Yo its getting colder in the Northwest and to get in the spirit of cold weather we decided to drink some hot spirits. Hot Buttered Rums are one of those simple yet oh so satisfying drinks, especially when the days begin to shorten. We didn't set out to rewrite the book on this drink, just have a good solid recipe thats easy to execute and delicious to boot. The key is to come up with a solid base that you can just add hot water and booze of your choice to. We like it with Rum or Tequila, but you can honestly do what ever you like.
V.1 This was a basic formula from google, it seemed to be inline with what a majority of people typically do.
Butter 260
Brown Sugar 225
Salt 2.5
Mace 2.5
Cinnamon 1.8
Clove .4
Place all ingredients in stand mixer and mix with paddle until well combined.
V.2 This was the formula that Nick and I came up with after researching the drink a bit.
Water 55
Butter 190
Brown Sugar 325
Mace 3.5
Cinnamon 1.9
Clove 1.0
Salt 6.9
Cream 195
For this version we took a slightly different approach, we cooked the water, sugar and butter to 130 °C then added the cream and spices to stop the cooking.
We tasted the two bases diluted in a little hot water before proceeding.
Everyone agreed V.1 was great initially but fell a little flat in the finish. This was likely do to a couple factors. Firstly it has much less sugar and salt. Also the cream in V.2 helped with giving the drink a fuller richer mouth feel. Some people may find the richness too much when combined with alcohol, we happen to like it.
With a solid base, our next goal was to find the proper ratios for the cocktail.
V.2.1
Water 130
Base v.2 45
Zaya Rum 80
Kahlua 12
Some people thought this drink was too boozy. Everyone thought it was pretty good regardless of being too boozy. It would probably be fine on its own, but when it's such a rich drink combined with being hot, the booze was a little overpowering. It was also too sweet for many people.
V.2.2
Water 130
Base v.2 40
Zaya Rum 70
Kahlua 15
No drastic changes here, just some little tweaks to dampen the drink a bit. Feedback from the crew was quite positive with this iteration, they are obviously quite hard to please when it comes to cocktails
V.2.3
Water 130
Base v.2 40
Zaya Rum 70
Kahlua 15
Lime Juice 4.5
For this version I took a cue from Dave Arnolds new book and must say, though I like the idea for his drink(Cold Buttered Rum) it doesn't work in this drink, it's just too weird. Try Dave's drink if you want to try it, don't try this one.
Well it seems the drink is pretty much wrapped up, but there were a couple things I wanted find out before calling it a wrap. This goes back to the base.
V.3
Same formula as V.2(minus the water) without the cooking step, just paddle the mix together. Formula is presented in percentages.
Butter 58.5
Brown Sugar 100
Cream 60
Mace 1.1
Cinnamon .6
Clove .31
Salt 2.1
Although with a enough patience and all ingredients being properly tempered, this could probably work, it is much easier just to put it on the heat real quick and melt it together. Still minus the water and no need to cook to 130° C. The heating just helps to melt the sugar and makes a more homogeneous mixture.
V.4
Butter 58.5
Brown Sugar 50
Cream 60
Glucose Syrup 25
Mace 1.1
Cinnamon .6
Clove .31
Salt 2.1
In V.4 I wanted to cut the sugar way back to drop the sweetness. I cut it back by half. In its place I added back 25% glucose syrup.
The glucose syrup helped to keep a nice velvety smooth mouth feel without being overpoweringly sweet. The formula was however tasting a little flat.
V.5
Butter 58.5
Brown Sugar 75
Cream 60
Glucose Syrup 25
Mace 1.1
Cinnamon .6
Clove .31
Salt 2.1
For the final version I added back half of the brown sugar. This base struck a good balance of being rich and full bodied without being too sweet.
V.1 before mixing
V.5 cooking to melt together
final cocktail, garnished with lime, no juice in the drink
testing cocktails!
