Tom and Jerry (drink)
A Tom and Jerry is a traditional Christmastime cocktail in the United States, devised by British journalist Pierce Egan in the 1820s. It is a variant of eggnog with brandy and rum added and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl.
| Cocktail | |
|---|---|
 A Tom & Jerry cocktail | |
| Type | Cocktail |
| Served | Hot in a mug or bowl |
| Standard drinkware | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
| Commonly used ingredients | Eggs or egg whites, powdered sugar, brandy, rum |
| Preparation | Separate eggs. Beat egg whites until stiff. Mix egg yolks with powdered sugar. Put a spoonful of yolk mixture in cup, and mix with brandy and rum. Fold in some egg white, then add hot milk and top with more egg white. Stir gently to fold in the egg white. Top with Nutmeg. |
Another method uses egg whites, beaten stiff, with the yolks and sugar folded back in, and optionally vanilla extract added. A few spoonfuls are added to a mug, then hot milk and rum are added, and it is topped with nutmeg. Pre-made Tom and Jerry batter, typically produced by Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Dakotas manufacturers, is sold in regional supermarkets during the Christmas season.[1][2][3]
Name
The drink's name is a reference to Egan's book, Life in London, or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom (1821), and the subsequent stage play Tom and Jerry, or Life in London (also 1821). To publicize the book and the play, Egan introduced a variation of eggnog by adding 1⁄2 US fluid ounce (15 ml) of brandy, calling it a "Tom and Jerry". The additional fortification helped popularize the drink.[4]
Two much later cartoon duos, a short-lived Tom and Jerry from Van Beuren Studios in the 1930s, and the famous cat and mouse rivalry from the 1940s through the 1960s, also bore the name, possibly as a play on words with the drink.
In popular culture
Tom and Jerry was a favorite of President Warren G. Harding, who served it at an annual Christmas party for his closest friends.[5]
The drink features prominently in Damon Runyon's 1932 short story "Dancing Dan's Christmas", beginning with the passage
This hot Tom and Jerry is an old time drink that is once used by one and all in this country to celebrate Christmas with, and in fact it is once so popular that many people think Christmas is invented only to furnish an excuse for hot Tom and Jerry, although of course this is by no means true.[6]
In the 1940 film Beyond Tomorrow, the characters drink Tom and Jerrys on Christmas Eve in the beginning of the film. When James Houston arrives to return Michael O'Brien's wallet, O'Brien insists that Houston "stay and have a bit of cheer with us." When O'Brien asks Houston what he'd like to drink, Houston replies, "Whatever you're having, sir." O'Brien says, "I'm having Tom and Jerry, myself" and ladles out the drink for himself, Houston, and Alan Chadwick.[7]
In the 1941 film The Great Mr. Nobody, a pair of characters are enjoying mugs of Tom and Jerrys in a bar on Christmas Eve and offer one to the protagonist, "Dreamy" Smith, when he arrives. A big sign by the door advertises the drink as a special Yuletide treat.
The central character in the 1944 film An American Romance, Steve Dangos, is introduced to Tom and Jerrys during his first Christmas in a steel mill town, which makes him realize how lonely he is, and he sends for his fiancée to join him there.
Toward the end of the 1945 film The Cheaters, the brother-in-law Willie Crawford asks for some nutmeg to make Tom and Jerrys for the family on Christmas Eve.
In the 1946 film Never Say Goodbye, Mrs. Hamilton prepares a large batch of Tom and Jerrys for the Christmas Eve midnight party with her daughter Ellen, which is interrupted by her former son-in-law Phil Gayley.
The Tom and Jerry serves as a central plot device in Yogi Yorgesson's 1949 comedic song and monologue "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas". The narrator sneaks off to the local bar to have a glass of beer before his family's Christmas celebration but instead ends up consuming a dozen Tom and Jerrys, which leaves him severely hung over as the chaos of Christmas Day surrounds him.
The drink is also mentioned in Billy Wilder's 1960 film The Apartment, with C.C. Baxter, preparing to loan out his apartment to his boss for a Christmas Eve sexual tryst, informing him that "the Tom and Jerry mix is in the refrigerator."[8]
See also
References
- Faust, Eric, Tom and Jerry batter is seasonally available in the Jamestown, New York, area, where a strong Swedish influence is prominent. "Connolly's Tom and Jerry Batter from Superior, WI," Heavy Table, 2009; See also Mrs. Bowen's Tom and Jerry Mix.
- One example of the Batter mix is produced by Flaherty's Happy Tyme Company (P.O. Box 11472 - Mpls./St. Paul, MN 55111).
Its listed ingredients include: Eggs, Sugar, Vegetable Stabilizer, Cream of Tartar and Vanilla. {14 oz. tub: Bar code: 0-27356-12345-0} - Tom and Jerrys are so popular in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that Bryant's Cocktail Lounge maintains a dedicated Tom and Jerry room in December, in which the only possible order is a Tom and Jerry.
- Block, Stephen. "The History of Egg Nog". Food History. The Kitchen Project. Archived from the original on 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- Russell, Francis (1968). The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding In His Times. Easton Press. p. 141. ISBN 0-07-054338-0.
- Runyon, Damon (1880–1946). "Dancing Dan's Christmas". The Damon Runyon Society. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- Jnpickens (December 20, 2010). "Island of misfit Christmas movies".
- Bovino, Arthur. Buffalo Everything: A Guide to Eating in The Nickel City, p. 737. The Countryman Press, 2018. ISBN 9781682681237. Accessed December 19, 2019. "'Yes, Mr. Sheldrake—no, I didn't forget—the tree is up and the Tom and Jerry mix is in the refrigerator—yes, sir— same to you,' Jack Lemmon says, playing C.C. Baxter in Billy Wilder's 1960 filck, The Apartment."
