Skrewball is a sweet, peanut butter flavored liqueur based on whiskey. It smells and tastes sweet, with intense aromas and flavors of roasted peanuts, peanut butter, caramel, toffee, and vanilla. The consistency is quite thick and almost syrupy, which shows when swirling it in the glass.
When thinking of peanut butter, whiskey is likely not the first thing that comes to mind. But that's just what made Skrewball successful, and it quickly managed to grow a loyal fanbase.
Skrewball markets its product as whiskey, but it is actually a liqueur as it only contains 35% alcohol. Considering that, it's not an alternative to a dram of regular whiskey but definitely a tasty alternative for flavor-rich liqueurs.
So let's take a closer look at Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, how you should drink it, and how good it is.
Skrewball Review Summary
- Produced By: Skrewball Spirits
- Owned By: Pernod Ricard
- Product Website: skrewballwhiskey.com
- Production Location: San Diego, California
- Classification: Liqueur
- Aging: No Age Statement (NAS)
- ABV: 35% ABV
- Price: $25 - $35 / 750 ml
- Overall Rating: ★ ★ ★ ✬ ☆ (3.5/5)
Tasting Notes
On opening, the bottle, you can smell the rich and intense notes of peanut butter, caramel, and toffee. In the background, you also get a hint of a classic whiskey aroma.
Poured in a glass, you can see that Skrewball has a thick and slightly sticky consistency. -This is due to the high amount of sugar. On swirling it, you can see how slowly it moves.
On the palate, you get more peanut butter flavors and notes of roasted peanuts, honey, and caramel. -Don't expect classic bourbon or rye flavors. Tastewise, Skrewball is closer to liqueurs like Baileys or Frangelico than to a genuine whiskey.
The sweetness is almost a bit overpowering, especially if you expected it to be closer to real whiskey. However, you can fix that by adding ice.
On ice
If you add some quality ice cubes to Skrewball, it tastes even better. The ice takes away from the sweetness of the liqueur and even pronounces the peanut butter flavors.
Make sure to use large and clear ice cubes. You want to chill your drink and not dilute it. I like the addition of just a bit of grated dark chocolate. It added a hint of bitterness that paired extremely well with the flavors of Skrewball.
Cocktails
Skrewball is a liqueur and hence, not per se a primary base in cocktails. I tried it in combination with other spirits in split-base cocktails and recipes that use Skrewball as the base spirit.
I have to admit that I preferred the combinations with real spirits. Aged rum, white rum, rye whiskey, and tequila were by far my favorite combinations. Bourbon and gin didn't work that well, and vodka didn't change much when it came to the overall taste.
The cocktails I made with Skrewball as a base always turned out too sweet. Sure, you could balance this, but without a second high-proof alcohol in the recipe, the results were always a bit off. -Either these drinks were too sweet, or the flavor profile wasn't on point.
Bottle design
The shape of the Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey bottle is pretty basic. It's a simple, round, and clear bottle containing 750ml of amber-golden liquid. The label design depicting a black sheep is slightly more creative and requires some interpretation.
Skrewball markets itself as a spirit for misfits and outcasts of society - hence the symbolic use of a black sheep in their logo. The label is held in bright white, this highlights the black sheep logo all the more.
Movetic, a design and brand agency located in Encinitas, California was responsible for the logo and brand design.
Why it is no Whiskey
Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey is a flavored and sweetened liquor with a strong peanut butter taste. It's not actually a whiskey -or whisky- as it would need to be at least 40% ABV or higher. Instead, it comes at only 35% ABV.
Additionally, in Europe, it would also need to barrel-age for three years or longer, which Skrewball's Peanut Butter Whiskey does not.
About Skrewball
The founders and producers of Skrewball are Steven and Brittany Yeng. Steven Yeng owns and manages a bar in San Diego, OB Noodle House Bar 152, where he serves his signature Peanut Butter and Whiskey shots.
These shooters were Steve's invention and turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser. Encouraged by this success, he and his wife decided to bring a peanut-butter-flavored Whiskey to the market.
And the immediate positive reception of Skrewball's Peanut Butter Whiskey led to more brands producing peanut butter Whiskeys like Sheep Dog, SQRRL, Ole Smoky, Hard Truth, Skatterbrain, and PB & W.
Overall
Our overall rating for Skrewball is a solid 3.5 out of 5. Consider that this reflects Skrewballs qualities as a liqueur and not a Whiskey. It's excellent when served on the rocks with some dark chocolate flakes and also works great in combination with tequila, white rum, and dark rum.
I would not recommend it as an alternative to sipping whiskey, but I see it as a great introduction to whiskey flavors if people are new to it.
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- Our guide to non-alcoholic whiskey alternatives
- Bumbu XO Rum - The premium version of Bumbu
I love Skrewball but I have to admit it's quite sweet. Love the review