Chef John's Hot Buttered Rum

I was fortunate to have grown up with many wonderful holiday traditions, like hunting for and cutting down the perfect Christmas tree, sleigh rides, caroling, Midnight Mass, and, of course, the Feast of the Seven Fishes. But one thing I don't remember being any kind of annual ritual was enjoying fancy holiday drinks. We didn't make eggnog, hot toddies, or mulled wine. We certainly didn't make hot buttered rum. Unless the adults were partaking in private, of course (which is a possibility, since cell phones weren't invented yet, and secrets were so much easier to keep back then).

Other than the occasional hot chocolate, I don't remember enjoying any of these iconic beverages. But as a wise man once said, "It's never too late to have a happy childhood," which is what I'm doing here thanks to my new best friend, Hot Buttered Rum. Ah, the memories. And no, I'm not suggesting you give alcoholic drinks to kids. You can make their drinks with a little rum extract instead of the actual booze.

By the way, the "batter" for this drink (the sweet and buttery base) will keep a very long time in the fridge or the freezer. That means this holiday drink can be enjoyed year-round if you make a nice large batch now. Of course, "can be" and "should be" aren't the same things — so as they say at the end of every liquor commercial, please drink responsibly. Now that we've covered that, I'll finish up by saying, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

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