The holiday season means a few things for those of us who participate: 1. We’ll be forced to spend time with family we haven’t seen for most of the year, 2. Stress shopping and 3. Enough Holiday music to drive someone mad. There is one thing that helps in living with those truths of the season, but, since most of us can’t afford a vacation to tropical beach in the Mediterranean, I instead suggest a different solution: Cocktails. Namely, a Hot Buttered Rum.

A Hot Buttered Rum is a great cocktail if you want simultaneously feel great and disappoint your doctor at your next annual physical. It consists of three main ingredients: Sugar, Butter and Booze. This cocktail is one that’s fairly easy to make, and as an added bonus, a single batch makes several cocktails. Impress your friends with a delicious dessert drink, or just have a few on hand whenever those pesky in-laws rear their ugly heads.

What you’ll need:

• Aged Rum
• Hot water
• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
• ¼ Tsp Ground Cloves
• 1 Cup Vanilla Ice Cream (Optional).

As you can see, this concoction is great if you can’t decide between heart disease, diabetes or alcoholism.

Essentially, this drink is constructed into 3 parts: butter mix, hot water, rum. First, the mix.  Preparation takes roughly 10 minutes.

Start by softening the butter, this will help mixing later. Combine brown sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into a mixing bowl.  Mix thoroughly. Then add butter, stir ingredients until the butter is completely mixed with dry ingredients; it should stick to the sides of the bowl. If you want to have extra creamy cocktails, add the vanilla ice cream now (hint: you do).  Mix until white color of vanilla ice cream is gone. Transfer to a sealable container and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Once butter mix has set, the cocktail is ready to make.

I used Immortal Spirits State of Jefferson Aged Rum, a great local choice for this delicious cocktail. Sassy Mermaid Rum by Sundance Distillery is a great one too. If you like your drinks with more flavor, pick up some spiced rum.

Combine 1 heaping spoonful of butter mix with 6-8oz of hot water, and rum. Stir until mix has completely dissolved. Enjoy.

Now that you’re armed with a delicious, hot buttered rum, that nagging question from grandma “When are we gonna see some damn grandkids?” doesn’t seem so draining. And the sugar crash that’ll hit is enough to put you to sleep throughout the entire politics talk at the dinner table. The mix is enough for over a dozen cocktails, and can be enjoyed over the entire month.  

Happy Holidays!