Hot buttered cocktails have been around for over 200 years, but they haven’t become stale as modern-day interpretations take creative liberties like adding ice cream along with melted butter and swapping rum with whiskey for a new take. These libations have often been compared to real-life Butterbeer, and are traditionally crafted with rum, spices, and a dollop of butter, but using whiskey or bourbon instead can lend to a more unique experience. Chris Walster, Whisky Connoisseur at The Cask Connoisseur, has some strong feelings about which whiskies are best for a hot buttered drink.
Walster recommends Buffalo Trace bourbon as the best whiskey for this classic beverage, although he notes that Woodford Reserve makes a pleasant choice, as well. “A fruity bourbon works particularly well,” he says. “However, a bourbon with a higher rye content is an even better choice, as the rye spice will highlight the cinnamon and other warming spices in the cocktail.” The cocktail, in general, is meant to taste rich and sweet, so according to Walster, “the whiskey used should complement and enhance the spicy, buttery flavors.”
Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve are the best of the best for hot buttered cocktails
Buffalo Trace is one of the oldest and most renowned distilleries in the United States, so beloved that we even ranked the Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey as the most best value among popular Kentucky bourbons. The spirit itself is made from classic whiskey ingredients, such as corn, rye, and barley malt, then aged in new oak barrels until it’s deemed complete by experts. Its flavor is described on the Buffalo Trace Distillery website as “pleasantly sweet to the taste with notes of brown sugar and spice that give way to oak, toffee, dark fruit and anise.” Whiskey connoisseur Walster agrees that it’s a top choice for hot buttered cocktails, saying that it “complements the drink’s buttery sweetness” by “bringing depth and balance.”
Woodford Reserve has been making bourbon at the Woodford Reserve Distillery since 1812, which is technically a whiskey, in case you need to brush up on the difference between bourbon and whiskey. It’s also crafted from corn, rye, and malted barley, then aged in a historic barrelhouse until perfection. According to the Woodford Reserve website, the spirit has complex notes of citrus, cinnamon, cocoa, toffee, caramel, chocolate, and other spices. Though Walster would first recommend Buffalo Trace, he notes that Woodford Reserve “has a more pronounced spice character alongside its caramel and dried fruit notes,” making it another appropriate option to use in this legendary drink.
