Hot Buttered Rum Mix - Hot Toddy (Metric included)

I have loved hot buttered rum mix since I was a child. No! I wasn't drinking in elementary school; I was snitching a pinch of the mix that my parents made and kept in the fridge.  They were purists - Trader Vic's style, butter, brown sugar, spices.  Yum!

Many years later, when I was following in their footsteps, a neighbor and I were comparing recipes.  When she told me that she added vanilla ice cream to her mix, my only thought was sacrilege!  But I've come around.  I kind of like the creaminess the ice cream adds, so that's what I'm serving this winter.

We have a road trip planned with friends for Thanksgiving weekend.  We're all piling in our minivan and heading north to Turin (home of Copernicus), Malbork Castle (the largest in the world and where I believe the Matla Knights made their last stand), and on to Gdansk on the Baltic Sea.  What does this have to do with hot buttered rum mix?

I thought it would be the perfect thing to take along for an evening drink with our friends at the hotel - you know to warm up and debrief the day's events.  After all, it's much easier to make hot water in a European hotel room than to find ice.  No, American friends, there are not ice makers on every floor - even at the Hilton.  If you're really lucky, you might talk the bartender out of a glass of ice to share with your friends, and that's if you're buying your drinks in the bar!

I'll include both versions, so you can decide for yourself.  My husband thinks the creamy version is a little too sweet.  Also included the metric packaging measurements for European readers.  Cheers!

Creamy Hot Buttered Rum Mix

1 quart (1100 ml) vanilla ice cream, softened
1 pound (500 g) butter, softened
1/2 pound (250 g) brown sugar
1/2 pound (250 g) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon (1 rounded tablespoon) cinnamon
1 teaspoon (1 rounded teaspoon) nutmeg

Combine all ingredients.  Keep covered and frozen until ready to use.  Add 2 tablespoons mix and a shot of rum to a mug, fill with boiling water.  Stir until mix is dissolved.

Hot Buttered Rum Mix

1 pound (500 g) brown sugar
1/4  pound (125 g) butter
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon (1/2 rounded teaspoon) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (1/2 rounded teaspoon) nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon (1/2 rounded teaspoon) cloves

Combine all ingredients.  Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to use.  Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of batter with a shot rum to a mug, fill with 6 ounces of boiling water.  Stir well.