Slow-Cooker Hot Buttered Rum

By Stephanie Wise

Updated October 26, 2020

Start up your slow cooker and let cozy roll into your kitchen with this hot buttered rum recipe. After a few simple steps, you'll not only have your hands on a classically hot beverage that kicks up all of your indulgent holiday flavors, but you'll know exactly how to make hot buttered rum in the most delicious way. Scroll down and explore the age-old taste of comfort, then make it yourself—and don't hold back on the whipping cream, it's the proverbial cherry on top with our slow cooker hot buttered rum.

Have you ever tried the classic, colonial-age cocktail known as hot buttered rum? The name implies everything, really. It’s a sweet, buttery, deliciously spiced and spiked beverage that’s perfect for cozying up with during the holidays. And this slow-cooker version couldn’t be simpler. Just mix the ingredients together in the slow cooker, cook it on low for a few hours and you’ve got a crowd-sized quantity of hot buttered rum ready to serve.

This version of hot buttered rum combines the flavors of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and vanilla along with light rum, which is my rum of choice because its mild flavor lets the spices shine through. But feel free to play with the ingredients to suit your taste by using gold or spiced rum, adding more cinnamon sticks or less allspice, etc. Just be sure to keep the full stick of butter in there, because that’s what makes this drink oh-so tasty.

1. Combine all the ingredients —minus the rum.

2. Cover the crock and cook everything on low for about 5 hours. (You’ll find the exact list of ingredients below!)

3. Once the 5 hours are up, stir in the rum.

4. Serve in glasses or mugs with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon on top. Keep the remaining servings in the slow cooker, set to warm, for your guests to enjoy.