Cocktails - Worldwide
TOM AND JERRY
Susan Schwartz is back to champion another holiday tipple for us, this time it has something to do with a game of cat and mouse…maybe!?
If only Tom and Jerry the cartoon cat and mouse duo of yesteryear, had actually sat down and hashed out their differences over their eponymous cocktail, there might have been far less stress and strain in their relationship. After a few sips, Jerry would have surely realised that there are way more tempting treats than just dormice or goldfish.
Most people instantly recognise the infamous celluloid couple when they hear the binomial expression “Tom and Jerry” (unless you are from the Midwest USA, but more on that later). So let me introduce you to the other Tom and Jerry, a mix of brandy, rum, hot milk, and spices that has been warming insides for over two hundred years.
As far as wintery creamed cocktails go, eggnog seems to have pushed the Tom and Jerry into extinction. As an aside, I am not sure why we have come to equate these custardy concoctions with the holiday season, but from the moment the lights go up down the high street, out come egg-based liqueurs such as Advocaat (Dutch), Eierlikör (German) and Rompope (Mexican)!
The Tom & Jerry is the winter-season classic at the Stravinskij Bar, a gently sweet, comforting cocktail we serve throughout the holidays, perfect for the colder months.
As early as the 15th century, the British already had a recipe for posset, sweetened hot milk enriched with eggs, in their back pocket, thanks to the early scribblings of John Russell and his 1460’s Boke of Nurture. Up North in Scotland, they were drinking Atholl brose, a combo of porridge, whisky, and sometimes cream, as cited in a Dickens short story, The Holly Tree, 1855.
Although making an appearance in Dickens might immortalise you forever, darest I claim that during its heyday, the Tom and Jerry was way more well known than either the posset or Atholl brose. Like the Beatles it broke America.
A modern classic: Tom & Jerez is a Hawksmoor staple served across their restaurants. Sip this usually Christmas-only cocktail year-round, one bite of the olive and you’ll feel whisked to a Seville holiday.
“TOM AND JERRY” BECAME SYNONYMOUS WITH YOUNG BLOKES WHO SPEND THEIR TIME DRINKING, GAMBLING AND GENERALLY RAISING HELL…
As far as the origin story of our duo, it seems like most cocktail history, there are a few versions to how this cocktail may have got its name. The more ubiquitous is that we have British journalist Pierce Egan to thank. He was the author of the 1821 hit, Life in London, or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom. A wordy title begat a wordy tome describing the high jinks of two men, Jerry and Tom. Ironically our cocktail never appears, although they spend a lot of time imbibing just plenty of gin and wine.
This hugely popular book spawned an even more successful stage play, “Tom & Jerry : Life in London” garnering over 100 performances. To publicise the performance, supposedly he served up a mix of brandy, rum and spiced milk, called it the Tom and Jerry and a star was born.
The tale continues that after the final curtain, the term "Tom and Jerry" became synonymous with young blokes who spend their time drinking, gambling, and generally raising hell, even making an appearance in the Oxford English Dictionary. This led to "Tom and Jerry shops" aka small taverns popping up in towns all over.
According to the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, world famous bar owner, Audrey Saunders, disputes that claim noting that the term Tom and Jerry shop existed before Egan’s book.
Even 19th Century star-tender Jerry Thomas tries to claim ownership of the cocktail, but Saunders shuts him down by uncovering an 1827 sighting of it in the Salem (MA) Gazette. Thomas was not even born until 1830. So like most of cocktail history, it’s anyone’s guess.
We do know it was popular enough on both sides of the Atlantic that President Warren Harding gave an annual Tom and Jerry party, inviting his guests over ‘To Meet Jeremiah and Thomas.” Let us not forget, this was the President presiding over Prohibition, adding a dash of hypocrisy to the glass.
Maybe it was due to this Ohioan born president taking a liking to it, but the Midwestern states became the Tom and Jerry’s greatest cheerleaders, while the English abandoned it for the fizzy Snowball. To be fair, like so many classic cocktails, it faded from fashion and its cousin Eggnog became and is still the go-to holiday serve.
There are still a few companies promulgating the Tom and Jerry, although pre-mixed and in batter form. Flaherty's Tom and Jerry Batter in Iowa is still a regional favourite, claiming they brought over the recipe from Ireland in 1927. A Mrs. Bowen also seems to be making it in Wisconsin, with Connolly’s Tom & Jerry Batter nearby in the same state. Even the rum-loving, tropical cocktail stalwart Trader Vic’s has a hand in the batter arena. By the way you can even find branded Tom and Jerry vintage ceramic punch bowls and mug sets on Ebay, when an unbranded one won’t do it justice.
So this winter, there is no reason not to include a Tom and Jerry on your holiday party cocktail menu. Say bah humbug to the common eggnog. Maybe even invite your fiercest rival and see if your differences can be resolved over a mug or two. It’s better than playing a game of cat and mouse.
Tom & Jerry Cocktail Recipe
from the European Bartending School
Find this classic Christmas cocktail at Venice’s G Lounge & Garden Bar, where egg is blended with Grappa Barricata, dark Jamaican rum, and more grappa, finished with nutmeg and chopped almonds — a warming antidote to the cold.
Ingredients for the batter for 10 cocktails
6 eggs, 30ml Jamaican dark rum (spiced rum), 220g unsalted butter, 550g sugar, ¼ tsp vanilla extract, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp ground allspice, ¼ tsp salt.
Method
Step 1 – Separate the eggs into egg yolks and egg whites.
Step 2 – Beat the egg whites and salt together until stiff peaks form.
Step 3 – In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until well combined.
Step 4 – In a third bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until it’s a fluffy texture.
Step 5 – Take this last bowl and stir in the egg yolk mixture and vanilla extract.
Step 6 – Into the same bowl, add the egg whites, spices and dark rum. Combine well and you have yourself the Tom and Jerry batter
Ingredients for an individual cocktail
30ml dark rum, 30ml Cognac, 1 tbsp Tom and Jerry batter (see above for recipe), Hot milk to top (full fat), Garnish: ground nutmeg and ground allspice
Method: 3 steps
Step 1 – Take your serving mug and add the dark rum, Cognac and Tom and Jerry batter to it.
Step 2 – Top up the cocktail with warm milk and give it a little stir.
Step 3 – Finish off your Tom and Jerry Cocktail by dusting some ground nutmeg and allspice on top. Powdered sugar and cinnamon is another common garnish, if you’re not a fan of nutmeg.
Tom & Jerry Classic Cartoon, You’re Still My Baby! courtesy of WB Kids