Hot Rum and Sweet Butter

I just got in from shoveling snow drifts in the bitter cold.  Hot rum and sweet butter warmed me up like nothing else.  First, here is where the idea came, from a simpler time – a simpler recipe, thanks to David Wondrich’s research.

Authentic, Pure & Simple Hot Buttered Rum
2 sugar cubes (2 teaspoons)
hot water
2 ounces dark rum
pat of butter

In a pre-warmed mug, dissolve the sugar in a little hot water, then add the rum and unsalted butter. Fill the mug with hot water.

No extra flavors, just silky warm rum.  It’s so good.  I think he even says if we want to sprinkle a little nutmeg on top, we can; but he doesn’t.  I’ve tried both ways – both are good.  Both are astonishingly luxurious.  But I’m going to have to agree with Mr. Wondrich on the purity of less.  If you have not tried this, please stop putting it off and sip one of these soothing drinks – like a hot bath with a bowl of soup – so thorough in how it eases the cares of the world away.  I would have written this post solely about this recipe, except wanted to experiment, something with spices, but particularly with orange.  In fact, before you make my recipe, make the original, and sip on it as you make mine.  I honestly do not care if you condemn my recipe, as long as you try the original Hot Buttered Rum.  And please tell people about it – no…better yet, make it for them, and watch them lick their lips.

For my recipe, it is more flavorful to make the batter ahead of time to marry the spices – a couple of hours at least.  Although you do not need to wait a whole day to make this drink, I think flavors need time to work their magic.  Very similar to making hot grog, or chili, or any heated liquid with spices, in most cases it will taste better the next day, and possibly twice as good the day after that.  My loving parents from Florida graciously sent me some wondrously delicious oranges, which only makes this drink better (both the drink itself, and the act of drinking it).  Freshly squeezed oranges work far better than from a carton or concentrate.  Plus, you will need orange zest for the batter as well.  Finally, a lovely and talented co-worker of my wife’s supplied us with tasty Amish butter, a genuine treat in almost all perspectives.  I felt a drink which highlighted butter as a main ingredient should have profound quality (particularly if drinking the original recipe) to get that true butter and rum flavor profile.

Hot Orange Buttered Rum
(for 2 drinks)
4 Tbsp room temperature unsalted butter
1/2 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
2 cups water
4 oz dark rum (Myers's)
2 cinnamon sticks

For the batter:  Beat butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and orange zest on high-speed with a hand mixer until thoroughly combined – 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Refrigerate in an airtight container, or put it in your freezer (lasts 2 weeks maximum).

For the drink:  Warm two heatproof glasses or mugs with boiling water.  Warm the orange juice with the water in a medium saucepan until very hot, but not boiling.  Discard water from warm mugs.  Scoop 2 separate heaping teaspoons of batter, allowing a few minutes to come to room temperature, especially if the batter was stored in the freezer, and place in mugs.  Pour 2 ounces of dark rum into each glass, then top with the hot orangey water.  Garnish with a cinnamon stick each, stirring until the batter dissolves to reveal all those flavors.  The melted butter will rise to the surface, even though the batter does not float.