

The '60s, with their thirst for novelty and mania for convenience, killed it off, but you can still find the mugs - little white ceramic things with "Tom & Jerry" printed in gold - in back-country thrift shops (or on eBay, of course). Louis, the Tom and Jerry was a holiday favorite for a century. The main difference is that this drink is served hot.

Invented in the early 1850s by "Professor" Jerry Thomas - the Bolívar of American drinking - at the Planters' House hotel, St. The Tom and Jerry is a warm and fuzzy Christmastime cocktail similar to eggnog. Note: Some people find the milk too rich and filling, so they use half hot milk, half boiling water. Popular in the 1940s, there were quite a few varieties of the bowl sets made. This one may require practice and a certain amount of fiddling, but it's well worth the effort. Fill to the top with hot milk and stir until you get foam. Now add 1 ounce brandy (although some die-hard Dixiecrats prefer bourbon) and 1 ounce Jamaican rum, stirring constantly to avoid curdling. When ready to serve, give it another stir and then put 1 tablespoon of this batter in a small mug or tumbler. Beat the whites until they form a stiff froth, and the yolks - to which you have added the sugar - "until they are as thin as water," as the professor advises, gradually adding 4 ounces brandy (spiceaholics will also add a pinch each of ground allspice, cinnamon, and cloves).
