There’s a Better Way to Oil a Holiday Drink
Hot buttered rum is good in theory, but always disappointing in practice. Brushing the oily film off our upper lip is a bit tricky, even for those of us who would eat a piece of butter like a banana if society were willing to accept us .
Luckily, well-known good cocktail maker David Lebowitz has a trick. Infuse the brown butter booze of your choice for 3 days, then remove (and save!) The buttered booze raft and strain the ethanol through a fine mesh sieve with a coffee filter. Like all the best infusions, you are left with two great ingredients: the brown butter booze and the booze brown butter.
David suggests making bourbon in brown butter the old fashioned way – which sounds divine – but this method also works with rye whiskey or good dark rum. Personally, I prefer whiskey and will either make Manhattan or drink it on ice with added eggnog, because I’m a soft, gentle kid who loves sweets. As for that drunken raft with butter, I would put it aside until I have a rib that I need to sketch.
Old fashioned brown butter cocktail | David Lebowitz