$30 for American whiskey isn’t exactly a huge ask in a market that’s becoming increasingly saturated by high-end whiskies (or MGP of Indiana products masquerading as high-end whiskies), but it is a lot to ask for a flavored whiskey. It’s a bit sweeter than I’d want to drink on a regular basis - which is something you need to keep in mind when mixing it in cocktails - but it’s really not unpleasant at all. The whiskey itself is totally passable, and the peanut flavor feels both real and dynamic. It’s definitely a niche drink, and one that I think is definitely marketed to young people looking for palatable shots, but not unpleasant. The whiskey hits before the (occasionally cloying) sweetness of that peanut brittle kind of flavor, and lingers after, but without any of the unpleasant ethanol burn. Thirty dollars is usually more than I would spend on a flavored spirit, but this doesn’t give the impression of really cheap liquor. The bottle I bought retailed at $29.99, and that seems to be about the median based on what I’ve seen online. It makes me feel like maybe there’s some kind of sweet, nutty treat stuck to my molars, but in a very familiar and pleasant way. The mouthfeel is interesting - it’s drying and sticky in a way that I associate with peanut butter desserts, like a nut brittle or mud puppies or something. It’s quite sweet (as one might expect from a flavored spirit), but that is balanced against that kind of nutty savoriness. When you sip it, you get the sensation of toasted peanuts somewhere in the back of your palate. The initial smell is nutty and very sweet, like a praline or nut brittle. I’m not saying that isn’t the case here, but what I’m telling you is that this is - at its worst - a very drinkable and likable product. In my experience, flavored spirits like this have a tendency to be a way to cover inferior liquor with sugar and artificial flavors. For that matter, I have no great love for flavored spirits. Let me remind you, as I stated above, that I have no love lost on peanut butter flavored products. Well, buckle up, because we’re about to find out how I really feel. It’s probably coming off here like I love this product. The resulting flavored whiskey was something that they felt was better than the original shot, and before long they’d negotiated a deal with Infinium Spirits to distribute their wacky whiskey nationwide. By all accounts, she was the mastermind behind the brand Brittany pushed her husband to take his strange, niche shot drink and turn it into a flavored whiskey product. Daring patrons tried it, and came to love it.īrittany Merrill Yeng earned master’s degrees in chemistry and law before becoming a pharmaceutical patent attorney. Chiefly among these drinks was an off-the-wall combination of peanut butter and whiskey, served as a shot. Steven, independently, opened a bar called The Holding Company, where he served up a number of drinks of his own devising. Steven and his brother followed in their footsteps, opening the popular OB Noodle House. His parents both worked at OB Donuts for years before buying the restaurant. They lived in Thailand for a time before settling in San Diego. Steven Yeng was born in Cambodia his family fled Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot’s infamous regime. Together, they created a brand that’s sweeping America but, where did it start? They met as kids, dated in high school, and married as adults. Skrewball is the brainchild of Steven and Brittany Yeng, citizens of the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego. It turns out, to create a beautiful and unusual marriage of flavors, sometimes you need to start with a beautiful marriage of brilliant people. Now, I hear you ask: What madman would create this, and where would it have become popular? It’s made with proper whiskey, cane sugar, and real peanuts. Skrewball is a peanut butter whiskey much as it sounds, it’s an American whiskey that’s flavored with peanut butter. But, as they say, first things first: What the Hell is Skrewball?

Skrewball peanut butter whiskey