I learned about hot buttered rum from watching the film White Christmas as a small child. In one scene, Bing Crosby waxes poetic on the joys of a winter in Vermont, listing “hot buttered rum, light on the butter” as one of them. I was certain even then that when I was old enough to drink one, my rum would be thickly buttered. The following may be as light or as heavy on the butter as you wish.

Hot buttered rum was popular in colonial America, and was believed to help fend off sickness if you’d caught a chill.

Hot Buttered Rum
Makes one drink.
1 oz. rum (dark is best, but I sometimes use golden)
1 teaspoon best-quality maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
Pat of butter, small or large, drinker’s choice
Boiling water (about 3/4 cup)

Put rum, syrup, sugar, and butter into a mug, top up with boiling water, and stir. If you prefer, you can substitute hot apple cider for the water, which is delicious but gets away from the essence of the drink.

If you wish to get really fancy, you can soften a stick of butter in advance and cream it together with about 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg, and about 1/4 teaspoon allspice. Press the mixture into a small bowl, cover tightly, and put it back in the fridge to harden. This makes enough for 8-10 servings of hot buttered rum. Use this in the recipe above.