Hot buttered rum is a mixed drink containing rum, butter, hot water or cider, a sweetener, and various spices . It is especially popular in the fall and winter and is traditionally associated with the holiday season. In the United States, the drink has a lengthy history that dates back to colonial days. During that time many families had their own individual recipes, and early Americans believed rum to be nutritious and a strengthener of the body.
In How to Mix Drinks: Or, The Bon-vivant's Companion, mid-19th-century bartender Jerry Thomas provides two recipes (No. 207 and 208, p. 80) for hot rum drinks. The first is called Hot Spiced Rum. The recipe calls for sugar, Jamaica rum, cloves, allspice, butter, and hot water. The second is simply called Hot Rum, and the recipe is the same as for Hot Spiced Rum but omits the spices. In their stead a bit of nutmeg is grated over the top of the drink.