The Temperature Tip To Keep In Mind For Better Hot Buttered Rum Cocktails

It's hard to imagine anything more cozy than a warm, spirited drink on a chilly evening. Hot buttered rum has been a classic for centuries for just that reason — it's like a hand warmer with the added advantage of tasting like butterscotch crossed with a boozy cinnamon roll. Recipes abound for the simple drink that only asks you to have rum, hot water and a batch of spiced butter (also called batter) on hand. You can easily make the batter ahead in a big batch and keep it in the fridge or freezer, ready for when the mood strikes.

However, according to Molly Horn, chief mixologist and spirits educator at Total Wine & More, a key tip for the very best hot buttered rum is to have that butter-sugar-spice mixture at the right temperature before adding it. She says, "You also want to make sure your batter is at room temperature when you go to mix your Hot Buttered Rum in order to keep the drink nice and warm." It is called hot — not tepid — buttered rum, after all. So, you'll need to take the mixture out of the fridge or freezer in good time.

You'd need to work hard to stir cold butter into the hot water and rum, and stirring also cools down hot drinks. So the room temperature trick does double duty for retaining the heat. But if you forgot to take your rum batter out of the fridge early, no worries, there are lots of ways to quickly soften butter without creating a pool of melted fat. Molly Horn has another suggestion, too, which is to warm up the cocktail glass with boiling water before you begin; you'll then tip this away before making the cocktail in the pre-warmed glass. It's all about keeping the heat in when making this drink.

Room temperature batter has the added advantage of making the best textured drink, too. Creaming the batter's sugar and butter together creates tiny, trapped air bubbles which create a thick and foamy head on a well-made hot buttered rum. If you use cold batter, you risk the boiling water melting the butter before the sugar can dissolve, resulting in an oily slick on the top of your drink. So, following Horn's temperature tips not only gives you the perfect temperature drink, but also the best buttery finish.