The Wednesday Tipple – Hot Buttered Rum

Hot Buttered Rum illustration for Christmas cocktail

Hot buttered rum is a state of mind as much as it is a drink.

It evokes Christmases of nostalgia – the kind of drink we can imagine Dickens holding in one hand while writing Christmas Carol with the other. It’s what people are surely drinking off screen in It’s a Wonderful Life. Or what’s been making Dean Martin sound so happy when he sings “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

If a Rudolph mug exists in your cupboard – a penguin mug in my case – now is the time to use it.

Penguin mug for Christmas rum cocktail recipe

The butter mixture can be made in advance so that lots of drinks can be prepared at once for a party, or you can make one single perfect glass just for you.

1 tsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
1 measure dark rum
Hot water
 
  • Mix the butter, sugar and cinnamon together and drop into the bottom of a mug
  • Add the rum, then top up with hot water

If You Can Make That You Can Make This

  • Add a tiny grating of fresh nutmeg to the butter mixture
  • Add a couple of cloves to the glass
  • Or a star anise
  • Use a cinnamon stick stirrer
  • Add a tsp of cream
  • Hold a red hot skewer in the mug (being careful not to touch the side or the mug may shatter) to caramelize the rum – this is an old campfire trick apparently – and certainly worth trying – the drink tastes darker somehow, more caramel and complex
This entry was posted in The Wednesday Tipple and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to The Wednesday Tipple – Hot Buttered Rum

Leave a Reply