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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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12 Days of Holiday Crafts, Day 10: Spiced Rum Infusion

Home-infused Spiced Rum (Maggie Bullock)
Home-infused Spiced Rum (Maggie Bullock)

Hot buttered rum is a favorite hot holiday treat at our house. I’ve tried hot buttered rum at a few restaurants and made a few different batters at home. Most of those I’ve tested have been fairly weak tasting and have an oil slick of butter floating on the top of a watery mug. Not pleasant.

I have two solutions to the watery, oily hot buttered rum: infuse your own rum, and make the right batter.

Infused rum

We used a bottom-shelf dark rum, thinking that adding so much to it for the final product is going to negate a fine rum. And it’s MUCH more affordable.

For one bottle (of any size, really) you will need:
1 cinnamon stick (approx. 3”)
1 coin of fresh ginger
5 black peppercorns
3 allspice berries
2 cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
4-5 vanilla beans

Place the spices in the bottle with the rum, splitting and scraping the vanilla beans and adding the seeds and the pods. Allow to sit in a dark closet or pantry for a few weeks and up to two months, depending on the size of your bottle and the depth of spice you desire.

Strain the spices out when your rum is ready. I added the vanilla pods back into the bottle to continue infusing. The vanilla also adds color to the rum, so don’t be surprised when your rum darkens as it sits.

Hot Buttered Rum mix

½ lb. butter
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
½ lb. brown sugar
½ lb. confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Melt the butter in a large pot, then add the sugars and mix thoroughly until the sugars begin to melt. Add softened ice cream and spices. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Store in a glass jar in the freezer.
When ready, add a tablespoon of mix and a shot of spiced rum to a mug and top with hot water. Mix until the buttered rum mix melts. 

By far the best hot buttered rum I've had. Yum.

Holiday cheers!

 


 
 



DwellWellNW

Artist and crafter Maggie Wolcott writes about craft events in and around Spokane, as well as her own adventures in creating and repurposing. Her DwellWellNW posts include project and decorating ideas, recipes, reviews of events, and interviews with local artists. Maggie spends her days as an English professor, and when she’s not grading papers, she can generally be found with a paintbrush or scissors in hand. She can be reached at mebullock@gmail.com.