Peanut butter whiskey is apparently a thing. And our friend Chris wanted to try some cocktails with pbw during her visit. So today, in the name of science, we conducted a hidden-label taste test with the five brands I was able to source in 50 ml bottles.

We sampled the options with and without ice. Then we ranked them, tallied the scores from the three of us, and here are the results, with some cursory comments.

With a score of 6 (1+1+4), our top choice was Skatter Brain (70 proof). You can see from the score that two of us ranked it highest of the five, though the other ranked it quite low. All three of us said it was sweet, but we also found all the brands a bit too sweet.

No. 2, with a score of 7 (2+4+1), was Skrewball (70 proof). We thought this one had the best pb taste with a very nutty, complex profile, though it also had the darkest caramel color. All of the brands use caramel coloring.

Perfectly in the middle was P’Nutty (70 proof) with a score of 9 (3+3+3). Without ice, I thought the taste was very kerosene-y, but with ice it mellowed nicely.

Tying for last place with scores of 12 each were the 99 (99 proof) and Sheep Dog (70 proof). I thought the 99 was terribly flat in both pb and whiskey flavor; the others said its taste was too artificial, chemical-y. The Sheep Dog was harshly astringent, but someone ranked it second.

We were back at the liquor store this afternoon and saw several other brands available, but maybe our ranking can help if you want to try peanut butter whiskey but don’t know where to start. I’m not a fan of flavored whiskey, so I probably won’t be purchasing a bigger bottle anytime soon, though I may change my mind after trying some recipes for mixed drinks later.

Happy drinking!