Hot Buttered Apple Cider with Rum
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Warm up your holiday gatherings with this decadent hot buttered cider with rum—a rich, spiced twist on classic spiked cider that’s perfect for those chilly autumn and winter nights.
Originally, I was planning to share a basic spiked cider recipe with you but when I made it for my husband to taste, he said it reminded him of his college days when he and his fraternity brothers would spike apple cider with grain alcohol for drunken Halloween parties. Not exactly what I was going for! I found a way to take it up a notch by combining ordinary spiked cider with hot buttered rum, a classic holiday cocktail. It’s ideal for a crowd because it sits on the stove in a big pot for everyone to help themselves. Enjoy!
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Hot Buttered Cider with Rum
Warm up your holiday gatherings with this decadent hot buttered cider with rum—a rich, spiced twist on classic spiked cider that’s perfect for those chilly autumn and winter nights.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Half-gallon (64 ounces) all natural apple cider
- 12 oz. Rum (or apple brandy)
- Cinnamon sticks (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Mash with a spoon until evenly combined.
- Bring the apple cider to a simmer over medium heat in a large pot, then turn the heat down to low. Gradually add the butter mixture, whisking until the butter is melted.
- Ladle the buttered cider into mugs. Top each drink off with a shot of rum and garnish with a cinnamon stick, if desired. Serve hot.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 drink
- Calories: 324
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Sugar: 26 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Sodium: 49 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I am looking for a hot cider without the alcohol. Would you have to adjust the ingredients if you opt to not add alcohol?
Hi Tammy, I’ve never tried this without rum, but I think it would work. I’d reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Made this for guests at our Christmas party and it was delicious! Everyone loved it, kids (sans rum) and adults alike. Thank you for this easy and fantastic drink.
Delicious topped with a squirt of whipped cream!
This was delicious! Made it with some local apple brandy and was happy that I couldn’t even really taste the alcohol. It was fall in a mug!
I did have an issue with my spices clumping a bit in the mixture. I just poured it through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the clumps.
Any guesses as to what happened with my spices?
Hi Lauren, Glady you enjoyed this but I’m sorry you had a problem with the spices clumping! I haven’t made this in a while so I’m going to retest it to see if I can replicate the problem. Stay tuned!
Autumn in a mug, wonderful 🍁🎃🍂
This recipe looks amazing. Would like to serve this to the kids as well. Would it taste just as fine without the alcohol?
I’ve never tried this without rum, but I think that would work. I’d reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons. Please LMK how it turns out!
This is one of the best mulled cider recipes I’ve tried. I used apple brandy (after some research it appeared that apple brandy was the better choice over rum or other alcohol types). I used a very good quality brand of apple brandy and I believe that this made a difference in the quality of the mulled cider, as well. Everyone enjoyed this warm drink – and it keeps the house smelling so “fall” like while it sits and keeps warm on the stove. The only change I made was that I added three cinnamon sticks and many orange slices to the mulled beverage while it stayed warm on the stove.
We hated it. We have had many apple cider rum recipes and wanted to try this one. The stuff did settle to the top and the ground spices separated to the top of the drink even if you stirred it before pouring. Had to skim the top off multiple times to salvage it.
Can I use apple juice instead?
Sharon, for best results, I’d stick with cider here.
Salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Chris – definitely unsalted. Enjoy!