Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Hot Buttered Rum inspired a by Victor Bergeron, who is better known as Trader Vic, the founder of the restaurant and Tiki bar chain by that name. He was a pioneer in the Tiki culture of the 1950s and 1960s.
For those who don’t know, Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian cultures, and by Oceanian art.
Vic started the whole shebang in 1934 by opening a small bar and restaurant named Hinky Dink’s in Oakland, California. The décor and menu gravitated toward a more tropical flair and the name was soon changed to Trader Vic’s.
Vic also created some other famous drinks, including Trader Vic’s Grog, and The Octopus, both of which we had as Drinks Of The Day earlier this year at The Politics Bar.
Without a doubt, Vic’s most famous drink is the Mai Tai. Some of Vic’s other beverage contributions include the Fog Cutter and the Scorpion Bowl, the latter of which appeared on the menu of nearly every Tiki bar. The Scorpion Bowl is still widely available due to the revival of interest in Tiki bars over the last decade.
Unsurprisingly, Vic was known to like rum - and rum is the base spirit most associated with Tiki drinks. However, Vic clearly was creative, and sometimes chose to use other more unusual ingredients, like orgeat. He used that both in variations on several versions of the Mai Tai he invented, and in the Eastern Sour, one of Vic’s variations on a Whiskey Sour, with a bit of orange juice and orgeat added. He invented the Eastern Sour to celebrate the launch of a Trader Vic’s location in Toronto. He also invented the El Diablo, a refreshing tequila drink using cassis liqueur and ginger beer, and first published that drink recipe in the 1946 edition of Trader Vic’s Book of Food and Drink.
Vic did not invent the Hot Buttered Rum drink, but his contribution to the aura surrounding the drink makes it appropriate as Drink of the Day in his honor. At Trader Vics, he specified that a Hot Buttered Rum be served in a specific ceramic mug – a skull. These days, while the skull mug - or a Grogu mug - is not a requirement, if you’ve got one around, you’re encouraged to use it.
Given how cold it is outside in much of the United States, and the northern hemisphere right now, we think the Hot Buttered Rum is perfect for today’s Drink Of The Day. And since we’ve got the drink in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions, it’s a drink you can make for anyone!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
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