Hot Buttered Rum with Infused Spiced Rum

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Enjoy the flavors of fall by making your own infused spiced rum to use in a hot buttered rum cocktail. Single serving, slow cooker and stovetop recipes included.

Sometimes, it can feel like summer here in North Carolina all the way until November. But as soon as the calendar flips to September, I start pulling out the trappings of fall — pumpkins, plaid blankets, scented candles and my favorite chilly weather recipes.

A homemade hot buttered rum cocktail is one of my favorite cool weather treats. It’s just the thing after a chilly day at the pumpkin patch or for sipping around the fire pit.

Throughout the fall and winter, I keep a jar of hot buttered rum mixture in the refrigerator so I can offer guests a steaming mug of comfort. (It’s also “good medicine” if you have a cold!)

While you can buy already-prepared spiced liquor to use in your hot buttered rum, it’s so much better if you make your own infused spiced rum. Ever since I bought the Infuse: Oil, Spirit, Water cookbook at Cost Plus World Market, I’ve been obsessed with making my own cocktail infusions. (Remember my jalapeno bourbon limeade and pineapple rum?)

To make the infused rum, you’ll need a mason jar cocktail shaker or large mason jar, cotton cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer, assorted spices, dark rum and a decorative glass bottle to store your infused rum.

World Market has an impressive selection of whole and ground spices to use in infused spiced rum. I love exploring the food section at the Winston-Salem, N.C., store, and I can’t wait for the new Greensboro location to open in a few months.

For this recipe, I used whole rainbow peppercorns, Madagascar vanilla beans, whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise and allspice berries, as well as fresh ginger and orange zest from the grocery store. (See the recipe at the end of the post for exact ingredients and step-by-step instructions.)

The hot buttered rum mix features many of the same spices and fall flavors — brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves creamed together.

The scent reminds me of cookies baking in the oven! (Again the exact recipe is at the end of this post.)

To make a mug of hot buttered rum, spoon two tablespoons of the butter mixture into a mug. (I love the Organic Glazed Belly Mugs from World Market.) Next, add 1-3 ounces of the infused spiced rum and top with boiling water from a teakettle and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Finish things off with some whipped cream. Garnish with ground nutmeg, a cinnamon stick and star anise.

You can also make a large batch of this on the stovetop or in the slow cooker, as detailed in the recipe below. And if you want to make this kid-friendly, you can just omit the rum and add more water.

Homemade Infused Spiced Rum

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Featuring vanilla, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and anise, homemade infused spiced rum is a great addition to fall and winter cocktails.

Author: Amy Buchanan

Recipe type: Beverages

Cuisine: American

Serves: 750 ML

Ingredients

750 ML good quality dark rum
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
3 allspice berries
4 peppercorns
½ piece star anise
⅛ teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
3-inch piece of orange zest (without any white pith)

Instructions

Pour the rum into a large glass jar.
Add spices.
Seal with jar lid and shake to blend.
Set in a cool, dark place for 2 to 3 days. Shake the mixture daily to incorporate the flavors.
Use cheesecloth in a funnel or a fine mesh strainer to strain the solids out of the rum.
Transfer the infused rum to a decorative glass bottle.

Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Enjoy the flavors of fall in this spiced hot buttered rum cocktail, featuring cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar.

Author: Amy Buchanan

Recipe type: Cocktail, Beverage

Cuisine: American

Serves: 16 servings

Ingredients

1 stick butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
spiced rum
boiling water
whipped cream
cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and star anise for garnish

Instructions

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and ground spices.
Spoon 2 Tablespoons of the butter mixture into a mug. Top with 1 to 3 ounces of dark, spiced rum.
Fill mug with boiling water and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Top with whipped cream and garnish with a cinnamon stick, star anise and ground nutmeg.

Slow-Cooker or Stovetop Version

To make the slow-cooker version of this recipe, add the butter and sugar mixture to the slow cooker or a pan and top with 2 quarts of hot water.
If you like, add a few cinnamon sticks and whole cloves while it’s steeping. Your house will smell amazing!
Cook over low heat for 5 to 6 hours, until sugar is dissolved and butter has completely melted.
Ladle into mugs and add rum, as desired. This is a great option if you want to make a non-alcoholic version for kids.

If you make these recipes, you can store the butter mixture in the refrigerator for about a week. (A 1/2 liter Weck jar is the perfect size!) The rum will keep indefinitely.

I’m actually planning to making a large batch of hot buttered rum when we have friends over this fall.

World Market is celebrating fall recipes, entertaining and decorating with an amazing sale through 9/10/2017. It’s a great time to get your home ready for seasonal entertaining before the holiday rush. You can pick up lots of the entertaining essentials and fall decorations I featured in this post during the sale.

Save 50 percent off all dining and dining furniture, 30 percent off all dinnerware and table linens, 20 percent off all bar carts and 20 percent to 50 percent off all chandeliers and pendants.