Hot Buttered Rum

Recipe:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (now you KNOW it'll be good)
2 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
dark rum

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl using a hand mixer on low speed. Add ice cream, spices, and vanilla. Mix until well blended (try not to incorporate too much air in the mixture). Place mixture in a plastic container with a lid, seal and freeze. When ready to serve, scoop two heaping tablespoons of the mixture into a mug, add a jigger of rum and fill with boiling water. Stir lightly to combine.


Is there any better concept than drinking butter? Drinking cheese, perhaps. But this will have to do for now. This is a rich, decadent treat on a cold winter evening. The butter will float to the top of the beverage, creating a creamy head and each sip is deliciously satisfying. The best part about this recipe is it makes enough for a dozen or so servings, so one batch will deliver multiple mugfuls of happiness. Kristin and I have enjoyed this many times this winter.

Supposedly, traditional hot buttered rum was made by adding rum to hot cider and floating a pat of butter on top. I like this recipe a lot better.

#2: Jungle Runner

Recipe:
1.5 oz. spiced rum (we used Captain Morgan)
1.5 oz. Myers's dark rum
3 oz. fruit punch (we used Hawaiian Punch)

Shake ingredients over ice. Strain into a chilled collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon slice.

Our second foray into the deck was met with better results, but the catch here is that you've gotta like rum. Fortunately, we do.

The look of this drink is deceiving, as it appears to be fruity and sweet. One sip will quickly remind you, however, that it's 50 percent rum. The contrast of flavors work well ... the richness of the dark rum and the sweetness of the fruit punch keep each other in check, while the spiced rum adds a good finish.

This is a good cocktail for someone looking to avoid a sugary drink. But the flavor of the rum is not masked, so if you're not a fan, this isn't for you.

Side note: this actually works surprisingly well with food. We had our first round of these at a friend's house with dinner. The second round (the actual cocktail hour) were sipped over a round of dominoes.

Side note 2: I totally kicked ass at dominoes.