Hot Stuff

December 27th and it was a cold, very wet evening in Greenwich Village. We chose to have an early dinner at The Cowgirl Hall of Fame restaurant and, upon being seated, a special drink menu was proffered with several hot drinks, including hot buttered rum. Mine was really good and it warmed the cockles of my heart (whatever those are) prior to a personal-throwback meal of tuna casserole and salad. Cowgirl’s is funky that way…serving various Southern specialties and a lot of different comfort food, including an excellent mac & cheese. But this is about the rum and the drink. And it’s warmth.

My checkered past has included, at one time, what was almost a fetish for hot buttered rum. I was living in San Francisco at the time and it was made simple by a batter sold by Trader Vic’s in small tubs. All you had to do was add the rum and hot water and you had an excellent cold-weather libation. Of course you had to garnish the drink with a cinnamon stick which, by the way, was not included in the drink at Cowgirls.

Although I can’t seem to find the batter for sale anywhere, even though I Goggled my fingers raw, it’s fairly easy to make at home and after checking my spice rack I found I already had all the ingredients necessary, including dark brown sugar, which is essential to good hot buttered rum. My local supermarket provided the cinnamon sticks so I’m now home free with the proper visual.

I’m just waiting for the next cold snap and maybe, say, a Super Bowl and/or a Republican caucus for motivation. The water’s hot, the rum is ready and I’m at your service. Long johns optional.