Last Updated on November 5, 2023 by Heather Wibbels
It never fails – I get my best ideas about cocktail while I’m doing something completely unrelated – and the Peanut Butter Banana Julep is no exception. I was riding my bike. As the weather has gotten better and better I’m spending more time on my bike, and if you’ve been on a long bike ride you know that about half way through you start thinking about what you’re going to eat once you make it back home. I was fixated on peanut butter and banana and wondered how the combination would work in a cocktail.
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If you’ve missed some of the previous juleps, you can see them here: Breakfast Julep and the Pineapple Sage Rum Julep.
Today we’re focused on this Peanut Butter Banana Julep, but if you’ve just gotten a bottle of peanut butter whiskey, you can also try this easy Peanut Butter and Jelly Old Fashioned recipe that’s a hit!
Flavors in a Peanut Butter Banana Julep
Of course peanut butter and banana sandwiches were an Elvis favorite, and you can find that combination referred to as an Elvis for all sorts of foods and sweets, so why not in a tipple? Skrewball peanut butter whiskey is a fabulous flavored whiskey. I love it because it’s so singularly peanutty. Paired with some high quality banana liqueur and you’ve got a julep that doesn’t need a bit of simple syrup in it.
I didn’t want to throw too much mint flavor into the mix because adding mint to peanut butter can backfire in terms of flavor, but if you’re just adding a sprig of fresh mint next to the straw, you’ve got a winning combination.
Fun Garnish for your Peanut Butter Cocktail
I’ve garnished this with bananas and peanut butter, but if you’re looking to go over the top, you can always dunk a couple of tagalongs or peanut butter chocolate cookies to the top of it with some honey roasted peanuts and whipped cream. It’s a decadent match made in heaven.
I’ll admit I wanted to do this one for the julep drinkers who aren’t huge fans of whiskey juleps, and this is a playful, fun julep that you don’t need a lot of work to prepare. You’re not even making a mint simple to add in! As long as you’ve got the liqueur at home, and a sprig of mint on hand, you’re good to go.
What Banana Liqueur to Use in the Peanut Butter Julep
I will say that the kind of banana liqueur you choose make a huge difference for this cocktail. This Giffard’s banana liqueur captures the essence of banana without the off-putting artificial notes you sometimes get in banana-flavored foods.
If you don’t have banana liqueur substitute chocolate liqueur for a Reese’s Julep and garnish with a chocolate peanut butter cup. In fact, plan on trying one of those next, because the only combo I like better than peanut butter and banana is peanut butter and chocolate.
Other Cocktails You Might Enjoy
If you need another riff on a whiskey classic, you can see the other cocktails in the series here: Quarantine Old Fashioneds (Breakfast Wakey Wakey, Smoke and Spice, Home School, Taco Truck, and Campari/Bitter Lessons ), Quarantine Manhattans (Balanced Perfection (Perfect Manhattan), Coffee Manhattan, Chocolate Ginger Manhattan, French Quarter Manhattan, and the Caramel Orange Manhattan.), Quarantine Whiskey Sours (Blackberry Sunset, Whiskey Tiki, Blue Mood Orange, Ya Basic, and Peach Rosemary), and Quarantine Smashes (Whiskey Smash, Blackberry Sage Smash, Pineapple Tiki Smash, Strawberry Basil Smash and the Coffee Cherry Smash.)
Recommended Bar Tools
You don’t need every slick, beautiful bar tool out there, but there are several I’ll recommend. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, that does not affect the cost of the items below.) My favorite pieces usually come from the Cocktail Kingdom section of Amazon:
You may already have these bar essentials, but just in case:
Peanut Butter Banana Julep – Elvis Julep
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz bourbon
- 0.75 oz Skrewball peanut butter whiskey
- 0.75 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil substitute chocolate liqueur for a Reese’s Julep
- 2 dashes cherry bark vanilla bitters
- Garnish: peanut butter and bananas and a sprig of mint
Instructions
- Combine bourbon, liqueurs and bitters in a mixing glass and add ice. Stir until well-chilled, about 30 seconds, and strain into a julep cup filled with cracked ice. Add straw, mint sprig and a skewer of banana and peanut butter.
