What if you took Bloody Mary mix and celery bitters and added a shot of Skrewball peanut butter flavored whiskey to it?
Sounded pretty gross to me, but it was being sampled at an event in New York City this past January, when Arby’s launched its Italian Beef Dip sandwich — the chain’s take on the Italian Beef sandwich of Chicago served with a side of au jus.
The sandwich was tasty, and I have to say that the cocktail paired with it was remarkable, adding a nutty depth and malty burn that I didn’t realize would benefit a Bloody Mary, but it did.
I also didn’t realize that this was going to be the beginning of a trend of adding peanut butter to all sorts of items that didn’t seem to need it.
Philz Coffee got the ball rolling with the launch in June of Peanut Butter Cup Cold Brew — cold brew coffee with a swirl of peanut butter and cream added, topped with cocoa powder.
Unusual? Yes, but I bet it tasted good.
Then Logan’s Roadhouse, shortly after announcing that it was testing THC cocktails in select Texas locations, pushed the envelope further, and in a different direction, with the late June launch of the Uncrustables Burger in its nearly 100 corporate restaurants. It’s made with a 7-ounce burger patty, melted cheese, and garlic pickle aïoli sandwiched between two beer-battered and fried grape Smucker’s Uncrustables treats.
Odd? Sure. But it reportedly sold out at about a dozen locations.
Logan’s is also serving the fried Uncrustables as a dessert with melted marshmallows, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and caramel.
And then Dunkin’ started adding peanut butter flavor to its drinks, such as the PB&J Cloud Latte made with espresso, milk, and peanut butter flavor topped with strawberry cold foam. Its Peanut Butter Protein Latte is topped with peanut butter flavored protein-fortified milk.
Speaking of PB&Js and Uncrustables, Margaritas Mexican Restaurant, a chain out of New Hampshire, is currently offering a Liquid Lunch cocktail made with Chica Chida peanut butter-flavored agave spirit mixed with strawberry purée and lemon juice topped with an Uncrustable.
There’s more, of course. Andy’s Frozen Custard has brought back its Three-Crete — frozen vanilla custard spun with peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate chip cookie dough — and Jamba, in its ongoing test of sandwiches which is underway in the Southwest, is offering a PB Nutella Crunch sandwich that includes banana and granola on grilled sourdough.
Jimmy John’s just introduced a PB&J cookie, which is a peanut butter cookie filled with grape jelly and topped with peanut pieces, and Culver’s has a new Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie custard flavor made with chocolate frozen custard, brownie pieces, Reese’s peanut butter ribbons, and fudge. Culver’s also has a new Oreo’s Reese’s Cheesecake custard flavor that combines vanilla custard with Oreo cookie pieces, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and cheesecake pieces.
The fact that peanut butter is trending now makes sense. Americans love it, especially young ones and adults yearning for simpler times, which I suspect is most of us. It’s also high in protein — around four grams per tablespoon — which so many people are clamoring for.
According to data from our sister research company, Technomic, peanut butter mentions are up on menus, particularly in frozen beverages, where they're up 8.4% year-over-year, and as a topping (up 6.4%).
The company also reports an uptick in peanut butter on wings by 11.8% (albeit from a much smaller baseline than beverages and toppings) inspired by Thai and Malay peanut sauces, available mostly at casual-dining independent restaurants.
There are even PB&J wings at restaurants such as Treylor Park, a 7-unit concept based in Savannah, Georgia, where the fried wings are tossed in a pecan-peanut butter sauce and served with a peach jam dipping sauce. Barracuda Bistro & Bar in New Haven, Conn., has a PB& J wing sauce option along with bourbon bacon and more traditional flavors such as Buffalo and teriyaki.
Those clearly match the savory-sweet trend that so many consumers are excited about, but adding the comforting and nutty elements of peanuts seems to give it added appeal.
I’m betting on more peanut butter additions over the course of the year.