The bottle
Elvis Whiskey’s Midnight Snack whiskey, $ 34.99
The back story
It’s time to toast The King on his birthday, with a one-of-a-kind whiskey crafted in his honor.
If he was still with us, Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, would have turned 89 this upcoming Monday. But while Elvis left the building long ago, he lives on through a host of various enterprises — most notably, his Graceland estate, which remains a popular Tennessee tourist attraction.
And now, there’s an Elvis spirit inspired by his favorite late-night snack.
Grain & Barrel Spirits, a Charleston, S.C.-based spirits company launched Midnight Snack last year — a flavored whiskey that honors Elvis’ love for a good peanut butter-banana-bacon sandwich. Will Woodington, the company’s brand ambassador, told MarketWatch that Grain & Barrel had been approached by the Presley estate about a whiskey venture a few years earlier, and that led to the release of both Elvis-themed rye and Tennessee whiskeys. Initially, the idea was to sell them just at Graceland, but they proved so popular that the spirits company took them to the broader retail market.
Knowing that the flavored whiskey category was hot — global sales of the category are expected to rise from $ 27.9 billion in 2022 to $ 47.1 billion in 2030 — the next logical step was for Grain & Barrel to go that route with its Elvis Whiskey line. And the peanut butter-banana-bacon idea came calling.
“We figured that if we could execute this combination in a flavored whiskey form that we’d have one of the most delicious and unique products in the market,” Woodington said.
There’s some chemistry involved in crafting this sandwich-inspired whiskey, Woodington added. To create Midnight Snack, the company begins with a base of Tennessee whiskey and then layers in artificial peanut butter, banana and bacon flavors.
Grain & Spirits said there’s been a strong response so far to the whiskey. We reached out to those behind the Presley estate to see if they had any comment, but didn’t receive an immediate response.
What we think about it
I’ve eaten the classic Elvis sandwich upon occasion and have written about it, too. It’s definitely got that over-the-top vibe, but the sweet-and-salty-and-creamy combo makes for tasty snacking (at midnight or otherwise). The whiskey version doesn’t quite replicate that flavor fully, but it’s an amusing sip on its own terms.
You’ll get a lot of banana flavor — Woodington likens it to banana taffy, specifically. But there’s a hint of the peanut butter and even a smaller hint of bacon on the back end.
Obviously, serious whiskey drinkers eschew this kind of thing, but Midnight Snack will likely work for those who like sweetness with their spirits. And needless to say, there’s plenty of novelty appeal in this for Elvis fans.
How to enjoy it
This is pretty much a cocktail in a bottle, so I’d just add ice and drink it like any mixed drink. But Grain and Barrel suggests you also try it in an Old Fashioned cocktail.