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Cocktail History
The Banana Buttered Rum is an autumn cocktail that was created by bar manager and author Nick Mautone and was first published in his book The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails. It’s a banana-flavored variation of the classic Hot Buttered Rum that calls for dark rum, warm water, homemade banana butter, and baking spices.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Water: This is a colorless liquid that stretches the recipe. We used hot filtered water.
Dark Rum: This is a type of rum made with sugarcane, spices, and alcohol that has been barrel aged for a long period of time. We used Mount Gay Eclipse Rum because it has notes of banana, vanilla, caramel, and spices. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Ritual Zero Proof Rum Alternative in place of the rum.
Banana Butter: This is a spread made with banana, butter, and baking spices. We made ours using the recipe included in the book.
Star Anise: This is the seed pod from the fruit of the Illicium verum plant. We used star anise from the bulk section at our local grocery store.
Cinnamon Stick: This is a dried spice that has been rolled into a stick. We used cinnamon sticks from the bulk section at our local grocery store.
Grated Nutmeg: This is a spice made from the seed of a nutmeg tree. We used whole nutmeg from the bulk section at our local grocery store.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Spreader: This is used to cut and spread ingredients. We used the WÜSTHOF Gourmet 5-Inch Spreader.
Saucepan: This is used to warm the ingredients. We used the Cuisinart 3-Quart Stainless Steel Saucepan with Cover.
Spoon: This is used to stir the ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips Silicone Spoon.
Ladle: This is used to transfer the drink to cups. We used the OXO Good Grips Silicone Everyday Ladle.
Grater: This is used to grate spices or citrus peel. We used the OXO Good Grips Grater.
Tasting Notes
The Banana Buttered Rum tasted very similar to the original Hot Buttered Rum, just with a bit of banana flavor plus some very fragrant spices and a distinct smoothness from the butter.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: To be honest, as good as it was when we tried it, we probably wouldn’t make this one again because it takes too long to make the banana butter, and neither of us really loves banana-flavored anything enough to make all of the work worth it. If you do like banana though and want a cozy drink for a cold night, this is an excellent choice!
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails by Nick Mautone.
Add banana butter to a mug.
Top with dark rum and hot water.
Stir for 10-15 seconds.
Garnish with star anise, cinnamon stick, and grated nutmeg.
Ingredients
Directions
Add banana butter to a mug.
Top with dark rum and hot water.
Stir for 10-15 seconds.
Garnish with star anise, cinnamon stick, and grated nutmeg.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Ritual Zero Proof Rum Alternative in place of the rum to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Hot Cocktails
If you like this hot cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Tokyo Toddy: A sake cocktail made with mandarine Napoleon liqueur, brown sugar, ginger slices, and an orange slice
Pumpkin Cider: An apply brandy and dark rum cocktail made with apple cider, pumpkin cubes, butter, sugar, whole cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and grated nutmeg
Chartreuse Toddy: A brandy cocktail made with water, Green Chartreuse, lemon juice, honey syrup, and star anise
Mocha Rum Toddy: A rum cocktail made with coffee, dark crème de cacao, simple syrup, whipped cream, and cocoa powder
This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2023-09-24.
