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How to Make Hot Buttered Rum

How to Make Hot Buttered Rum
Hot Buttered Rum is one of those drinks that you only hear about in old fashioned stories and Christmas carols. I have yet to attend a holiday party where it has been served, and most people don’t even seem to know what hot buttered rum is. So, what is hot buttered rum? It is a drink that starts with a base of butter, sugar and spices that is added to rum and hot water to make a rich, spicy winter drink. It’s easy to make and is a great drink to add to your holiday menu.

The butter base is made by creaming together butter with brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. This mixture can be prepared right before you are ready to make your drinks or a few days in advance, and stored in the refrigerator until you need it. The spiced butter is combined with rum and hot water and stirred until the drink is smooth. It’s warm, spicy and has just the right amount of sweetness. You could easily enjoy it before dinner, as a way to warm up when you come in from the cold, or as an after dinner drink. It might seem a bit odd to add butter to a drink, but it really isn’t that much different from adding half and half or cream, both of which also have a high fat content. The butter dissolves into the hot drink just like cream can be stirred into the coffee.

I used Meyer’s Rum in my hot buttered rum, but you can use any dark rum that you like. Dark rum, like brown sugar, has a stronger molasses than many other types of rum and really gives the drink a lot of character. You can also make the drink with hot cider, instead of water, for a slightly sweeter drink.

Homemade Hot Buttered Rum
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
6 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz dark rum (such as Meyer’s Rum)
24 oz hot water (6 oz per serving)

In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, salt and vanilla extract.
In a coffee mug, combine about 2 tbsp of butter with 1 1/2 oz of dark rum. Top with 6 oz of hot water and stir until butter is completely dissolved. Garnish with cinnamon stick and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

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1 Comment
  • Links I Like | sherlonya
    December 28, 2014

    […] This drink made me think about having had buttered rum Lifesavers as a child. I think that the drink might be more up my alley as an adult. […]

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