OBceans Sue Each Other Over Peanut Butter Whiskey

Usually when there’s an article about Ocean Beach on the front page of the San Diego Union-Tribune‘s Sunday paper, it’s a fluff piece about how the bohemian enclave does or doesn’t live up to its name. This has happened so often that we even keep a file on all those articles.

But that wasn’t the case this last Sunday, October 6. This time the front page article was headlined: “Lawsuits Erupt Over Ocean Beach’s Famed Skrewball Whiskey” and it was all about the three suits – two of them by well-known OBceans – against the makers of Screwball Whiskey – that new combo of whiskey and peanut butter invented in OB and now being marketed across the country.

The makers of the Skrewball are Steve and Brittany Yeng; they’re being sued by local baseball great David Wells and by Noah Tafolla – also a well known local, plus a third person, entrepreneur Adam Purcell. And it’s all over alleged “handshake” deals between the parties over shares to the profits of the p-nut whiskey.

It’s a real shame that all these once-friends have to go to court and resolve the conflicts – but they have.

Here’s the opening of the SDU-T article – and check out the classic reference:

Exuding the bohemian irreverence of its Ocean Beach roots, Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey comes with its own warning: “a night with Skrewball is bound to get a little nutty.”

What did I tell you – the “bohemian” reference right?

At any rate, we covered this scandal back in August but didn’t realized then the extent of the various lawsuits. So, here is the first part of the article by U-T writer, Kristina Davis:

Exuding the bohemian irreverence of its Ocean Beach roots, Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey comes with its own warning: “a night with Skrewball is bound to get a little nutty.”

The same could be said for the legal battle being waged over ownership of the locally crafted spirit.

Created by husband-and-wife team Steve and Brittany Yeng, Skrewball is based on a signature peanut butter-and-whiskey shot that Steve concocted after opening his first restaurant, OB Noodle House. The shot was so popular that the couple decided to bottle it.

But three people — including former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher David “Boomer” Wells and local television host Noah Tafolla — have filed lawsuits in San Diego Superior Court alleging they were all promised a stake in the venture. The Yengs, in turn, have filed a cross-complaint of their own against Tafolla, calling him a “parasitic individual” who exploited his relationship with the couple to enrich himself.

The legal quagmire comes as Skrewball expands distribution nationwide with the goal of convincing the American spirits market that peanut butter and whiskey really do go together.

For the balance of this article, please go here.