Thirsty Thursday * You Want To Butter My What?

It's Thursday, which means we're all thirsty. Or at least I am. And I had a "spooky" Halloween cocktail recipe all ready for you. Until I got scared. More scared than I am about how many Elsas are going to show up at my door tomorrow night. More scared than I am about digging up my sweet potatoes only to find out I have no sweet potatoes (that's a weekend project for sure, so I have the support of The Hubbs if I find that my gardening skills have failed). No, this is even bigger than both of those put together. 

We're going to experience a daytime high of 48 degrees here on Saturday. With rain. That means that fall is officially here. And you know what? They're talking about snow in the North Carolina mountains this weekend. Snow! That means winter is hot (or in this case, cold) on our heels. And I hate winter. But there are ways to combat it. And by ways, I mean drinks. So instead of our super spooky drink (which I'll hold on to until next Halloween), I'm going with the classic winter drink recipe - The Hot Buttered Rum. 

When The Hubbs and I were in Highlands, NC with Matt (Lobster Rolls) and Sandra (Sugar Scrub) a few weeks ago, Matt offered me a Hot Buttered Rum. And to be honest, prior to that day, I'd never had one. But oh my word. Was it good. Matt told me that the Hot Buttered Rum's origins go way back and it was one of the most popular drinks in the Revolutionary War. In his words, "George Washington loved this shit." 

Matt let me shoot a couple of photos as he whipped some up for Sandra and I. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients 2 cups light brown sugar firmly packed 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter @ room temp (no margarine here - use the real stuff) 1 tsp ground cinnamon  1/4 tsp ground nutmeg pinch of ground cloves pinch of salt 12 oz Spiced or Dark Rum 2 cups boiling water Optional: Butterscotch Liqueur 

Mix the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves in a bowl, making sure everything is blended/creamed together thoroughly. If you have a hand mixer you can use, even better. Refrigerate the mixture until almost firm.

Transfer 8 Tbsp of the mixture into a very large Pyrex measuring cup (at least 4 cups or larger, like this one) or a glass mixing bowl that can take heat and has a pouring spout on it (like this one). 

Add the rum and then two cups of boiling water and mix well. Pour into four mugs (hope you're having friends over or it's going to be a very filling night for you) and serve with a splash of the Butterscotch Liqueur and cinnamon stick in each.  
Take two tomorrow night and don't call me in the morning. I'll be hiding from the cold under the covers. Until it's time for more Hot Buttered Rum. And you're welcome.