What in the blazes? (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

It’s Friday. Let’s talk booze.

It used to be that a couple fingers of whiskey would do just fine, and adding ice or water or soda was a little frilly. Well, that’s the impression I get from watching (maybe unrealistic) period movies and television shows. I AM pretty sure there were no Key lime pie martinis or Jolly Rancher shooters being mixed up in home bars in the 1950s.

Don’t get me wrong – I think the chocolate martini is possibly one of the greatest bartender inventions of all time. The above mentioned Key lime pie martini, if made well, shockingly resembles the flavor of the dessert.

I recently received an e-mail from a liquor company that made me think about some of the highly unusual drink recipes being created in bars and homes around the world. This particular e-mail divulged the recipe for a peanut butter and jelly martini, which kind of made me do a double take.

A little Googling turned up recipes for cocktails that taste like banana nut bread, German chocolate cake, Dreamsicles, a peanut butter cup, a Milky Way bar, and many more. Warning: Some of these websites also contain recipes for cocktails with names that some might consider highly offensive. As a side note, this makes me wonder how many men are sitting around watching dirty movies and making up cocktail recipes. I would certainly like to bop the person who invented the Redheaded [rhymes with Mutt], as I’ve received those shots in the past from several people who think they are veeeery funny. Oh well, it was a free drink.

This Peanut Butter and Jelly martini is probably not going to make anybody drunk, because it requires so much work that by the time you get one made, you’ll be ready to give up and go to bed. For example, it calls for homemade peanut syrup. But it could make you sick, because for some reason it also calls for a raw egg white. Does alcohol kill salmonella?

Well, now I’ll digress yet again: According to this fascinating Washington Post article, egg whites are used in some cocktails because they are great binding agents and create a lovely froth on top.This Jason Wilson fellow is kind of bemoaning the fact that food safety agents have caused folks to run screaming from raw eggs, because apparently a lot of old-fashioned cocktails call for them. I like the part that says “You’re more likely — about four times more likely — to choke on a handful of bar nuts than you are to get salmonella poisoning, according to statistics from the National Safety Council.”

Despite these assurances, I believe I have just completely talked myself out of this PB&J cocktail. But if you’re brave enough to try it, check out the recipe below.

Do you have a favorite wacky cocktail?

PB&J
Created by Gianfranco, Tippling Bros.

1.5 oz. Flor de Caña 7-year rum
.5 oz. Lustau Palo Cortado Vides (a sherry)
.25 oz. strawberry jam
.25 oz. peanut syrup (see recipe below)
1 egg white
1 banana slice for garnish

1. Shake all ingredients (except banana) in a Boston shaker without ice, then add ice and shake vigorously again.

2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass that is rimmed with minced salted-peanuts.

3. Garnish with a banana slice.

*Peanut syrup
1. Combine 2 parts water with 2 parts sugar in a pot
2. Bring sugar water to a boil
3. Add 1 part minced peanuts
4. Simmer for 10 minutes
5. Strain to remove peanut particles

Adapted from a recipe provided by Deussen Global Communications, Inc.