By Barbara Werley

Now that it finally feels like winter, I’ve been thinking a lot about  curling up by a big fire and sipping a mug of hot buttered rum.

When I lived in Virginia, we’d often finish a hard day of snow skiing with some kind of hot toddy .

The Homestead, an  elegant resort in western Virginia where I used to work, makes the best hot buttered rum ever. I’ve never found a better recipe then theirs. They’re incredibly easy to make. You can use an electric mixer, but I like to stir it by hand so I can burn a few more calories before completely blowing my diet.

1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of brown sugar
1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softened (I use the new five ingredient Haagan-Dazs)
1 cup of your favorite amber rum
Beat the first three ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Use about 2 ounces (about 1/4 cup) of this mixture as the base for your buttered rum, placing it in a mug then adding 1 1/2 ounces of good amber rum and enough hot water to full the mug.

Stir. Sip. Enjoy. Mmmm.

Werley is certified as a Master Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers and is also a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. She directs the wine program at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas and writes about wine and spirits for EscapeHatchDallas.