Peanut Butter and Jelly Old-Fashioned
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 3, 2025
Time
13 hours for fat–washed bourbon, plus 5 minutes for cocktail
Yield
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
Peanut Butter-Washed Bourbon
3 ounces peanut butter 10 ounces bourbonPBJ Cocktail
¼ cup finely ground freeze-dried berries (optional)2 ounces peanut butter–washed bourbon ¼ ounce berry liqueur 1 teaspoon Simple SyrupBefore You Begin
We developed this recipe with Chambord, but other varieties of berry liqueur can be used. This recipe makes enough peanut butter-washed bourbon to yield 4 cocktails. The washed bourbon can be refrigerated in an airtight container indefinitely; however, the flavor will start to diminish after 3 months. Peanut butter from fat washing is a delicious way to flavor frostings or use in baking—or anything you use peanut butter for. The cocktail can be easily doubled using a 16-ounce mixing glass.
Instructions
- Smear inside of bottom half of 16-ounce Mason jar with 3 ounces peanut butter. Add 10 ounces bourbon.
- Seal jar tightly and swirl gently. Avoid shaking mixture, which could cause it to emulsify and prevent it from properly straining. Stand jar upright and let sit for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours, gently swirling jar occasionally.
- Transfer jar to freezer and freeze in same position until peanut butter solidifies, 1 to 3 hours.
- Set paper coffee filter in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Strain bourbon mixture, then transfer to clean 16-ounce Mason jar. Save peanut butter for another use or discard. (You should have about 8 ounces of washed bourbon).
- Spread ¼ cup finely ground freeze-dried berries, if using, into even layer on small saucer. Moisten about ½ inch of chilled rocks glass rim by dipping edge of glass in separate small saucer of water. Roll moistened rim in berries to coat. Remove any excess granules that fall into glass. (Leftover ground berries can be stored in airtight container for up to 1 month.)
- Add 2 ounces peanut butter-washed bourbon, ¼ ounce berry liqueur, and 1 teaspoon simple syrup to mixing glass, then fill three-quarters full with ice. Using bar spoon, stir until mixture is just combined and chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain cocktail into prepared glass half-filled with ice or containing 1 large ice cube. Serve.
for the peanut butter-washed bourbon
for the pbj cocktail
Time
13 hours for fat–washed bourbon, plus 5 minutes for cocktailYield
Makes 1 cocktailIngredients
Peanut Butter-Washed Bourbon
PBJ Cocktail
Ingredients
Peanut Butter-Washed Bourbon
PBJ Cocktail
Ingredients
Peanut Butter-Washed Bourbon
PBJ Cocktail
Why This Recipe Works
A peanut butter and jelly sandwich might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re crafting an adult beverage, but that’s where this cocktail finds its inspiration. It’s a must-make destination for our Peanut Butter–Washed Bourbon, which delivers astonishing depth of flavor—the nuttiness lingers on the palate, as if you’d just taken a big spoonful of peanut butter. For the jelly, we pass on jam and jam syrups, whose flavors struggle to come through. Intense, concentrated berry liqueur, plus a freeze-dried berry rim, brings the cocktail to life.
Before You Begin
We developed this recipe with Chambord, but other varieties of berry liqueur can be used. This recipe makes enough peanut butter-washed bourbon to yield 4 cocktails. The washed bourbon can be refrigerated in an airtight container indefinitely; however, the flavor will start to diminish after 3 months. Peanut butter from fat washing is a delicious way to flavor frostings or use in baking—or anything you use peanut butter for. The cocktail can be easily doubled using a 16-ounce mixing glass.
Instructions
- Smear inside of bottom half of 16-ounce Mason jar with 3 ounces peanut butter. Add 10 ounces bourbon.
- Seal jar tightly and swirl gently. Avoid shaking mixture, which could cause it to emulsify and prevent it from properly straining. Stand jar upright and let sit for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours, gently swirling jar occasionally.
- Transfer jar to freezer and freeze in same position until peanut butter solidifies, 1 to 3 hours.
- Set paper coffee filter in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Strain bourbon mixture, then transfer to clean 16-ounce Mason jar. Save peanut butter for another use or discard. (You should have about 8 ounces of washed bourbon).
- Spread ¼ cup finely ground freeze-dried berries, if using, into even layer on small saucer. Moisten about ½ inch of chilled rocks glass rim by dipping edge of glass in separate small saucer of water. Roll moistened rim in berries to coat. Remove any excess granules that fall into glass. (Leftover ground berries can be stored in airtight container for up to 1 month.)
- Add 2 ounces peanut butter-washed bourbon, ¼ ounce berry liqueur, and 1 teaspoon simple syrup to mixing glass, then fill three-quarters full with ice. Using bar spoon, stir until mixture is just combined and chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain cocktail into prepared glass half-filled with ice or containing 1 large ice cube. Serve.
for the peanut butter-washed bourbon
for the pbj cocktail
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