Hot Buttered Rum

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.

14 Comments

  1. Steve Singler on January 4, 2011 at 7:56 pm

    MMmm…. Just the way I like it, “HOT and Buttery”!

    • Hilah Cooking on January 4, 2011 at 11:02 pm

      Yeah, Steve!

  2. Great Stone Face on January 4, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    Do you think there’s a geographical factor in your enjoyment of this drink? It probably would have tasted a lot better if you’d just come in from a day of downhill skiing or shoveling snow off your driveway. Ol’ Hugh probably put this in his book when The Mansion was in Chicago — in the winter.

    • Hilah Cooking on January 4, 2011 at 11:03 pm

      Excellent point, GSF! I imagine it would have been much more tasty had I just spent the morning in the freezingbuttasscold.

  3. Stanley Lee on January 8, 2011 at 1:35 am

    I like your decision to switch to blip.tv instead of Youtube when it comes to the videos.

    • Hilah Cooking on January 9, 2011 at 2:50 pm

      Hi Stanley! That is good to hear. We are still playing around with things, but thanks for the feedback.

  4. Millijava on January 8, 2011 at 3:45 pm

    Our family makes a batch of mix and keeps it in the freezer til’ its time for a drink. The batter recipe is as follows. 1 quart Vanilla ice cream, 1 bag/box Brown sugar. 1 box (4 cubes) butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Mix it all together. A food processor helps but if you dont have one just let the ingredients soften first. When serving add rum (duh) batter (to taste depending on how sweet you like it). And top with hot milk (or cold milk and microwave). Stir til’ mixed and top with nutmeg.

    • Hilah Cooking on January 9, 2011 at 2:49 pm

      Hi Millijava! Your recipe sounds really good! I bet it’s more like a dessert than a drink. I’ll have to try your way. Thanks for sharing!

  5. D'Aun Robinson on January 9, 2011 at 4:33 am

    I used spiced rum (Captain!), ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves (ground), and ground ginger, and honey and it turned out great. I don’t measure anything though, I just dump stuff in until it tastes good.

    • Hilah Cooking on January 9, 2011 at 2:47 pm

      D’Aun! That sounds delightful with spiced rum and honey. Great addition!

  6. Cindy Njoku on January 10, 2011 at 5:32 am

    Hi Hilah,

    Thanks for visiting my site. I’m enjoying your videos! Great job on everything. Looks great.

    • Hilah Cooking on January 10, 2011 at 1:03 pm

      Thanks Cindy!

  7. terina rice on January 28, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    tasty,but i like hot apple cider,rum,1 pat of butter,yum,yum.

    • Hilah Cooking on January 29, 2011 at 2:48 pm

      Ooh, Terina, that sounds really good! Thank you!

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