Hot Buttered Rum Recipe
Dark rum and hot water stirred into a spoonful of sweet spiced butter — rich, silky and scented with cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Irish coffee mug
- ABV: 12%
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- Dark rum52 ml (1.8 oz)
- Spiced butter batter6 tsp
- Hot water90 ml (3 oz)
How to Make It
- Make the batter ahead: cream soft butter with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of clove, then chill.
- Warm a mug with hot water and empty it.
- Put two tablespoons of batter in the mug and add the rum.
- Top with hot water and stir until the butter has melted in.
- Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Garnish
Cinnamon stick
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced and the texture is creamy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A handled, thick-walled Irish coffee mug. Built for hot drinks: the handle protects your hand and the thick glass holds the heat. Warming it with hot water first noticeably changes the first sip.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Dark rum
- Barrel-aged dark rum, with molasses, vanilla and treacle in it. Swap in white rum and the drink loses its body, so reach for gold rum instead.
The Story
A cold-weather drink with roots in colonial America, where rum was plentiful; the butter, sugar and spice batter is traditionally made ahead and kept chilled.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Hot Buttered Rum mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in an Irish coffee mug.
- How strong is a Hot Buttered Rum?
- Roughly 12% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Hot Buttered Rum be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Hot Buttered Rum hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.