Happy Hour: Holiday Hot Buttered Rum

What better way to ring in the holidays and cooler weather than with a traditional cocktail - hot buttered rum.

A simple recipe, this soothing sipper is perfect for a gathering of friends or an evening in, decorating the tree.

This hot toddy is a winner, combining the spices of the season with the richness of dark rum.

With a few adjustments you can add this to your holiday celebration by creating a larger amount and serving in a decorative punch bowl.

Hot Buttered Rum

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 5 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tbs. brown sugar
• 16 oz. dark rum
• 6 oz. water
• 4 thin pats of unsalted butter
• 4 large mugs
• Freshly grated nutmeg

Bring water to a boil, adding spices and sugar.

Let boil for two minutes, constantly stirring, and then remove from heat.

Let steep for five minutes.

Fill each mug with 4 oz. of rum.

Strain the spiced water into a pitcher, and then fill each mug the rest of the way up from the pitcher.

Stir liquid, and then place a pat of butter on top of each mug, freshly grating a small amount of nutmeg on the top.

Salut!

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Twinkle VanWinkle was born in a small town in Mississippi. A life-long lover of music, media and food, she grew up following those three things along her path. She has almost 20 years of professional cooking under her apron strings, feeding thousands of friends, family and other folks while working in restaurants and bakeries in Oxford, Miss. She baked 300 apple pies for the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and appeared on “The Best Of...” in the same year. Along with producing dynamic entertainment content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.

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