I am definitely in the Christmas spirit now! I've got stockings hung, presents wrapped, and tickets booked for our holiday travel. The one thing we don't have is a tree. All year I said we'd have to get one because it's Luke's first "real" Christmas (he was two months old last year) only to realize as December approached that a 14-month-old and a Christmas tree would not mix. Luke's favorite pastimes include pulling all the books off our shelves, removing all our leftover dishes from the kitchen cabinet, and unrolling the toilet paper in the bathroom. I can only imagine what he'd do to a tree covered in ornaments. Maybe next year?
I've got another festive drink for you today, and this one is a classic: Hot Buttered Rum. For some reason I always assumed I wouldn't like Hot Buttered Rum. I didn't really understand the concept of adding a large pat of butter to your drink. But it turns out that in cocktails, as in cooking and just about everything else, butter only makes things better. Hot Buttered Rum is an amazing, warming, delicious treat that is not to be missed.
Hot Buttered Rum isn't made by just tossing some butter into a glass. Usually, you make a "batter" to start - a mixture of butter, sugar, and spices that forms the base for the drink. Some recipes also include vanilla ice cream for a creamier product. Since this cocktail is a holiday party favorite, this makes it easy to create large batches but prepare each individual drink fresh. A dollop of batter is added to the bottom of your mug, topped with some aged rum (I like Appleton Estate Signature Blend), and finished with hot water. Stir well and you have the best steaming mug of holiday cheer imaginable. I promise.
Hot Buttered Rum
Batter1 tbsp. butter, softened
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1 dash cloves
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Cocktail
All of batter (about 1.5 tbsp if you're doing multiple cocktails)
2 oz. aged rum
4 oz. hot water
In a bowl, combine all batter ingredients and muddle or mash with the back of a spoon until it's combined into a uniform paste. Scrape into the bottom of a mug or glass. Add rum and top with hot water. Stir well to mix in the batter. A layer of sediment will form on the top as the drink settles, but this is to be expected - sip right through it or give it an occasional stir.
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