Alcohol

17/365: National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Jack Sparrow would approve of today’s holiday: January 17th is National Hot Buttered Rum Day. Of all the various liquors, I think rum has the best flavor, so even though we recently celebrated a hot alcoholic beverage and didn’t care for it, I had high hopes for this drink.

In fact, hot buttered rum is closely related to the hot toddy. Both drinks are popular in the winter months (duh). But where the hot toddy is traditionally made with whiskey and honey, hot buttered rum is made with rum and butter (duh again). Plus brown sugar and spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The drink was a big hit in Colonial America, and was created in the 1650s after colonists began importing molasses from Jamaica. They quickly learned this byproduct of sugarcane could be turned into rum, and a series of distilleries opened up across New England. (Similar attempts to turn maple syrup into bourbon, honey into wine, and the tears of Pocahontas into absinthe failed miserably). Soon they were adding rum to everything, including toddies and eggnogs.

Over the holidays, Tara and I saw containers of hot buttered rum mix for sale in area grocery stores. “Perfect,” we said. “We’ll pick some up later.” Only once later rolled around, the product had disappeared from grocer’s shelves. Oops. Had we not learned our own lesson about planning ahead? Fortunately, the internet yielded recipes for making your own hot buttered rum batter. It’s amazingly easy – here’s the one I used:

Recipe for Hot Buttered Rum Batter
Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 4 oz unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg or mace
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly. Refrigerate in a sealed air-tight container for up to two months. This mixture can also be frozen for up to one year before using. Makes eight servings.

Preparing a Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail
Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp refrigerated hot buttered rum batter
  • 6 oz boiling water
  • 1 1/2 oz dark rum
  • 1 Tbsp light cream (optional)
  • nutmeg for garnish

In a hot beverage mug, combine hot buttered rum batter with boiling water, stirring well until dissolved. Add in rum and cream, if using. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Serves one.

Remember how we didn’t like those hot toddies? Well, the hot buttered rum was…drumroll, please…DELICIOUS! Really, really good stuff. We were both impressed. I think we’ll have to make these an annual holiday tradition!

Hot buttered awesomeness is more like it!

Hot buttered awesomeness is more like it!

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11/365: National Hot Toddy Day*

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Midwest Mark

January 11th is devoted to two food holidays. Or actually, two beverage holidays. It’s National Milk Day and National Hot Toddy Day. Milk may do a body good, but it’s boring and requires no special effort. I downed my morning pills with a glass of milk, and then ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast, while Tara took a few swigs to wash down her leftover brownie. Technically we could have considered this challenge complete and in the books by 6:45 AM, but the lure of the hot toddy was too strong to resist.

I can’t think of a more perfect time of year to celebrate a hot toddy. Winter is in full swing, and cold and flu season is upon us. In fact, the hot toddy was once prescribed by medical professionals as an ailment to treat the symptoms associated with colds and flu. The train of thought was that the vitamin C was useful for overall health, the honey to soothe the throat, and the alcohol to numb. Hey, it sure beats Nyquil! The exact origin of the hot toddy is unclear, but it is believed to have come from India, where a drink made from fermented palm sap (yum!) called the toddy was popular. Scottish members of the East India Trading Company returned to their native land and introduced a version of the drink to their country mates. Rumor has it sweet and citrusy ingredients were added to cut down on the harsh taste of Scottish whiskey. Odd, considering these are the same people whose national dish is made with sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs, and served in the animal’s stomach casing. But who am I to judge?

Although there are many variations, a traditional hot toddy is a mix of liquor (usually whiskey), boiling water, honey, lemon, and spices such as cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In other words, potpourri in a mug! Midwestern folk add ginger ale, while Wisconsinites substitute brandy. People in southern California make theirs using the tears of their fired agents. Err…tequila. They use tequila! Traditionalists that we are, Tara and I stuck with a recipe honoring the original presentation. (Not the palm sap version, the whiskey version). Here it is:

Ingredients

1 teaspoon honey
2 fluid ounces boiling water
1 ½ fluid ounces whiskey
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 slice lemon
1 pinch ground nutmeg

Pour the honey, boiling water, and whiskey into a mug. Spice it with the cloves and cinnamon, and put in the slice of lemon. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes so the flavors can mingle, then sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg before serving.

