Warm Tom and Jerry cocktail in a ceramic goblet with grated nutmeg, based on Jerry Thomas's 1862 recipe

Vintage Cocktail

Tom and Jerry

Jerry Thomas's signature creation: a warm egg-batter punch spiked with brandy and rum, served in a hot goblet. Thomas is said to have invented it during his tenure at the Planter's House Hotel in St. Louis in the 1850s, though the drink's exact origin is disputed. It was popular enough that Thomas named his 1862 bar guide after it.

  • rich
  • creamy
  • warming
  • spiced
  • sweet
  • eggy
Arthur
By ArthurCocktail HistorianPublished Reviewed
Prep Time
20 min
Glass
goblet
Difficulty
Advanced
ABV
18%
Yields
1 serving
Jump to Recipe
Saved!

The Tom and Jerry is a vintage cocktail built on rum, celebrated for its rich and creamy character — a consistently top-searched tom and jerry. Whether you're after a reliable winter option or simply want to master a classic, this 20-minute recipe is straightforward enough for home bars yet refined enough to impress. Perfect if you've been searching for the best jerry thomas.

Key Takeaways

What you’ll learn

  • Jerry Thomas's signature creation from the 1862 "Bon-Vivant's Companion" — the recipe he promoted as his personal showpiece throughout his career.
  • Built on a spiced egg batter (beaten separately — whites and yolks) preserved with Jamaican rum, then finished with brandy and boiling water or hot milk per glass.
  • Thomas theatrically withheld the drink until the first snowfall of the season — a marketing gesture that made it a New York winter sensation in the 1860s–1880s.
  • The name "Tom and Jerry" may pre-date Thomas, appearing in American print as early as 1827 and potentially derived from Pierce Egan's 1821 novel.
  • David Wondrich's "Imbibe!" (2007) is the definitive modern scholarly source restoring the documented recipe and Thomas's historical context.

Ingredients

Serves
1 serving
Glass
goblet
Prep
20 min
  • 12Eggs
  • 1/2 lbFine-powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tspGround cinnamon
  • 1/4 tspGround cloves
  • 1/4 tspGround allspice
  • 1 wineglass (1½ oz) to preserve batterJamaican rum (for batter)
  • 1 wineglass (1½ oz)Brandy
  • 1 wineglass (1½ oz)Jamaican rum
  • to fillBoiling water or hot milk
  • grated, to garnishNutmeg

Method

Preparation

  1. 01

    Beat the yolks of 12 eggs until thin and watery. Beat the whites to a stiff froth separately, then mix together, adding 1/2 lb of fine-powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon each of ground cloves and allspice, and 1 wineglass (1½ oz) of Jamaican rum to preserve the batter. To serve: put 1 tablespoon of the batter into a hot goblet, add 1 wineglass of brandy and 1 wineglass of rum, then fill with boiling water or hot milk. Grate a little nutmeg on top.

Origin

History & Origins

Jerry Thomas opened his 1862 bar guide with the Tom and Jerry. Not as the first recipe, but as the spiritual centerpiece — the drink he returned to in performance and in print as proof that American bartending was a craft worthy of a book.

The Tom and Jerry is a hot egg punch built in two stages. First, a spiced batter of beaten eggs, powdered sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and a preserving measure of Jamaican rum is prepared in quantity. Then, to order, a tablespoon of batter is placed in a warmed goblet, brandy and rum are added, and the whole is filled with boiling water or hot milk. Grated nutmeg finishes it. Thomas wrote: "This preparation is attributed to the author of this work, and was first manufactured by him at the Planters' House, St. Louis, in the year 1847."

The claim is contested. Punch historian David Wondrich found references to a hot egg drink called "Tom and Jerry" in American newspapers of the 1820s, likely borrowing the name from Pierce Egan's enormously popular 1821 serial "Life in London," whose protagonists Corinthian Tom and Jerry Hawthorn lent their names to a generation of hot egg punches. What Thomas definitively did was codify the recipe, attach his personal mythology to it, and promote it with theatrical flair unmatched by any bartender before or since.

At his San Francisco saloon at 15 Montgomery Street — and later at his New York establishments — Thomas kept a gleaming silver punch bowl of batter during winter. He refused to open the bowl until the first flake of snow fell, creating the kind of manufactured scarcity that made people line up. The spectacle worked: the Tom and Jerry was considered THE winter drink in New York in the 1860s and 1870s.

At his San Francisco saloon at 15 Montgomery Street — and later at his New York establishments — Thomas kept a gleaming silver punch bowl of batter during winter.

Post-Prohibition, the drink survived in modified form in Midwestern diners, particularly in Wisconsin and Minnesota, often prepared with whiskey or even fruit syrups rather than brandy and rum. These regional versions diverged significantly from Thomas's original but kept the egg-batter structure alive through the cocktail dark ages.

The craft renaissance restored the original. Wondrich's 2007 "Imbibe!" — the first serious modern scholarship on Thomas — sparked a wave of historically accurate recreations. Today the Tom and Jerry appears on seasonal menus each winter at bars committed to historical programming, served in the warmed goblets Thomas specified.

Bartender’s Insight

Pro Tips

The batter keeps refrigerated for up to three days. Make a full batch for parties; individual portions take under a minute once batter is ready.

From Arthur

  • Use a Jamaican rum with funky ester character (Smith & Cross, Appleton 12) — Thomas specified Jamaican, and the rum's molasses depth stands up to the egg and spice.

  • Warm your goblets or mugs in hot water before building the drink. Cold vessels immediately cool the batter and flatten the texture.

  • Whole milk produces a richer, creamier result than water. Thomas listed both; use milk for dessert-style service, water for a lighter after-dinner version.

  • Beat the whites and yolks separately and fold at the last moment for maximum volume. A flat batter makes a flat drink.

At the Table

Perfect Pairings

Spiced gingerbread or molasses cookies
Glazed ham or roast pork (the spiced batter echoes holiday seasonings)
Candied pecans or walnuts
Plum pudding or Christmas cake
Strong cheddar with apple

Beyond the Classic

Variations

Non-alcoholic Tom and Jerry

Omit brandy and rum entirely; use hot apple cider instead of boiling water. The spiced egg batter alone creates a rich, warming drink. This is a legitimate historical variant — temperance versions appeared in period cookbooks.

Bourbon Tom and Jerry

Substitute American rye or bourbon for the brandy. More accessible than period-correct Cognac and gives a caramel-vanilla backbone that pairs well with the allspice and clove in the batter.

Single-Egg Tom and Jerry

Scale the recipe to one egg per serving: beat 1 egg, add 1 tsp powdered sugar and a pinch of spice. Build as normal. Practical for small households; texture is slightly less voluminous but the flavor is identical.

Questions

Frequently Asked

Tom and Jerry Recipe — Vintage Cocktail | Hero Cocktails | Hero Cocktails