For months I have been on a continuous quest to find that one hot beverage to warm up these cold winter nights. If you don’t live in New Orleans, I promise you- it has been jacket + scarf = COLD! Considering I am now sitting in the Café below my French Quarter pad with the doors wide open and flip flops in the middle of February you can imagine how having to put on a scarf is a rather disturbing process. Can we all take a moment to pray that this cold snap is over already? But just in case it’s not, this recipe may be a welcomed adventure!
A few weeks ago I was reminded of an old fashioned hot cocktail by a couple of friends on Facebook and I began to investigate. HUGE shout out to Sarah B & Kate S- you inspired me!
Hot.Buttered.Rum
OOOooooooHHHhhhhhhh yeeeeeeaH.
Yes, indeed, it truly is the perfect hot cocktail.
Now, these warm wonders aren’t tremendously popular on the restaurant specialty cocktail list, and I have never understood why.
Once I started to do a little research, I mentioned a few traditional hot cocktails like Hot Buttered Rum to some friends and they all had the same response. ‘What is that?’
So I put my guard down, broke out the food processor and went to town. This batter can be stored in the fridge or freezer which means you can keep it on hand.
We have mixed up to-go cups and made an otherwise boring trip to the dog park into a romantic stroll with a warm cocktail in hand. I also mixed up a couple in a matter of minutes when a girlfriend called to say she was having lunch at my place- which obviously calls for a mid-afternoon cocktail right?
Play with it. No one ever said you had to stick to the recipe. You can eliminate the spices if you want or change up the liquor. We smuggled Dominican Republic Vanilla Extract and Rum in our suitcase when we came back from our wedding- so naturally we used those. We also brought Dominican cocoa powder, but that is for another story...
Don’t forget to serve it in a cool cup! The drink has such a gorgeous color that it’s rather captivating. Guests will surely talk about it for weeks!
Recipe
Yields: 1 pint of batter
Time: 15 minutes
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
½ # butter, softened
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground white cardamom (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor or mixer and store in the fridge or freezer.
2. To make a drink add a shot of good dark rum along with 1 or 2 tablespoons of batter to a mug of VERY hot water.
3. Stir well to ensure that all the batter has dissolved into the water.
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I was introduced by Yankee members of my family. In there neck of the woods, you can pick up the batter at the grocery store; here, not so much. Your recipe is ever so slightly different than mine, but the soul is the same. (Although mine calls for MUCH more sugar!) I made it as hostess gifts/happies for the holidays. My take away: you need a food processor or stand mixer!
ReplyDeleteXOXO,
Kate