Hot cross pudding..

So I have some extra sour dough hot cross buns which I’m going to turn into a bread pudding riffing on a N*awlins recipe. The usual accompaniment is a whiskey sauce but I want to serve something a bit different, not least because my guest doesn’t like whiskey. So I’m musing on a sub for the whiskey in the same format(egg, sugar, butter, booze) or another sauce entirely which might complement the fruit and spice that the buns bring to the pud.
Any thoughts? Sweets are not my strong suit.

Well, if it's gotta be boozy I think the clear choice is rum, which is sweet.

If it's OK to go further afield, I suppose any fruit-flavored liquor/liqueur would work, too: Cointreau (bitter oranges) might be kinda strong but Calvados (bitter apples) seems tailor-made. I'd avoid anything too thick and goopy on its own but any schnapps or flavored vodka should work, too.

Another idea is to skip the booze, use an extra dollop of vanilla and add some chocolate chips to the pan. A simple sugar glaze on top, maybe?

Thanks Jeff great ideas.
Rum does sound like a goer, but I do have calvados as well, so I’ll taste both with one of the buns after dinner and see which is better.
Actually I have Cointreau too so I might try that.
And then I’ll try not to falll over LOL