The verdict?

IMAG0385 IMAG0384

Let’s just say, the Scottish should have added MORE ingredients to mask the whiskey.

And, I learned a valuable lesson on the economics of buying in bulk. We didn’t have cinnamon sticks or cloves, and when I went to the grocery store this evening to buy them, I almost choked over the prices. A jar of cinnamon sticks cost $5.89, ant the cloves were $4.99. I dutifully put them in my cart, and then stumbled across the organic foods section, where they were selling bulk spices. I grabbed a couple of bags, filled them with the amount necessary for the hot toddies, and ditched the jars. The cinnamon sticks cost me 30 cents and the cloves, 38 cents. I saved over $10 by purchasing in bulk. Whew! Who knew it was that cost effective?

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1/365: National Bloody Mary Day

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Midwest Mark

Happy New Year!

The beginning of 2013 marks the start of our yearlong food challenge, Eat My Words. Or should I say, food and beverage challenge, because today is National Bloody Mary Day. Given our fondness for this beverage, it’s not much of a stretch to begin this ambitious project with something so easy, but at least we get to ease into things.

The origins of the Bloody Mary are unclear. Paris bartender Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the drink in 1921; his concoction was a mix of nothing more than 1/2 vodka, 1/2 tomato juice. He later added worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Tabasco, and salt. Comedian George Jessel said he invented the Bloody Mary in 1939, at a bar in New York City. The name has been associated with Queen Mary I of England, the actress Mary Pickford, and a waitress named Mary who worked at a Chicago bar named the Bucket of Blood. Where it came from may be in dispute, but one thing is certain: the Bloody Mary is delicious!

Although, I didn’t always feel this way. I had tried a few Bloody Marys over the years, mostly using pre-made mixers, and never cared for them. Until I met Tara. She swore she made a killer Bloody Mary, and in fact – within 5 minutes of meeting her in person for the first time, in March of 2011 – I was sipping one of her famous concoctions. And it was damn good, too – the best I’d ever had. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Tara here.  From here on out, you’ll know it’s me from the italics.

I have my friend, Robin, to thank for showing me how to make a killer Bloody Mary.  I’ve made many since she shared her secrets and when someone asks me for the recipe, I always get it wrong because I just throw in a little of this and a little of that.  This morning, though, I actually took notes while building our first cocktail of the new year.

Toasting to the start of our challenge!

Toasting to the start of our challenge!

Start with a large glass filled three quarters with ice.  These are about fourteen ounce glasses.

Pour worcestershire sauce for six to seven seconds.  (Seriously, I was counting while it dribbled into the glass.)

Mark likes his spicy, so to his glass I added six dashes of Tabasco.

Next pour in two to three ounces of vodka.  Thankfully, you can get away with using cheap vodka since the harshness is masked by all the other good stuff.  Our favorite is Absolut Peppar.  It’s a good thing it’s harder to find in Vancouver because it’s a little on the pricier side and we spend enough on booze as it is!

Then add ten shakes of celery salt.  Or less, I suppose.  Mark just read this over my shoulder and asked if I really put that much in our drinks.  Hey…I like ’em salty.

Which is why I use half Clamato and half tomato juice to fill the rest of the glass.  Make sure you leave room for garnish!

We all know the typical Bloody Mary garnish is a celery stalk and maybe a green olive or two.  As tasty as they are, there are so many more options for dressing up your cocktail.  We keep on hand pickle spears, pickled green beans, pickled asparagus, blue cheese stuffed olives, garlic stuffed olives, and an italian garden mix of pickled cauliflower, carrots, and peppers.  Yummy!

Lastly, top it all off with a squeeze of lemon AND lime wedges.  Enjoy!

If you have a favorite Bloody Mary fixin’ or recipe, we’d love if you’d share with us. As good as these are, there’s always room for improvement!

One day down, 364 to go. Tomorrow it’s National Cream Puff Day. Tough life we lead, eh?

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