Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Hot Buttered Rum was a colonial period favorite during the cooler months of the year and especially popular around the holidays. No one knows who was the first to take a tankard or mug, toss in some Medford Rum, some sugar, water and butter and heat the thing with a red hot poker pulled from the fire, but by the mid-1700s, the drink was commonplace throughout New England and spreading to the far corners of the colonies when a chill was in the air. Distilleries in the Colonies were making rum from the molasses by the 1650s, and "hot buttered rum" joined the toddies of English tradition.

A cocktail made with boiling water, sugar and spices is traditionally referred to as a "toddy," usually made with whiskey or sherry. Warm alcoholic beverages such as toddies originated in Northern Europe, where beer, cider, wine and spirits were mulled with sugar and spices to add some cheer to cold winter days.

1 8 oz. stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch salt [omit if using salted butter]
Bottle dark rum
Boiling water

In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Refrigerate until almost firm. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs. Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway). Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately.

10 - 12 servings

A Recipe: Hot Buttered Rum (original)

2 oz. Good Quality Dark Rum
3-4 oz. Water
1 teaspoon raw sugar
Unsalted Butter, softened

Rinse a heat proof mug with very hot water to warm it. Add rum, sugar, water and a hazelnut sized piece of butter (about 2 Tbsp). Remove a hot poker from the fire and plunge it into the mixture until it begins to bubble. Remove poker and stir to combine ingredients. Top with fresh grated nutmeg if you wish (and you should wish).

If hot pokers are unavailable: Rinse a heat proof mug with very hot water to warm it. Add sugar to the mug and top with about an ounce of boiling water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add rum, the remainder of the water and a hazelnut sized piece of butter (about 2 Tbsp). Top with fresh grated nutmeg if you wish (and you should wish).