The Best Hot Buttered Rum
This is the absolute best Hot Buttered Rum recipe! Dark rum, hot coffee and spiced butter come together to create the most amazing medley of cozy flavors. There’s nothing quite like sipping on a proper hot buttered rum on a chilly day!
Hot Buttered Rum
It’s officially hot buttered rum season! As the cold fronts start rolling in, my need for all things warm and cozy in the kitchen kicks into high gear. While the kids cozy up with some Crockpot hot chocolate, I’ll be watching the leaves fall with a hot buttered rum in my hands! It’s sweet, spiced, warm, and spiked with just the right amount of dark rum making it the perfect hot drink for the season.
This is the very best hot buttered rum recipe. The not-so-secret ingredient that puts this recipe for hot buttered rum a step above the rest is the butter itself. Salted room temperature butter is mixed holiday spice like brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg, then it’s mixed with the coffee and rum to create the best signature buttered rum flavor. It’s as festive as my favorite hot toddy!
Since you’re making this hot buttered rum cocktail at home, you can decide what goes into it! Make it a double, add more or less sugar, use salted or unsalted butter – there are so many ways to get creative here. However, I do recommend trying my version the way it’s listed first because it’s pretty close to total perfection. Serve your hot buttered rums at Thanksgiving or your next Christmas party for a real treat!
Ingredients for Hot Buttered Rum
- Butter – I like to use salted butter because I love the flavor but you can use unsalted butter. The higher quality butter you use the richer your drink will be.
- Sugar – Brown sugar is the traditional sweetener in hot buttered rum. I use a dark brown sugar for the more pronounced flavor of the molasses.
- Spices – Ground Cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger and ground nutmeg make this taste like Christmas in a cup.
- Rum – I like to use a dark rum or a spiced rum. You can use your favorite bottle of rum.
For the full ingredient list and instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to Make Hot Buttered Rum
This hot buttered rum recipe reigns supreme! It’s SO easy to make and deliciously smooth to sip on.
- Make the Hot Buttered Rum Batter. Beat together the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg together in a small bowl until smooth and combined. Let it chill in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. You want it to be pretty firm.
- Brew the coffee or boil water. This is great to do while you’re waiting for the butter to chill.
- Pour and stir. Place a pat of butter into your favorite coffee mug (everything tastes better in your favorite mug). Pour in 1 oz of rum followed up 1 cup of coffee, hot water or boiling water. Stir to combine, then repeat the process with the remaining butter, rum, and coffee.
- Enjoy! Top off your cocktail with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Curl up with your favorite cozy blanket and enjoy!
You could make an extra large batch of Hot Buttered Rum in your slow cooker for entertaining instead of making drinks individually. Just add the entire batch of batter to the slow cooker, add a bottle of rum and stir in the coffee or water to combine. Turn the slow cooker on warm and cover.
What is hot buttered rum?
Hot buttered rum is a rum based cocktail that features warm spiced compound butter, coffee, and sweetener. In this recipe, the butter itself is sweetened with brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. It’s best served warm with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Traditionally associated with the holiday season, this drink is popular in the United States and dates back to colonial times.
Which Rum to Use
I like using a middle of the road bottle of dark rum! Light/white rum will NOT work as a substitute, it needs to be dark. Most popular brands will work just fine. Try to avoid using super cheap bottom shelf options. As a rule of thumb, remember that the quality of your cocktail directly reflects the quality of the liquor you use.
What Does Hot Buttered Rum Taste Like
This rum cocktail is pretty strong, but the liquor is complimented beautifully by the strongly brewed coffee. The signature buttery flavor is made all the more delicious by brown sugar and a medley of warm autumnal spices. This cozy after-dinner cocktail is best served warm in a mug.
Sip on more of my favorite fall and winter cocktails!
- Apple Cider Margarita
- Sparkling Spiced Pumpkin Punch
- Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria
- Pomegranate Rum Punch
- Hot Toddy
- Mulled Wine
For more easy winter drink ideas, follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
Get the Recipe: Hot Buttered Rum Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 ounces dark rum
- 4 cups Hot Water or freshly brewed coffee
- Whipped cream
Equipment
- 4 mugs
- 1 hand mixer
Instructions
- In a small bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg together until smooth. Chill for 20-30 minutes or until firm.
- While waiting, boil the water or brew the coffee. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the spiced butter into a coffee mug. Pour 1 ounce rum over the butter and top with 1 cup of hot ware or coffee. Stir to combine.
- Repeat with the remaining butter, rum and coffee.
- Serve immediately with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Video
2 Comments on “The Best Hot Buttered Rum”
Have to try this; never had/made it before. During my bartender days I used to hang out at the Trader Vic’s BH & hit up all the bartenders for their secrets. One of them was Coruba Dark Rum being the main ingredient for the Mai Tai. It’s Jamaican & not on the usual roster of rums your local liquor store carries. Ask if they can order it for you. As smooth as it is I’m looking forward to trying it in one of these!
Thank you for your comment! I actually have Coruba in my bar, it was a gift so I’ll have to try it in this.