Hot Buttered Rum is a classic cocktail made with butter, brown sugar, and spices, mixed with rum and hot water for a drink that will warm you up on cold, winter days. I can imagine enjoying the drink around a fire, in my flannels. For even more flavor, add hot apple cider instead of hot water. For another classic winter cocktail, check out my Hot Toddy, too!
Hot Buttered Rum
Hot Buttered Rum is an alcoholic beverage that has been around for hundreds of years. It is a hot drink perfect for the chilly and downright cold days of winter. In fact, January 17 is National Hot Buttered Rum Day. This makes total sense around here since we can get to -30°F in January! (I’m cold just thinking about it.)
Ingredients & Substitutions
Butter: This recipe calls for 2 sticks of unsalted butter. And, with butter being one of the stars of the recipe, I chose to use unsalted Challenge Butter. Challenge Butter is made the old-fashioned way, churned fresh daily from the freshest milk and cream from happy cows at family-owned dairies since 1911. It’s my go-to for all things butter, from my Buttery Bubble Bread to my Kentucky Butter Crunch Cake and Chocolate Ganache made with Butter, just to name a few!
Spices: Grab cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to spice up the butter mixture.
Rum: We loved the flavor of spiced rum in this drink. Dark rum would also work well. Or, make the drink with bourbon or whiskey.
Water: The water added to the drink should be hot, but not boiling. You could substitute apple cider for the water if preferred.
Can I Make Hot Buttered Rum Without Alcohol?
Sure! There are a few options to make this drink alcohol-free. One option is to replace the spiced rum with 1-2 teaspoons of rum extract. Or, add apple cider to the butter mixture, no rum is needed. Finally, just adding hot water to the spiced butter mixture will still warm you up and be delicious!
How to Store Hot Buttered Rum
Once you have the butter mixture made, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a few weeks. Or, freeze the mixture for up to 3 months.
Hot Buttered Rum
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) Challenge unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (400 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
To Serve
- 3-4 tablespoons buttered rum mixture, per serving
- 1 ½ ounces spiced rum, per serving
- 6 ounces hot water, per serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add butter and brown sugar. Use a hand mixer on medium-high speed to cream together until light and fluffy.
- Add cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Continue mixing until well blended. This will make about 1¾ cups of the mixture.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To Serve
- Set out a coffee mug. Scoop 3-4 tablespoons of buttered rum mixture into the mug. Top with rum and hot water. Stir to dissolve.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Thanks for the tips, specially the Challenge Butter! I take it you uses salted for some recipes? Have made several of your recipes, and they are great! Thanks!
Hi Joe! I use salted for a few recipes, but most often unsalted as I want to control the salt. You can definitely use what you have!
How long does hot buttered room keep in the refrigerator?
Thank you.
Hi Gray – this is what is says in the post:
“How to Store
Once you have the butter mixture made, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a few weeks. Or, freeze the mixture for up to 3 months.”
I made this, but I used Salted Caramel Crown Royal instead of spiced rum. . It was outstanding.
We had this with pecan pie for Christmas evening dessert. It was perfect. 💕