Peanut butter whiskey: what it is and how to drink it

Peanut butter whiskey is whiskey flavored with roasted peanut and sweet, buttery notes, and it is most often served chilled, over ice or mixed with something creamy or fizzy. If you are searching for it, this guide covers what it is, how it tastes, the simplest ways to drink it and how to order from CBC Liquors in Westford.

What is peanut butter whiskey?

Peanut butter whiskey is a flavored whiskey. A whiskey base is blended with peanut flavor and sweetening so that the result smells and tastes like roasted peanuts and peanut butter, with the grain and oak notes of whiskey sitting underneath.

It belongs to the same family as cinnamon, apple and honey whiskeys: a spirit that starts as whiskey and is then flavored and sweetened. That is a different thing from a straight bourbon, rye or Scotch, where the flavor comes from the grain, the barrel and the age.

Because of that, it is usually treated as a party and mixing bottle rather than a sipping whiskey you would compare with an aged bourbon. That is not a criticism. It is simply a different job.

What does peanut butter whiskey taste like?

Expect sweet and nutty first. The nose is roasted peanut and a little caramel, and the palate leans toward peanut butter on toast with a soft whiskey warmth behind it.

There is usually a creamy, rounded feel even when the drink contains no cream. Some bottles are saltier and more peanut-forward, others are closer to a sweet vanilla and caramel whiskey with a nutty finish. Reading the label and the flavor description on the bottle is the quickest way to tell which direction a given bottle takes.

Flavored whiskeys are often bottled at a lower strength than a straight whiskey, which is part of why they drink easily. Check the strength printed on any bottle you buy, and pour with that in mind.

How do you drink peanut butter whiskey?

The simplest way is cold. Keep the bottle in the fridge or freezer and pour it neat into a small glass, or serve it over a large ice cube so it dilutes slowly.

If you would rather mix it, the flavor works well with anything that already pairs with peanuts. Chocolate milk, hot chocolate, cola and root beer are the usual partners. A splash of the whiskey in cold coffee or a milkshake also works.

Start with a small measure and taste before you add more, since the sweetness can hide the strength. If you are serving guests, put out water and food alongside, and make sure anyone driving does not drink.

What can you mix with peanut butter whiskey?

A good starting point is a two-ingredient highball: whiskey over ice, topped with cola or root beer, finished with a squeeze of lime if you want to cut the sweetness. You can stock up on the fizzy side from the mixers section.

For something closer to a dessert drink, combine the whiskey with chocolate liqueur and milk or cream and shake it with ice. Swap in a raspberry or other berry liqueur and you get the peanut butter and jelly effect that people often reach for.

When you are choosing a liqueur to go with it, the liqueur category is the place to look. If you would rather skip mixing altogether, the ready-to-drink section has canned and bottled options that need nothing added.

What is Butter, and why does it show up for this search?

If you landed on the Butter page while looking for peanut butter whiskey, here is what that is. Butter is a wine brand, not a whiskey, and the name is the only thing it shares with your search.

The Butter brand page shows two bottles it carries: BUTTER Chardonnay and BUTTER PINOT NOIR. Chardonnay is a white wine usually served chilled, and Pinot Noir is a lighter-bodied red that tends to suit slightly cooler serving.

If wine is what you are after, you can also browse Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as categories to compare other bottles.

What else should you look at if you like sweet or flavored whiskey?

Start with the whiskey category, which gathers every style under one roof. Flavored whiskeys sit alongside straight bottles, so you can compare them side by side.

If you like the sweet, warm profile of flavored whiskey, Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey is in stock at CBC Liquors at the moment. Other flavored spirits, like 99 Watermelons Schnapps, give you the same easy-to-mix character in a different flavor.

Bourbon is worth a look if the vanilla and caramel part of peanut butter whiskey is what you enjoy. Bourbon gets those notes from new charred oak barrels rather than from flavoring, and it takes well to mixing with cola or a splash of ginger beer.

How to order from CBC Liquors in Westford

CBC Liquors is at 142 Littleton Rd, Westford, MA 01886, and you can walk in, order for pickup, or have an order delivered or shipped. Store hours are Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Pickup runs the same hours.

Delivery hours are a little shorter: Sunday 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM. The alcohol delivery page explains how it works, and the delivery areas page shows the towns covered, including Chelmsford, Acton and Lowell.

The shop has 4,613 products in stock across 1,888 brands, and holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating from 339 Google reviews. If you are after a specific bottle, check the category pages above or stop in at Littleton Rd and ask at the counter.