 Hot buttered rum in a mug | |
| Type | Mixed drink |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | |
| Standard drinkware | Coffee cup |
Hot buttered rum is amixed drink containingrum,butter, hot water orcider, a sweetener, and variousspices (usuallycinnamon,nutmeg, andcloves).[1][2] It is especially popular in the fall and winter and is traditionally associated with theholiday season. In the United States, hot buttered rum dates back tocolonial days.[3] During that time many families had their own recipes, and early Americans believed rum to be nutritious and a strengthener of the body.[4]
InHow to Mix Drinks: Or, The Bon-vivant's Companion,[5] mid-19th-century bartenderJerry Thomas provides two recipes (No. 207 and 208, p. 80) for hot rum drinks. The first is called Hot Spiced Rum. The recipe calls for sugar, Jamaica rum, cloves, allspice, butter, and hot water. The second is simply called Hot Rum, and the recipe is the same as for Hot Spiced Rum but omits the spices. Instead, a bit of nutmeg is grated over the top of the drink.
Some versions call for vanilla ice cream as a substitute or complement to the butter for added creaminess. New versions that some believe to be healthier employ organic coconut oil instead of butter.[6]
Hot Buttered Rum saw new interest in the 1940s as aTiki drink when it was typically served in a ceramic skull mug or modified to becomeCoffee Grog.[7]Trader Vic provided a recipe for "hot buttered rum batter" in hisBartender's Guide which called for 1 lb. of brown sugar, 1/4 lb. of butter, salt and other spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves). In touting the virtues of Hot Buttered Rum he also provided a warning: "As usually served, it is a weak little noggin with bits of butter floating on top which look good stuck on the customer's upper lip. I urge the use of a batter in order to make some fine drinks".[8] The batter was also used as a basis in other warm alcoholic drinks of his creation such as theNorthwest Passage andHot Buttered Rum Cow.
Beyond Trader Vic, at least two other different Tiki versions were also made circa 1950.[9] One was theVolcano House Hot Buttered Rum from the Volcano House Hotel in Hawaii, and the other was thePub and Prow Hot Buttered Rum from a Chicago restaurant of the same name. The Volcano House Hotel's recipe was unusual in that it also called forMaraschino liqueur.
While overproof rum such asBacardi 151 orStroh 160 can be used in some versions, early recipes do not call for the drink to be lit on fire when served, even though it is now sometimes done and is part of the presentation for the hot-buttered rum basedCoffee Grog.[10]
Kenneth Roberts worked the drink into his story for the bestselling 1937 novelNorthwest Passage, which some also attribute to the drink's renewed popularity in the 1940s.[11] Wrote Roberts: “After a man’s had two—three drinks of hot buttered rum, he don’t shoot a catamount".
InWhite Christmas, Bob Wallace, played byBing Crosby, reflects on the winter season inVermont. Included in his list is "snow-covered slopes, skiing... hot buttered rum, light on the butter," just before starting the song "Snow" (sung by Crosby,Danny Kaye,Rosemary Clooney &Vera-Ellen). Some celebrate January 17 as "Hot Buttered Rum Day".[12]
