Let’s workshop this rum and cider drink!

I’m kind of avoiding writing tonight, for some reason; but I didn’t really need an excuse to use this…

The secret to health is to learn to listen to your body. For example, my body wants a hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps but I had to really listen hard before I could hear it. Super hard. Like for almost a minute.

— Kenneth Hite (@kennethhite) December 16, 2020

…as an opportunity to throw together a hot rum and apple cider drink. Nothing fancy: shot of rum, apple cider, a touch of caramel syrup, a splash of lemon, and a little ground cinnamon and cloves. The whole thing worked fine as a rough-and-ready hot drink, with the emphasis on ‘rough.’ It had a bit of a bite to it, and I don’t think the caramel worked the way I wanted to. There should probably also been more cider, but I didn’t want to cool the drink.

Thoughts? The immediate one I had was adding one or more of orange and/or orange peel, nutmeg, and brown sugar. But I’m willing to entertain suggestions.