The holidays are creeping up on us and we all need a little decadence, so I put together a fun riff on the Hot Buttered Rum Cider recipe called All Hot ‘n Buttered. I’ve teamed up with Ballotin Whiskies again in this sponsored post to create a fabulous, easy holiday cocktail for entertaining at home. Featuring Ballotin Caramel Turtle Chocolate Whiskey, its base of hot cider and rum turns spicy and buttery with a tablespoon or two of homemade hot buttered rum mix.
This warm tipple goes down so easy – truly a sweet treat to warm your hands after a long day. While you can make this hot alcoholic drink with water instead of hot apple cider, the cider improves the taste exponentially. The caramel and nut flavors of the Ballotin Caramel Turtle Whiskey meld with the apple cider – just as they do on a nut-covered caramel apple.
Hot Buttered Rum History
Buttered drinks abounded in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some included alcohol and some did not. Rum was popular in the Americas through its ties to molasses and sugar production. The enslaved workers in sugar plantations around the Caribbean produced much of the sugar used to make the rum that the world drank. American drank the rum they could get, and later, whiskey became popular. But rum and brandy were the original American tipples.
Hot toddies and hot buttered drinks gave a bit of sweetness and buttery texture to warm drinks, and today’s version, with added spices, matches well with rum or whiskey as the spirit base of the cocktail. It’s said that early versions of toddies and hot buttered rum may have used red-hot pokers to warm the drinks. And one source noted that the butter might have been used to condition long moustaches of the time, but I have a doubt.
About Ballotin Whiskey
Ballotin Whiskey got its start in Louisville working with the industry giant Flavorman to create a line of flavored whiskies. Of course, being from Louisville, there’s a plethora of Brown-Forman experience with co-owner Paul Tuell to create a flavored whiskey that’s approachable to whiskey newbies and interesting for bourbon enthusiasts alike. By carefully choosing the sourced whiskey at its base, the Ballotin line aims to keep a whiskey flavor while building on those flavors with additions like chocolate, bourbon ball and mint.
It’s a fine line, but the flavored whiskies they produce are not overly sweet and work wonders in cocktails to add whiskey and sweet flavors together. In fact, they’re so good, you could just drink them over ice as a cocktail themselves. Ballotin makes a full line of flavors, including Caramel Turtle, Bourbon Ball, Chocolate Mint, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Chocolate Cherry Cream and Chocolate Mocha Cream.
How to Make the Hot Buttered Rum Mix
The mix for the Hot Buttered Rum Cider couldn’t be easier. Let a stick of salted butter warm to room temperature, then cream it with some brown sugar and your favorite baking spices.
For me, I chose cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and ginger. You could also add some cardamom, allspice, or a pinch of clove. Choose the flavors you love best as you’ll be making enough hot buttered rum cider mix for a batch of drinks.
How to Batch Hot Buttered Cider for 8
The Hot ‘n’ Buttered mix makes enough for about 8-10 servings, depending on how much butter you use for each cocktail. To batch it, heat up the following on low heat. Do not let it come to a boil or simmer or you’ll cook off the alcohol! Just warm it.
- 6 cups apple cider
- 1.5 cups Ballotin Caramel Turtle Whiskey
- ½ cup rum
To serve, put 8 ounces in a warm mug, add two tablespoons of the hot buttered rum mix, stir and garnish with a cinnamon stick or orange peel with a few cloves embedded in it.
Tips for a Great Hot Buttered Rum
- Make sure the mug is hot, so it’ll keep the cocktail warm.
- Use aged rum, not white or silver rum.
- Take the hot buttered rum mix out of the fridge about an hour before serving to soften.
OTHER DESSERT COCKTAILS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
Recommended Bar Tools
You don’t need every slick, beautiful bar tool out there, but there are several I’ll recommend. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, that does not affect the cost of the items below.) My favorite pieces usually come from the Cocktail Kingdom section of Amazon:
You may already have these bar essentials, but just in case:
All Hot ‘n’ Buttered – A Hot Buttered Rum Cider
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons hot buttered rum mix**
- 1.5 oz Ballotin Caramel Turtle Chocolate Whiskey
- 0.5 oz aged rum
- 6 oz hot apple cider
- Optional: whipped cream float
- Garnish: cinnamon stick and star anise or orange peel with clove
Instructions
- Heat apple cider in a microwave-proof mug until very hot but not boiling. Add in hot buttered rum mix, Ballotin Caramel Turtle, rum and stir well. Top with whipped cream if desired. Garnish.
Notes
- 1 stick butter (room temperature)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
