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Recipe for "rum-toddy"

NAME

     RUM-TODDY - Ultimate hot buttered rum recipe
     I started making hot buttered rum from a Trader  Vic  recipe
     15 years ago, and I have gradually evolved it by adding more
     spices, more butter, and less rum.
     The way  you  make  a  hot  buttered  rum  is  to  add  some
     ``batter''  to  some  rum,  and  heat  it.  I like to keep a
     made-up batch of the batter in the refrigerator  in  an  old
     margarine tub. For parties I make up a fresh batch.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 12)

     500 g     dark brown sugar
     250 g     salted butter
     5 ml      ground nutmeg
     5 ml      ground cinnamon
     5 ml      ground cloves
     5 ml      ground white cardamom
     750 ml    top-quality dark rum (A standard ``fifth'' bottle,
               750 ml, will serve 12)

PROCEDURE MAKING THE BATTER

          (1)  Put all batter  ingredients  (everything  but  the
               rum) in a food processor and run it until the mix-
               ture turns creamy. Fold it down once with a rubber
               spatula  to  make  sure the spices are blended in,
               and run the food processor some more.
          (2)  Scoop the mixture into a  plastic  container,  and
               refrigerate.  It  will keep for many months in the
               refrigerator, even though it contains butter.

PROCEDURE MAKING THE DRINKS

          (1)  Fill a coffee mug half full of boiling water.  The
               easiest  way  to  do  this  is to put a mug of hot
               water in  the  microwave.  If  you  don't  have  a
               microwave,  then  fill the mug with boiling water,
               pour it out, then fill it  half  full  of  boiling
               water.
          (2)  Add 40 ml of batter. Stir until  the  batter  dis-
               solves  in the hot water. I use a small wire whisk
               for this stirring.
          (3)  Add 2 jiggers 100 ml  of  the  best  rum  you  can
               afford. When I make this in quantities for parties
               I like to use Myers Dark Rum.

NOTES

     One theory of hot-toddy making is that it is  impossible  to
     use  too  much  batter  and you should keep stirring more in
     until you are bored with stirring.  Another theory  of  hot-
     toddy  making  is that it is impossible to use too much rum,
     and that you should keep stirring in more until your friends
     panic.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 5 minutes.  Precision: no  need  to
     measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Brian Reid
     DEC Western Research Laboratory, Palo Alto, CA
     reid@decwrl.DEC.COM -or- {ihnp4,ucbvax,decvax,sun}!decwrl!reid