Making The Batter: Put all batter ingredients (everything but the rum) in a food processor and run it until the mixture turns creamy. Fold it down once with a rubber spatula to make sure the spices are blended in, and run the food processor some more.

Scoop the mixture into a plastic container, and refrigerate. It will keep for many months in the refrigerator, even though it contains butter.

Making The Drinks: Fill a coffee mug half full of boiling water. The easiest way to do this is to put a mug of hot water in the microwave. If you don't have a microwave, then fill the mug with boiling water, pour it out, then fill it half full of boiling water.

Add about 2 generous tablespoons of batter. Stir until the batter dissolves in the hot water. I use a small wire whisk for this stirring.

Add 2 jiggers (about 3 oz) of the best rum you can afford. When I make this in quantities for parties I like to use Myers Dark Rum.

* Ultimate hot buttered rum recipe - I started making hot buttered rum from a Trader Vic recipe 15 years ago, and I have gradually evolved it by adding more spices, more butter and less rum.

The way you make a hot buttered rum is to add some "batter" to some rum, and heat it. I like to keep a made-up batch of the batter in the refrigerator in an old margarine tub. For parties I make up a fresh batch.

* One theory of hot-toddy making is that it is impossible to use too much batter, and you should keep stirring more in until you are bored with stirring. Another theory of hot-toddy making is that it is impossible to use too much rum, and that you should keep stirring in more until your friends panic.