Tom and Jerry (drink)
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A Tom and Jerry is a traditional Christmas-time cocktail in the United States, sometimes attributed to British writer and boxing journalist Pierce Egan<ref>https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014400-tom-and-jerry "It...is frequently (though not definitively) credited to Pierce Egan, the English chronicler of sports and popular culture." Egan was the author of the 1821 novel Life in London; or, the Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq., and his elegant friend, Corinthian Tom, on which the stage play of the same year Tom and Jerry, or Life in London was based</ref> in the 1820s. It is a variant of eggnog with brandy and rum added and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl.
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 manufacturers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana, is sold in regional supermarkets during the Christmas season.<ref>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.</ref><ref>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.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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 Template:Convert of brandy,{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Fix }} calling it a "Tom and Jerry". The additional fortification helped popularize the drink.<ref name="KPHist">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Unreliable source?
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Two later cartoon duos, a short-lived Tom and Jerry from Van Beuren Studios in the 1930s, and MGM's better known cat and mouse rivalry from the 1940s through the 1960s, also bore the name, possibly as a play on words with the drink or the literary works that inspired it.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the story "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" by Harry Stewart, a man drinks a dozen Tom and Jerrys and is hung over for the following day's Christmas dinner.