Hot Buttered Rum

Before you start

Hot buttered rum is dark rum and boiling water mixed with a spiced, sweetened butter. The butter is what makes it: it gives the drink a silky body and carries the flavor of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. The usual approach, and the most practical, is to make a batch of batter ahead and scoop a spoonful into each mug.

The common complaint is a greasy slick on top. Butter will always float in water to some degree, but a well-beaten batter with plenty of sugar emulsifies far better than plain butter, and stirring hard as the hot water goes in helps it disperse. A full-flavored aged or dark rum stands up to the richness; light white rum gets lost.

Ingredients

• Batter115 g (½ cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter — softened to room temperature
• 100 g (½ cup packed) dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp (40 g) honey — or maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Per drink2 tbsp (about 30 g) batter
• 60 ml (2 oz) aged or dark rum
• 120 ml (4 oz) boiling water
• 1 cinnamon stick — optional garnish

Method

1. Beat the softened butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon or mixer until creamy, about 1 minute.
2. Add the brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, fluffy and evenly colored, 2 to 3 minutes. Thorough beating helps the batter dissolve and stay emulsified in the hot water.
3. Transfer the batter to an airtight container. It can be used right away or chilled; bring cold batter back to room temperature for 15 minutes so it melts easily.
4. For each drink, warm a mug with hot water and discard the water. Add 2 tbsp batter and the rum.
5. Pour in the boiling water and stir vigorously for 15 to 20 seconds, until the batter melts and the drink turns opaque and creamy.
6. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a little extra grated nutmeg, and serve immediately while it is hot.

Tips for success

• Stir again just before drinking. Some butter rises as the drink sits, and a quick stir brings it back.
• Use salted butter only if you leave out the added salt. A little salt is what keeps the batter from tasting flat.
• Roll the batter into a log in parchment and freeze it; slice off a disk for each drink.

Substitutions

Dark rum

Aged rum gives vanilla and oak; a spiced rum adds more spice, so cut the batter spices slightly. Bourbon or apple brandy make good non-rum versions.

Butter

A vegan butter block works similarly; avoid soft spreads, which contain water and separate. Coconut oil sets hard and tastes of coconut.

Boiling water

Hot apple cider makes the drink sweeter and fruitier; reduce the batter to 1½ tbsp.

Variations

Ice cream batter

Beat 1 cup softened vanilla ice cream into the finished batter and freeze it; use 3 tbsp per drink for a creamier mug.

Hot buttered cider

Skip the rum and use hot apple cider in place of water for a non-alcoholic version.

Troubleshooting

Grease floats on top

The batter was under-beaten or too little sugar held it together. Beat it longer, stir hard when adding the water, and use slightly less batter.

The drink is lukewarm

Cold batter and a cold mug cooled it down. Warm the mug and use room-temperature batter.

It tastes overly sweet

Use 1½ tbsp batter per drink, or add a squeeze of lemon to brighten it.

Storage

Refrigerate the batter in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it soften slightly before scooping. Discard it if it smells rancid or sour.

Safety notes

Each drink contains 60 ml of 40% ABV rum, about 1.4 U.S. standard drinks (a standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol). The batter contains dairy. Serve only to adults of legal drinking age, and do not drink and drive.