The Jimmy Carter Cocktail (1977)

RIP President Carter. Although not everyone has fond memories of his presidency, wow oh wow did he go on to build a lasting legacy. He will be remembered as a kind gentleman who (in my humble opinion) exemplifies what it means to be a Christian. The man got himself a Nobel Peace Prize, for fuck’s sake!

In his honor, I’m reposting a recipe from Miss Lillian and Friends: The Plains, Georgia Family Philosophy and Recipe Book (1977). This first appeared on the DiS1972 blog on September 13, 2020.

Jimmy Carter is the 39th president of the US, a Nobel Peace Prize award winner, and is known for his tireless dedication to volunteerism, philanthropy, and to his wife, Rosalynn.

But whenever I hear “Jimmy Carter” the first thing I think of is peanuts.

Sad but true.

So of course when I found out that today is National Peanut Day, my mind automatically went to Jimmy Carter. Which is ridiculous because, as you know, there is an actual MR. PEANUT.

But I digress. In honor of National Peanut Day, here is the Jimmy Carter Cocktail from the peanut recipe section of Miss Lillian and Friends:

Near the end of the primaries, when it became apparent that Jimmy Carter’s campaign was more than “just peanuts” (the expression used for something meager) books about peanuts and peanut butter began to appear. In Plains, GA, the growing of peanuts is their major agricultural industry. Peanuts there are what corn is to Iowa, cheese is to Wisconsin, and grapes are to France.

Soon after the election, in the wake of the continued attention paid to the peanut, Vic Cappelle of a restaurant in Fond Du Lac, WI, composed a drink named a Jimmy Carter.

Blend together:

• 1 oz white creme de cacao
• 1 oz (whiskey, brandy, bourbon, or scotch) I used bourbon
• 1 tsp creamy peanut butter
• crushed ice

FUN FACT! On the opposite page of this recipe is Miss Lillian Carter’s recipe for Peach Yummy which has previously appeared on DiS1972. 

The drink:

First sip: tastes like bourbon

Second sip: tastes like chocolate

Third sip: and there is a blob of peanut butter

As you drink you randomly you get a swirl of smooth peanut butter. Not with every sip–just some. It’s like peanut butter roulette.

It is definitely odd. I can’t decide if it is off-putting or fun. But I can tell you that the more you drink it the more it just tastes like Skippy.

If you want to get a boozy Reese’s peanut butter cup in a glass I am sure that now someone makes peanut butter flavored vodka*** so you can combine it with some creme de cacao and you’re set. But if peanut butter vodka doesn’t exist yet, this here recipe is your best bet.

Or you can just have a peanut butter cup with a glass of bourbon on the side.

That’s definitely easier than busting out a blender.

***Here’s a peanut flavored vodka.

And here’s my Pap Pap’s pin from the 1977 United Auto Workers Convention in Los Angeles.