Hot Buttered Rum: Warm Spiced Brown Sugar Butter and Dark Rum Mug for Chilly Fall Nights

In a small bowl, beat the softened butter with the brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, salt and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. This is the spiced batter.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (65 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 pinch fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces (240 ml) dark or aged rum
• 3 cups (710 ml) boiling water
• 4 cinnamon sticks, for garnish

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, beat the softened butter with the brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, salt and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. This is the spiced batter.
2. Use the batter right away, or roll it into a log in parchment paper and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks (or freeze for 3 months) so a mug is always minutes away.
3. Warm 4 heatproof mugs by filling them with hot tap water for a minute, then pour the water out.
4. Add a heaping tablespoon of the spiced batter to each warm mug.
5. Pour 2 ounces (60 ml) of rum into each mug over the batter.
6. Top each with about 3/4 cup (180 ml) of boiling water and stir briskly until the batter melts completely and the surface turns lightly creamy.
7. Garnish each mug with a cinnamon stick and a fresh grating of nutmeg. Serve immediately while steaming hot. For an alcohol-free version, replace the rum with hot apple cider.
8. Hot buttered rum goes back to colonial New England, when rum distilled from Caribbean molasses was the everyday spirit and a pat of butter in a hot drink was thought to fortify you against the cold. It had a second life in the mid-century tiki era and remains a beloved cold-weather ritual across the United States. Making the spiced butter ahead is the trick that turns it into an effortless nightcap all season long.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 310 kcal
• Protein: 0g
• Fat: 11g
• Carbohydrates: 21g
• Fiber: 0g
• Sugar: 20g
• Sodium: 45mg