Hot Buttered Rum

I have to tell you that I thought that Arena's own Lake Louie Milk Stout was this year's ultimate Christmas drink - thick, yummy pour, don't have to get up and mix them, and they are conveniently made minutes away. That plan was completely blown by the return of M.R. Hoffman and a quick succession of multiple milky ones led to diabolical amounts of gin. It was as though Santa (Satan in anagram remember) wanted me to remember the old Wisconsin adage, "Beer before liquor..." Unfortunately, the adage did not come to me before I was offering up porcelain prayers.

Lesser men would have taken such an experience as time to re-evaluate their alcohol consumption, but I came to the only sane explanation for the occurrence - I was lazy. If I would have taken greater care to slow down and appreciate the wonders of alcohol during this most festive of seasons, last Sunday wouldn't have looked like I was wearing a zombie costume from Halloween.

So, I am going to release a somewhat time-intensive, but spectacular homemade recipe for Hot-Buttered Rum. We have prepared this in so many ways - with batter like classic recipes in Wisconsin, via our Crock Pot, and others, but riffing of the oldest recipes still seem best. So, going back to the old bar master Jerry Thomas, who's spiced rum is not battered, but buttered, here's our version of the non-lazy, holiday-inspired hot-buttered rum...

First you will have to make our brown spice syrup - in a medium sized pot, mix 2 cups of water, 8 2-inch sticks of cinnamon, 12 whole cloves (as per Jerry, NO GROUND CLOVE), 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup dark brown sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and wait for 30 minutes - If you are impatient the syrup will lack depth (i.e. you will have sugar water); if you are late, the syrup will be an over-cloved nightmare. Set a timer. After 30 minutes, strain out the cinnamon sticks and cloves with a slotted spoon. You will have enough syrup for several rums. Refrigerate any leftover syrup.

Hot-Buttered Rum
Classic Pour

1 1/2 ounces Jamaican or spiced rum (I used Kraken)
2 or 2 1/2 ounces of brown spice syrup
2 ounces boiling water
1 pat of butter (Jerry suggests a pat the size of a half chestnut - not quite a tablespoon)

Boil water in a measuring cup. Pour rum and syrup into a mug and warm in a microwave. If the syrup is new and hot, you can skip the microwave. Add boiling water to the mug. Stir. Float the pat of butter on the drink.

Happy Holidays!