Hot Buttered Rum

In the late 80s, my family started a new tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve (possibly because Mom never could wait to hand out gifts). Because our house was so big, we set up the tree in the hallway near the front door to make sure everyone could gaze upon its Santa-festooned glory and mountain of gaily-wrapped packages on a frequent basis. The hallway was always drafty (as was the whole house) so I came up with the brilliant idea of drinking hot buttered rum as we tore through the wrappings.

We all enjoyed the warm, creamy libation - particularly my Cocker Spaniel. I had set my mug on the floor behind me and didn't notice that he had consumed several ounces of rummy goodness. Within minutes, he became a mean little drunk, snarling at the family and eventually hiding under a chair in the living room, far from the rest of us. (He apparently liked a good stiff drink on occasion and had once helped himself to a Pimm's Cup during a croquet party held on the front lawn.)

While not recommended for your canine friends, I do recommend that grownups partake of a nice steaming mug-full of hot buttered rum on a cold day. I like to keep a tub of "mix" ready in the freezer - just add rum and boiling water.

Hot Buttered Rum Mix

1 lb room-temperature butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 lb brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 quart room-temperature vanilla ice cream

Cream all ingredients together and store in a covered container in the freezer.

For each drink

1 1/2 ounces rum
boiling water
freshly grated nutmeg

Add rum and 2 tablespoons of batter to a mug (more if your mug is large) and top with boiling water. Stir together and garnish with nutmeg.