The World's Best Hot Buttered Rum Recipe

So Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Here in the Mayhew household, Thanksgiving is the high holy day of my year. Its my chance to take care of loved ones, celebrate the year and reflect on those who aren't joining us at the table this year. I have lost a lot of people in my life, more than I'll ever care to share on a blog, and sometimes I think that I live with the constant expectation that I won't see the next Thanksgiving. So for me, its always important to have a huge Thanksgiving feast. If its going to be my last, it better be the best too. So every year gets larger and more elaborate, but certain things always happen at my Thanksgiving. First, I always do the cooking. Sure, people might bring a side dish or a dessert, but rest assured, no one needs to bring anything because there will be leftovers for weeks when I am done.

This year, there is a definite chill in the November air here in Oregon, much more pronouncedly so than last year, I'm still going to barbecue my turkey but I'll need a little something to warm me up when I step back inside from my hourly checks on the bird. This year, I'm offering guests a Stone Fence (Buffalo Trace Bourbon, 2 dashes Angostura bitters and Apple Cider) as my cold drink and I'll offer up Hot Buttered Rum for those that need to take the chill off of their bones. Now, Hot Buttered Rum isn't the hardest drink to make in the world, and neither is the batter. That said, most of the Hot Buttered Rums I have tasted are downright nasty, and most batters just don't quite get it right. I'm going to offer a few easy do's and don'ts for making an enjoyable Hot Buttered Rum.

DO-

- Use a quality rum. I like one with some age on it. I'll be using Bacardi 8 this Thanksgiving, I don't think there is a better rum for a Hot Buttered Rum.

DON'T-

- Use cheap rum. Cheap rum is going to taste even cheaper when you warm it up. You can't hide poor quality ingredients in this drink.

DO-

- Make your own rum batter. It isn't hard, takes less than 10 minutes and you'll be amazed at the difference in quality.

DON'T

- Buy commercial buttered rum batter. Yuck. I have yet to try one that doesn't taste like chemicals and stabilizers.


So lets get down to the recipe shall we? I like to leave a stick of butter out for about an hour to soften it up to make this a really easy preparation.

Hot Buttered Rum Batter
1 stick butter, room temp
¾ c brown sugar
¼ cup agave nectar
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp clove

To make a hot buttered rum, simply slice a good dollop off of the batter, add to a mug with 2 oz Bacardi 8 rum, fill with hot water, stir to incorporate, and enjoy.

Here is wishing all of you the best this Thanksgiving.


Lance