Hot Buttered Rum*

By mamapig

Hot buttered rum is part of an American colonial tradition in which flavorful , such as molasses, were added to soften the harsher rum available in years past. This is an adaptation of a recipe that appears in Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide (Doubleday, 1972).

Ingredients

• 3 ⁄4 lb softened butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 ⁄4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 ⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ⁄4 tsp. ground cloves
• Salt
• 24 oz. aged rum (rhum vieux)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and a pinch of salt and beat again to combine. Chill buttered rum base until ready to use, up to 2 weeks.

2. To make 1 hot buttered rum, put 2 heaping Tbsp. of the buttered rum base and 1 1⁄2 oz. of the rum into an 8-oz. mug and fill with boiling water. Stir to melt and mix; serve at once.

This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #98