The Tom and Jerry is a hot punch that lives almost entirely on December bar menus. A batter of beaten egg, sugar, and warming spices is pre-made; to serve, you spoon it into a warmed mug, add brandy and dark rum, and top with hot milk or hot water. The drink is most strongly associated with Jerry Thomas, who claimed authorship of it in his 1862 Bar-Tender's Guide, though the name predates him by several decades.
The author of this work, in 1847, was the first to introduce this celebrated beverage to the world.
Jerry Thomas, How to Mix Drinks (1862)Jerry Thomas's Claim, and the Truth
Thomas was American bartending's first celebrity. His How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant's Companion (1862) is the first published bar book in the United States and the document that codified the craft. He claimed in print to have invented the Tom and Jerry in 1847 — but the name appears in British and American newspapers as early as the 1820s, borrowed from Pierce Egan's 1821 novel Life in London, which followed two Regency rakes named Tom and Jerry. Thomas almost certainly popularized the modern recipe; he did not invent the name.
What Thomas formalized was the batter: eggs beaten until fluffy, sugar folded in to make a stiff meringue with the whites, yolks blended separately with spice, then recombined. That batter — held cold, spooned warm — is the part of the drink that survives unchanged.
The Spec
One generous tablespoon of batter per mug. One ounce of brandy and one ounce of dark rum. Top with hot whole milk (modern preference) or hot water (Thomas's original). Stir gently, dust with nutmeg. The mug must be pre-warmed or the batter will set into a lump.
The Batter, in Detail
For about 12 servings: separate 6 eggs. Beat the whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. Beat the yolks with 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg until pale and ribboning. Fold the yolk mixture gently into the whites. Holds covered in the fridge for two days; stir gently before serving.
Hot Milk vs Hot Water
Thomas's original used hot water — the cocktail was meant to be light, the egg batter providing the body. The hot-milk version became standard in the late nineteenth century and is what most modern bars serve. Milk reads richer; water reads cleaner and more spirit-forward. Both are correct; the milk version is what people expect.
Brandy and Rum Choice
A standard VS or VSOP cognac and a medium-bodied dark rum like Cruzan Black Strap or Smith & Cross. The drink doesn't reward expensive spirit — the spices and the batter dominate. Avoid anything heavily peated, smoked, or aged-cask-finished; the cocktail's spice profile clashes.
Bottom Line
The Tom and Jerry is one of the last surviving Victorian-era hot drinks in the American canon. The batter does the work; making one mug at a time from scratch is impractical, so make a batch on the first cold weekend in December and keep it in the fridge for guests. Done well, it tastes like Christmas dessert in a mug; done badly, it tastes like sweet eggnog. The difference is in the spice ratio and the beating of the whites.