This is one of those drinks like a Tom and Jerry, that seems so familiar to me and yet…not; so familiar and yet…somehow it also seems like it would not be very good. This recipe came right out of Playboy’s Host and Bar Book! Which is my favorite drink book of all time. The best in its class.
But, you can’t argue with the facts. This really wasn’t that great, right off the bat.
The first sip was reminiscent of huffing paint and kind of burned my nostrils with booze fumes. It was a little shocking. I did, however, feel the effects of the alcohol almost immediately. My “scientific theory” is that the heat made the alcohol permeate my inner mouth tissues really fast and since the mouth is so close to the brain, it basically was in my brain within seconds. Fortunately, the effects of the alcohol made another sip of the hot buttered rum seem appealing. And thus it went until the drink was done.
I will share a secret with you, though. After a few sips, once the drink had cooled, it became… better. And I don’t think it was just the drunkenness. I also added a sprinkling of ground cinnamon and that helped immensely. So try that if you make this drink. And if you have a better recipe to share, please do in the comments section. Playboy let me down a little here, for the first time ever. And I o-pologize.
Ingredients
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 whole allspice
- 1 inch stick cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 oz hot light rum
- 1/2 oz hot dark rum
- Boiling water
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Steep the spices in a mug with a couple tablespoons of water and the sugar for 5 minutes. Add the rum, more water, and the butter. Stir. Add more sugar if desired.
Disclaimer: Obviously, when you watch the video, you will see that I didn’t stick to this recipe exactly because I only had one type of rum and no allspice berries, but I’m not convinced that the drink really would have been much better with those things. That said, I do recommend adding more sugar than this recipe calls for and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon since the steeping method didn’t really do a whole lot to bring out the spices’ flavors.
I create short-form, educational, and occasionally hilarious cooking videos geared towards beginner and intermediate cooks, as well as people who are just looking for simple, low-cost recipes. Everything is made from scratch, people!