Welcome to the worst part of winter. Everyone is coughing, sneezing, and wheezing. If you’ve tried every medication over the counter and under it, here’s an old school remedy that just might help.
Hot buttered rum.
Ordinarily, I’d tell you a bit about the history of the sugar and rum trades in the Americas, and explain the differences between the concoctions drunk here in Colonial times and the toddies that were popular in Europe.
But we don’t have time for that now. We need relief, and we need it fast.
Everyone from Emeril to Martha Stewart seems to have a favorite method for making hot buttered rum. Some recipes require you to prepare a “batter” of the dry ingredients, which you must then refrigerate until some later point in time, when you’ll roll the stuff into little balls and douse with liquid – before you finally get something you can sip.
This is not that method. This is not for fun, this is medicine. So without further delay, here is the recipe for the quickest fix.
Fast and Hot Buttered Rum (no measuring required)
- Boiling water
- Sugar, white or brown; or honey
- Rum
- Butter
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or other spices as desired
Fill a heatproof mug about 2/3 with boiling water. Stir in a spoonful of sugar or honey until dissolved. Fill the rest of the way with rum, then plop in a slice of butter. Sprinkle with spices to taste. Sip, and feel better.
Serves one.
Variation: Substitute whiskey for the rum, or omit the butter and add a slice of lemon.
