Let’s Get Blitzen: Cocktail Advent Calendar – Day 3 – Hot Buttered Rum. It’s officially sweater weather, what better way to celebrate the season than with a hot mug of buttered rum. Because this winter warmer wasn’t decadent enough as is, I decided to top it off with a brûléed molasses meringue – courtesy of Susan Keefe’s culinary genius.
Susan is the content creator between Rhubarb and Cod and produces some of the most mouth-watering and visually captivating images and videos you’ll find on the internet. I have been a long-time fan of her work and decided to make a heavily adapted version of her Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie with Molasses Meringue at Thanksgiving and was absolutely blown away.
I was diagnosed with celiac disease (gluten allergy) in July 2023 and have had to get pretty creative in the kitchen to satisfy my sweet tooth while remaining cognizant of my gastrointestinal welfare. As a result, I had to make some fairly significant adjustments to the pie crust from Susan’s original recipe and opted for pumpkin filling instead of sweet potato but prepared the molasses meringue exactly as written. I had to have my spoon taken away from me, the stuff is nectar of the gods.
For this hot buttered rum, I’m recommending a Guyanese aged rum like El Dorado 5 Year which is distilled from molasses. I wanted to lean into the aromas of caramel, butterscotch, and molasses you’ll find in this style of rum with a torched molasses meringue topper.
While adding butter to coffee seems to be a relatively recent trend, adding a pat of butter to hot drinks has been traced back to the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547) by drinks historian David Wondrich, as storied in his book Imbibe! Butter would be plopped into a hot toddy or hot punch on a regular basis.
The advent of hot buttered rum, however, didn’t come until the 17th century after slaves on sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean determined that molasses could be fermented into alcohol and then distilled. The spirit then rose in popularity throughout the colonies with the importation of molasses – with the first rum distillery opening stateside in 1664 on Staten Island to meet a rising tide of demand.
Of course, there were many precursors to rum but this is the widely held origin story of modern-day rum, as we know it now.
The New England distilleries then sold their rum back to England where it was mixed into all sorts of concoctions with spring water, citrus juice, beer, eggs, freshly grated spices and/or hot butter. While plopping a pat of warm butter directly into a glass full of rum, hot water, sugar and spices, will still taste pretty good, the butter has a tendency to separate, creating the appearance of an oil spill on the surface of your drink.
Instead, in most modern applications, bartenders (myself included) are more keen on batching a hot buttered rum batter beforehand. In this case, I’m keeping it simple by having you combine a couple ounces of our gingerbread syrup with salted butter until fully combined. Pop a bit of that batter into your warmed mug, top with rum, and hot water, stir to combine.
Pile on a healthy dose of Susan’s molasses meringue (divide her recipe by 4 unless you want to have a mountain of meringue for topping your next dessert or eating straight out of the bowl) and blast it with a kitchen torch for a perfect toasted marshmallow effect.
Be sure to tune into my Instagram Stories tonight at 5 p.m. Eastern for a step-by-step cocktail tutorial on how to make this delectable winter warmer.
Cheers, friends!
Hot Buttered Rum
The combination of hot water or cider with rum, spices, and butter has been around for centuries but this modern twist includes a decadent topper – Susan Keefe's (Rhubarb & Cod) molasses meringue, torched to toasted marshmallow perfection.
- 1½ oz aged Guyanese rum such as El Dorado 5 Year
- 1½ oz hot buttered rum batter
- 6 oz boiling water
- Garnish: molasses meringue* or whipped cream
- 2 oz gingerbread syrup
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp fancy molasses
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger thinly sliced
- 1 tsp whole allspice berries
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 5 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
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Add rum and hot buttered rum batter to a warmed Irish coffee mug.
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Top with boiling water and stir well.
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Garnish with molasses meringue and brûlée with a kitchen torch.
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In a small saucepan, combine 2 oz gingerbread syrup and 2 tbsp salted butter. Warm over medium low heat, stirring continuously, until mixture is fully combined – about 3 minutes
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Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently.
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Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for about 20 minutes until syrup is slightly thickened.
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Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
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Fine strain into an airtight container.
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Store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
*Molasses Meringue courtesy of Susan Keefe, Rhubarb & Cod – Make a ¼ portion of Susan’s molasses meringue to yield enough meringue for at least 4 drinks.
