Hot buttered rum is a mixed drink

Mixed drink

A mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed. Some mixed drinks are alcoholic beverages that contain liquor; others are non-alcoholic.-Types:Some popular types of mixed drinks are:...

 containing rum

Rum

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...

, butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

, hot water or cider

Cider

Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...

, a sweetener, and various spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...

s (usually cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

, nutmeg

Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

, and clove

Clove

Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...

s). It is especially popular in the fall and winter and is traditionally associated with the holiday season. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the drink has a venerable history which dates back to colonial days

European colonization of the Americas

The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...

.

The drink has fallen out of fashion in modern times, and is often considered a novelty or something aligned with high society

High society

High society may refer to:* Upper class, group of people at the top of a social hierarchy* Gentry, origin Old French genterie, from gentil ‘high-born, noble* High society , social grouping which socialites may be affiliated with....

. For example, in the Will & Grace

Will & Grace

Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...

episode "All About Christmas Eve", Grace Adler attempts to pass herself off as wealthy by ordering a hot buttered rum, but after drinking it exclaims "Ugh! It's awful! It takes like warm rum with butter in it!"

A notable variation is served at the Heathman Hotel

Heathman Hotel

The Heathman Hotel, in Portland, Oregon, United States, was built in the late 1920s. It stands out among the last remaining historical Portland hotels such as The Benson Hotel , Commodore Hotel , Imperial Hotel , and Governor Hotel .-History:The Heathman was built in response to the needs of rich...

, in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, the so-called "Jay’s Famous Hot Buttered Rum," in which the hot drink is "creamed together with vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...

ice cream and chilled into a paste."