Peanut Butter and Jelly Cocktail

We were first introduced to Skrewball peanut butter whiskey a few months ago, and Ariel became an instant fan. It's basically a sweet peanut liqueur with an intense aroma. Since then, I've been experimenting with it in cocktails. I quickly got the idea to make an homage to peanut butter and jelly, but struggled with what ingredient could emulate the jelly part. Most wine does not retain enough grape flavor to work, but then it occurred to me that there is one wine that does: Manischewitz. Despite the fact that no one seems to actually like it, every Jewish family seems to have a bottle lying around that makes a brief appearance at holidays. They typically sit open and unrefrigerated for years, quietly oxidizing. Do yourself a favor and a get a fresh bottle for this drink. 

I speculated about trying port instead of Manischewitz, which Ariel said would be a waste of port. I might try it with a younger ruby port. Other Concord grape wines, like Mogen David, could also be an option here. To build the rest of the cocktail, I added a lemon peel for a little aroma. This goes a long way to adding some complexity to this otherwise frivolous drink. Use a good cocktail cherry for the garnish and avoid the bright red kind. I used an amarena cherry from Trader Joe's. While this cocktail isn't something I would drink every day, it is quite pleasant. Sometimes two odd ingredients can come together in surprising ways.

The use America's classic kosher wine made this a fun post for Rosh Hashanah. I used the other half of the 9 pound brisket from Passover (it froze very well) to do a roughly doubled version of my recipe from 3 years ago. The leftovers went in the freezer for a future quick and easy meal. Ariel made a potato kugel for the first time, which is basically a huge potato cake. It was a completely new thing for me, and I enjoyed it. It was one of those things that makes you think "how is this going to work?" when it goes into the pan, but came out perfectly. For both the brisket and kugel, I made a big batch of schmaltz. It's been a real pleasure to delve into Ashkenazi traditions and cuisine over the last several years. There's something to be said about a family with three new years. Shana tova!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz. Skrewball
• 1 oz. Concord grape wine (Manischewitz)
• 2-3 inch piece of lemon peel
• Garnish: cocktail cherry

Equipment

• Old fashioned glass
• Bar spoon

Instructions

Fill the glass about halfway with ice cubes. Add Skrewball and wine. Stir gently to chill. Use a potato peeler or sharp knife to pull a piece of lemon peel from a fresh lemon, taking as little pith as possible. Twist the lemon peel to express oils into the drink. Rub the peel around the edge of the glass and drop in. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.