I hate peanut butter. I love peanut butter. I  just can’t decide. As most Italians do, I cringe at  the sight of a spoonful of  jam spread over an healthy dollop of peanut butter. This two flavors are just too different to blend together in my mouth. Or are they? My opinion on this quintessential North-American spreadable snack has always been set in stone, until a couple of weeks ago, at a burger party chez moi, a friend brought some peanut butter cupcakes. They were delicious and I couldn’t have enough of them. Somehow those little desserts must have flicked  a switch in my brain because I am craving what I was despising before. Very recently I also learned that peanut butter is served on the breakfast buffet at the hotel where I work, and since then I became obsessed with creating an after-dinner drink able to satisfy this new craving of mine.

After scouring the net for valid recipes, including an interesting concoction by Drinking In America, I was left unsatisfied because most of the drinks out there tend to be on the sweet side. My idea was more toward something savory, something that could showcase that typical saltiness of p.b.; I started off by mixing it with some cream and vodka, but that didn’t work at all. After few other failed attempts at mixing one ounce of butter with any spirit I could think of, I opted to turn to infusions, and Lo and behold, something interesting came out.

P.B.J. Alejandro

Ingredients:

1 oz. Peanut Butter infused Tequila Blanco*
1 oz. Galliano L’autentico
0.5 oz. Thick cream
0.75 oz. Blackcurrant organic jam
2 dashes of Fernet Branca

Prep:

Dissolve the jam with the spirits in a Boston shaker, add cream and ice and shake hard for few seconds. Double strain on a chilled coupe and complete with two healthy dashes of Fernet Branca.

After many attempts I decided to stick with the Alexander template, therefore concocting a no-nonsense, fairly simple creamy after-dinner. This drink definitely showcases that savory aspect of p.b., in fact that nutty salty sensation lingers in your mouth for quite a while, but the sip at first is all about herbal notes from Galliano and Fernet. I tried this drink without jam and it has no meaning whatsoever. The blackcurrant provides that necessary sweet and sour backbone on which you can balance herbal and savory accents. The aroma is a mix between peanut butter and Fernet, and I must admit it puzzled me a little bit although I found myself drinking it all, which is very unusual, especially when I am on shift
In the end, this is a very unusual riff on an Alexander, different from the more common sweet and chocolaty versions out there, and hopefully the right one to stop my craving for this new spreadable obsession.

* This infusions is made by blending 15 grams of peanut butter with 4 ounces of tequila. Let settle for 1 hour and then filter through cheesecloth or coffee filters.