Craig Adcock is Kansas City’s rum cake king—the founder and owner of Jude’s Rum Cakes, a rum-soaked confection shipped around the universe to rum lovers. When asked to provide a hot rum recipe to celebrate National Hot Buttered Rum Day, Adcock reached for a favorite book by Phillip Greene, To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion.
During rum cake season—which is NOW, friends—Adcock admonishes that it’s essential to stay warm while chilling out. He has modified his own hot buttered rum recipe to meet his taste over the years, and now uses his own rum, Trademark Denied. The rum uses Louisiana sugarcane, distilled in Rocheport, MO, and then barrel aged for 2.5 years in neutral oak barrels. He says he makes this recipe a couple of times a year and doesn’t skimp on the ingredients. And bonus—this is Adcock’s personal version that he and wife share with friends and family!
Craig Adcock’s Hot Buttered Rum Punch
1 bottle Trademark Denied Rum
1 bottle Kelt Cognac – Serendipity (finished in sauternes barrels and ocean matured)
3 quarts boiling water
2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (pith/pulp strained)
½ cup of brown sugar (or more per your liking)
¼ pound of unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean (Mexican) split down the middle
Add all ingredients to an enameled stock pot. Slightly simmer for 30 minutes stirring as needed to bring the flavors together. Feel free to garnish with a twist of lemon and/or orange zest. Sip, repeat, enjoy! (PS. It pairs perfectly with—you guessed it—Adcock’s famous rum cake. Just sayin’ …)