January 17th is National Hot Buttered Rum Day. What does the concoction have to do with Time Travel or Colonial America? Hot Buttered Rum is a drink served since Colonial days. Believe it or not, rum was considered the first spirit of America, before whiskey. The vicinity of the colonies to the sugar plantation-rich Caribbean made for quick import. Rum is made by fermenting and distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice, and sugarcane plantations covered the Caribbean.
Hot Buttered Rum was a common household drink that it was found in homes across the colonies, and spices depended on what the household had available, but commonly used cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, vanilla, and more brown sugar.
The recipe is made in two stages. First, the spiced butter recipe, which you will need to for the Hot Buttered Rum recipe. I found the taste of the spiced butter similar to pumpkin pie, without the pumpkin. It was sweet, creamy, and the spices are common to what you might find in pumpkin pie. You could easily eat this on toast or slather a little on slices of apple. Second, you add hot water and rum.
Here is a recipe I found from Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
Spiced Butter Batter Recipe
- 1 stick (4 ounces or half cup) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- Pinch of salt
In mixing bowl, combine above ingredients and beat until well combined.
Hot Buttered Rum
1 Serving | Calories 220 kcal | ABV 10% | Total time 3 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 1 oz Spiced Batter (2 Tablespoons)
- 2 oz Dark or aged rum
- 6 oz Hot Water
- Cinnamon stick, for garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Drop spiced butter batter into a ceramic or heat resistant mug with rum.
- Add hot water and stir till the butter is completely melted and incorporated.
- Garnish with cinnamon stick
The drink was pretty darn good. I was concerned that it would feel greasy. It wasn't! The butter added body and made it creamy, the spices were delicious, and I could taste the delicious rum. I used George Bowman Rum, which is a Colonial Era dark rum, bottled in Fredericksburg, Virginia. My husband and I both had our mugs of Hot Buttered Rum, with me unable to finish it due to the weight of the drink. I tend to nurse a drink and it started to cool down before I could finish it. Did that take away from the taste or texture? Not really, but I was done drinking it about halfway through.
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