Here’s how to make hot buttery rum! This cozy spiced drink is ideal for cool autumn evenings or as a cocktail for the holiday season.
Here’s an ideal drink to sip by the fire on a chilly evening: Buttered hot rum! Just saying the name warms you up inside. This historic drink has been around for centuries. Modern versions go a little crazy, so we’ve gone back to its roots to show you the “real” method. This version is subtly sweet, tangy with cinnamon and allspice, and edgy with dark rum. Oh: and there’s just enough butter to make it slightly creamy. That’s enough to warm your toes… and your soul.
What is Hot Buttered Rum?
Buttered Hot Rum is a drink made from dark rum, hot water or cider, butter, sugar and spices. It’s been around since around the 1650s, when rum distilleries opened up in New England and settlers began adding rum to drinks and punch. Drinks like hot toddy, milk punch, and eggnog started appearing around this time. Every family would have their own “homemade” version of this warming drink.
How to make hot rum with butter
The concept behind Hot Butter Rum is to create a “hot butter rum paste”. The dough contains butter, sugar and spices. Each drink contains a spoonful of paste with rum and hot water. Our take on the recipe stays true to the historical version: there’s just enough butter and sugar to make it slightly sweet and creamy, but it’s nothing like a milkshake. The ingredients of Hot Buttered Rum are:
- Salted butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice
- Dark rum
- Boiling water
Modern Buttered Hot Rum recipes contain more sugar than the colonial recipe when sugar was a luxury! Some use apple cider instead of hot water. Other recipes include vanilla ice cream in the batter, which adds creaminess but also lots of calories and more sugar. Here we prefer it more faithful to the original: less like a milkshake, more like a sweeter version of a grog.
Random fact: January 17th is National Buttered Hot Rum Day. Who knew!
Sweeten it if you like
Do you like sweet drinks? If you prefer an ultra-sweet, hot-buttered rum take on parties and entertaining, it’s easy to modify. Here are some options:
Dark rum vs light rum
Be sure to use a good dark rum for Hot Buttered Rum: the white or light variety won’t work as a substitute! Light rum is used for tropical drinks like daiquiris and pina coladas. Here’s a breakdown of the differences between the two liqueurs:
- Dark rum ages longer than white rum. It is dark in color and has a rich, developed flavor with hints of caramel, brown sugar and vanilla. Dark rum is what the settlers would have had on hand to make buttered rum.
- Pale rum or white rum is clear and has a softer, smoother taste than dark rum.
More dark rum cocktails
Want more dark rum drinks? Here are some rum cocktail ideas for using a bottle:
When should you serve hot rum with butter?
This hot alcoholic drink is ideal for parties, New Year’s Eve and chilly evenings! Serve as:
The description
Here’s how to make hot buttery rum! This cozy spiced drink is ideal for cool autumn evenings or as a cocktail for the holiday season.
For the spiced butter (4 cups; multiply as you like)
- 6 tablespoons Salted butter
- 3 tablespoons Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinammon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon pimento
For every drink
- 1½ tablespoons spicy butter
- 2 ounces rum
- 6 ounces boiling water*
- Make the spiced butter: Roll the butter with a rolling pin until flat. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Use a spatula to mix the butter with the sugar and spices until incorporated. Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
- How to prepare the drinks: Add 1 ½ tablespoons seasoned butter to each jar. Add rum and boiling water and stir until combined. If you like a sweeter drink, garnish with whipped cream.
Remarks
*Some recipes use apple cider for a sweeter twist. We prefer lightly sweetened beverages, and boiling water is most traditional.
- Category: drink
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: American
- Diet: vegetarian
Keywords: Buttered hot rum
More enjoyable drinks
Looking for more enjoyable drinks like this? Some of our favorite seasonal warming drinks include:
- Mulled wine Red wine cooked with orange peel, cloves, cinnamon sticks, allspice and honey. It’s a crowd puller! Or make it a cocktail with Spiked Apple Cider.
- Hot Apple Cider Easy and leaves your kitchen smelling fantastic.
- Apple Cider Sangria This cozy sangria combines sparkling apple cider with red wine, orange and cinnamon. In a word: wow.
- Milk Punch Another historic cocktail! It’s served cold, but the spices are deliciously cozy. It contains brandy, bourbon, milk and sugar.
