Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure

Episode 92 - Hot Buttered Rum and Mainland Whisky

12/21/2019

This Episode's Cast of Characters

It's the holidays folks! Overeating! Overspending! Overdrinking? Over here!

In this episode, the Gents try out a couple of versions of the same drink. Hot Buttered Rum. But to make it interesting, they are pitting two rivals from their neighbours to the south, (Washington State that is) against each other to see who will take the Hot Buttered Rum Championship!

But first, the Gentlemen would like to spread the news about a couple of other wonderful things going on.

Mainland Whisky has opened up! What is Mainland Whisky you ask? Well, click on their highlighted name and it will take you directly to their website. In short, they are the makers and purveyors of some tasty corn whisky. Really tasty corn whisky. If you pop in to their tasting room, you can try out all their products in a whisky flight, or dive right on in to one of their cocktails. They've also got some local beer and wine available if someone in your party isn't a fan of whisky. Please go and check them out. A bottle of a little sump'n sump'n might be just the last minute gift you're looking for. Their address is #107-3425 189th St, South Surrey, BC . Good luck folks!

Also, The Miracle pop up bar is back for another year! These fun Christmas themed bars open up for the month of December at locations all around the world. Literally. There are bars this year in Mexico, England, Romania, New Zealand, Switzerland and Panama (as well as Canada and the US) and the Gents are lucky enough to have one in their own backyard. Swim Club in Fairhaven is just a hop, skip and a jump down the I 5 and Gent Jason made sure to visit. You should to. Check their list of locations and see if there's one near you, then go an get your Xmas on!

Alright, lets get to drinkin'. Recently, Gent Jason saw a segment on KING 5's Evening Magazine about a made in Washington product that the show thought might be a surprise to their local viewers. For almost 60 years, Washingtonians have been able to buy a hot buttered rum batter mixture that it turns out, is made in Bremerton, Washington. It's called Harvey's Butter Rum Batter and on their website it says . . .

"Harvey Hudson first created his special butter rum batter in 1952 while tending bar at a local Bremerton, Washington lounge. It earned such a following that customer’s began asking to buy a tub to make their own drinks at home. In the 1960’s the demand had grown so much that he contracted with a local dairy and started producing the batter in larger batches “after hours using their equipment. The dairy distributed the tubs on their home delivery route.
The business continued to grow and in 1972, Harvey opened his own plant in Bremerton, WA and expanded his distribution. Harvey was passionate about his business and his customers until 2011, when he passed at the age of 94. Having been born and raised in the same community, and knowing its great history, I was delighted to purchase Harvey’s Butter Rum Batter in December of 2011.
Quality, passion and of course tradition play a huge role in our teams mission of carrying on the legacy of what Harvey Hudson and the Little River Candy Company started many years ago. Our fans keep us going and are the reason we do what we do. We sincerely thank you for making it so much fun!
Stacy Ryan,
President, Harvey’s Butter Rum Batter, LLC"

Based on that, Gent Jason set out to find the stuff and find it he did.

Hot Buttered Rum (using Harvey's Butter Rum Batter)

Directions: Add one Tbsp. of batter to a cup of hot water. Add one jigger of rum (or favourite spirit) if desired and stir well.

Well, the Gents did desire rum so they added it. Lemon Hart Blackpool Spiced rum to be precise.
The Gents enjoyed this very much. You've probably already heard the episode haven't you? Get a hold of some Harvey's and make some drinks for your guests right now. Don't you love that rabbit on the label?

The quest to find Harvey's Butter Rum Batter was not an easy one though. Try finding the stuff just after American Thanksgiving. It's hard. On his search, Gent Jason, went in to a Haggen store. Haggen is a grocery store that's been around since 1933 and started out in Bellingham, Washington.
Gent J asked a girl in the spirits section if she had "Harvey's . . ."

"Bristol Cream?", she asked.

"No. Harvey's Buttered Rum Batter," he finished.

"Oh. No. We have our own brand. It's right here." She showed Gent J to the freezer section. Gent J said he was really looking for the Harvey's brand. She said she'd tried them both and the Haggen one "was way better."

Challenge accepted Haggen.

On the Haggen website they say . . .

"Our very own Hot Buttered Rum Mix is the perfect cure for chilly winter weather. Made with a heart-warming blend of sweet and spice, and handcrafted with creamy vanilla ice cream, butter, brown sugar and spices. Try it with coffee for a little pick-me-up during the holidays."

The Gents tried it with rum!

Hot Buttered Rum (with Haggen Hot Buttered Rum Mix)

Directions: Add two heaping teaspoons to 8 oz. of hot apple cider or boiling water with a shot of your favourite rum.

To be fair, the Gents used boiling water and the same rum as the previous drink. The texture of the mix is completely different from Harvey's. Where Harvey's is a sort of spreadable mixture of butter, sugar and spices, the Haggen mix is more like a frozen goopy marshmallow sauce. Very tasty and it foams up very nicely in your drink.

You'll have to listen to the episode to see which one won the challenge though, and please stick around til the very end when you get to hear the results of a (spoiler alert) failed Trader Vic's Tom and Jerry. The fault is all Jason and not Trader Vic's at all.