Whiskey Maybe?
When something comes free to you in life, it usually comes with no regret. This is quite easy to understand because there was no consequence or sacrifice made. Today, this is not the case. Recently I was given a bottle of PB&W peanut butter whiskey. This bottle came freely to me with no guilt; I made the choice to take it home after I had taken a quick taste. This was the wrong choice.
PB&W is advertised as a peanut butter whiskey with a bottle displaying a bag overfilled with peanuts. At first pour, it is very easy to tell that something is not quite right with this “whiskey.” Underneath the pull away cork is a fine layer of sugar followed by a wave of peanut butter aroma. Being a wine person myself, I look at viscosity quite frequently. I am no expert but there should not be much trailing when drinking whiskey out of a glencairn glass.
As far as taste goes, it is not surprising that the only flavor present is peanut butter. I tried multiple ways to drink this “whiskey.” Slow sipping made me feel like I was drinking syrup. Shooting it brought out the only trace of whiskey this bottle has to offer, which was a burning sensation trailing all the way down. Changing the temperature only made things worse. The bottle claims “best served chilled,” but I am convinced that there is no way to serve this bottle. The only way I was able to tolerate consuming PB&W was to kill it with a stronger source of sugar. Their slogan is “bring your jam!” and I understand why. This bottle cannot be consumed without mixing it or pairing it with something sweeter. To date, my most positive – yet still negative – experience has been drinking PB&W and eating three week old stale brownies my wife made. Personally, the brownies were more enjoyable but the additional peanut butter flavor was a nice touch.
When you are getting a flavored whiskey, you pretty much know what you are getting into. Most of the time it is to avoid that strong alcohol taste. The ideal situation is to have something smooth and chilled to enjoy. These whiskeys are not suited for tastings. There are no complexities to them and offer little to no flavor. My next experiment with PB&W will involve sweet dairy to make a float-type drink. I am determined to find a solution for this bottle because I have never encountered a bottle that won’t seem to end like this one.