.

Tips and Tricks

Peanut butter manhattan taste test

Personally, I thought the cocktail using the classic ratio was too sweet. My second peanut butter manhattan recipe was a dry manhattan using the same ratio of peanut butter whiskey to dry vermouth.

Finally, just to be complete, I made a “perfect manhattan” using one half ounce each of dry and sweet vermouth.

If this were the story of Goldilocks, the perfect peanut butter manhattan would have been just right. But it’s the dry manhattan recipe that brings out the brightest, nutty flavor from this Skrewball peanut butter whiskey.

I would encourage you to try these taste tests for yourself. Make one classic, one dry, and one perfect, and see which one you prefer.

Garnishes

For this manhattan, I would suggest either a maraschino or Luxardo cherry or a peanut butter cookie. I had wanted to use peanut butter chips, but they disintegrated.

For dessert cocktails and more decadent drinks, you could try a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup. Or rim your glass with a rim of fine chopped peanuts mixed with sugar.

FAQs about this peanut butter manhattan

Is it spelled “whiskey” or “whisky”?

Yes. Both are correct.

What vermouth do you use in this peanut butter manhattan?

We like Dolin Vermouth de Chambery.

Why is this two servings?

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that one serving for distilled spirits is 1.5 ounces.

Other Peanut Butter Whiskey Drinks

Combine equal parts of peanut butter whiskey and raspberry liqueur like Chambord for a peanut butter and jelly cocktail.
Make a peanut butter variation of another classic cocktail. Make an old-fashioned in a rocks glass with two ounces of peanut butter whiskey, one ounce of simple syrup, and a dash or two of Angostura bitters.
Try a peanut butter whiskey espresso martini with an ounce each of whiskey, espresso, coffee liqueur, and chocolate bitters. Do a dry shake in your cocktail shaker, then shake with ice, strain, and garnish with three espresso beans.

Related Recipes

Check out other uglyducklingbakery cocktail recipes like “The Lady Bridgerton,” an Empress 1908 gin cocktail, a gin espresso martini, or a creamy espresso martini with Baileys. Or manhattan lovers should make this brandy manhattan.

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