"hot buttered rum recipe" news and stories

The first time someone offered me a Hot Buttered Rum my mouth immediately salivated. On a cold wintry day, those three words sound divine. However, when the recipe is poorly executed and you get a glob of butter in a lukewarm mug, it's not always as good as it sounds.

Hot fatty drinks go way back to more than 200 years ago, when folks traveling by coach might stop in at a tavern to warm up, maybe having their drink warmed with a red hot poker from the fireplace. Recipes for Hot Buttered Rums can be found in several old cocktail books such as the 1862 Jerry Thomas' "Bar-Tenders Guide." Technically, this drink is a toddy with the addition of butter. The rum used would have been a darker rum aged in a barrel, so shy away from more modern style white rums and "gold" rums colored with caramel coloring when making this drink.

Here's an idea for making one that's richer and creamier than just chucking a pat of butter with spices in a hot mug of rum that ends up resembling an oil slick.