Rock & Rye

When it starts to get chilly up here in the pacific northwest, all I want to do is stay inside, wrap myself in a blanket in front of a fire, and enjoy a great wintertime beverage. Probably one of my favorite holiday bevies is a good Hot Buttered Rum. While I like to make my own buttered rum batter, this is a drink that can be easily made with ingredients on hand as well.

Hot Spiced Rum – Bartenders Guide (Jerry Thomas,1862)
1 tsp sugar
2 oz Jamaica Rum
1 tsp spices (allspice & cloves)
1 piece of butter as large as half of a chestnut
3-4 oz hot water

While this is a fine beverage for a chilly evening. It can be made even better with a little preparation.

Buttered Rum Batter
1 Cup Butter
1 Pint Vanilla Ice Cream
1 lb powdered Sugar
1 lb brown sugar
2 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla extract
allow butter and ice cream to come to room temperature. Mix well.
Can be stored in refridgerator for up to a week, in the freezer for a month.

Mixing this batter into your rum makes for a warm, rich, spicy drink that is perfect for those long winter nights. If you want to go even richer, hot cider may be used in place of the hot water.

Hot Buttered Rum
2 oz Spiced Rum
2 heaping barspoons batter
4 oz hot water
top with freshly whipped cream if so desired.

Made from scratch. This is an excellent topic, as it gives me a nudge to stock up on homemade ingredients for the holiday season. Winter is fast approaching, and what better way to welcome the winter months than with some beverages made to ward off the cold, and improve the holiday spirit.

One of my favorite winter drinks is the Hot Buttered Rum. Warm, spicy, sweet, and full of rum, that’s how I like it. Now since this is a made from scratch event, better make sure that your drink is freshly made and full of all the right stuff.

Hot Buttered Rum
2oz dark or spiced rum (I like Sailor Jerry’s or Myers Dark)
4oz hot water, or hot cider
2 heaping barspoons compound butter
Nutmeg
Cinnamon Stick

Mix rum, butter, and half the water/cider in an irish coffee glass.
Mix well and fill with water/cider
Grate fresh nutmeg on top and garnish with a cinnamon stick if desired.

This drink will taste the best made with fresh apple cider, but if you don’t have a cider press in your basement, store bought will do.

Compound Butter
1lb butter
2tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup french vanilla ice cream

Mix well and place in container in the freezer. Use as needed.

Starbucks Introduces Customers to Exquisite Flavors of a New Coffee Collection

Starbucks Introduces Customers to Exquisite Flavors of a New Coffee Collection Clover® Crafted Small Batch Coffees debut in three select U.S. cities, offering customers the chance to savor rare and unique coffees brewed to perfection

Coffee lovers, Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) will ignite your passion for coffee and flavor with the arrival of Clover® Crafted Small Batch Coffees. Starbucks today unveiled a new in-store coffee experience in 10 Seattle locations that will soon expand to include Boston and San Francisco markets in the coming months. The Clover® brewing system is one of the most significant innovations in coffee brewing since the introduction of the espresso machine. This experience brings together Clover’s® revolutionary brewing method with Starbucks ability to source small batch coffees from all over the world and is a key initiative in transforming the company.

“After acquiring the Coffee Equipment Company in April 2008, we asked a small team of coffee buyers to find unique, small lot coffees whose flavors are best highlighted using the Clover® brewing system,” said Scott McMartin, director, Coffee and Tea Education. “Drawing on our many years of experience and our deep relationships, we had access to some remarkable coffees. What we came up with is just the beginning of what is to come.”

Through these small lot coffees, customers will be able to truly detect how geography influences flavor. Using the Clover® each cup of coffee is ground and brewed to order, maximizing the various layers and flavor nuances. Though the menu will rotate monthly, this September customers can experience:

* Distinctive citrus juiciness of Costa Rica Agrivid
* Herbal overtones of El Salvador Pacamara
* Subtle cherry and currant notes of Tanzania Blackburn Estate
* A soft finish of Zambia Kasama

“We committed to our customers that we would reinvent coffee and once they taste coffee brewed from the Clover® we know they will want to come back for more,” said Aimee Johnson, vice president, Starbucks Strategic Coffee Initiatives. “We hope everyone will be inspired to learn about where these coffees come from and the rich story behind each selection. Tasting flavors from rare and exquisite high-quality coffees is an experience that will continue to make Starbucks a destination in the neighborhood for coffee lovers.”

The Clover® Crafted Small Batch Coffee menu rotates monthly and is only offered at Starbucks locations equipped with a Clover®. These coffees will be available hot or iced in Tall (12 oz) and Grande (16 oz) sizes. Hand-scooped, whole beans are also available for customers to purchase to enjoy at home in a coffee press. Because the Starbucks® Small Batch Coffees have limited availability they will only be in-store while supplies last.

An alcoholic variation of a drink popular at the Starbucks in the Vancouver BC area.

Irish Mist
2oz Irish Cream
1/2oz Vanilla syrup
6oz Earl Grey Tea

Brew 6oz strong Earl Grey, add Vanilla and Irish Cream.
Stir briefly and enjoy.