Two years ago I found a vintage Hazel Atlas Tom And Jerry set at a local antique mall for a really good price. Of course, I snatched it up.
I got all excited about it and shared it on Instagram and chatted about it on Facebook then promptly forgot about it. Months went by and another Christmas season came and went and I still hadn't used my lovely Tom And Jerry drink set yet.
Until last weekend.
And Good Golly, am I ever regretting not trying a Tom And Jerry before now!
Let's just say it's similar to a warm sugar cookie melting effortlessly in your mouth while unicorns singing Christmas carols dance around your head. OK, the unicorns may have been the alcohol talking.
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If you're not familiar with the Tom And Jerry drink, it was really popular way back when and a staple of Christmas gatherings. So popular they produced special Tom And Jerry punch bowls and mugs just for that one drink. And then poof, sometime around the 1960's no one wanted to drink the stuff anymore.
People's tastes had changed and the mighty Tom And Jerry drink had fallen onto hard times, but with the recent interest in classic cocktails and all things retro it is now making a comeback
How To Make A Tom And Jerry Drink
Tom And Jerry Drink
Ingredients
Tom And Jerry Batter Ingredients
- 12 Eggs (separated)
- 1 tsp Cream Of Tartar
- 2 lbs Granulated Sugar (equivalent to 4 ½ cups)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 stick Butter (softened)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 2 oz Rum
For The Drink
- 1 heaping tablespoon Tom & Jerry Drink Batter
- 1 oz Rum
- 4 oz Hot Milk or Hot Water*
- Garnish w/ Ground Nutmeg
Instructions
How To Make Tom And Jerry Batter
- Separate egg yolks from egg whites and put in two separate bowls.
- Add cream of tartar to the bowl of egg whites and beat until stiff peaks have formed.
- In the other bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar and stick of butter until thickened, then add the remaining ingredients of vanilla extract, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and rum.
- Gently fold the stiff egg whites into the mixture.
- Cover and store your batter in the refrigerator until it is time to make the drinks. Preferably within a few hours.
Making The Drinks
- Gently heat milk in a saucepan.
- Warm your mug by rinsing it with very hot water.
- To each cup add 1 heaping tablespoon of Tom And Jerry batter, 1 oz of rum and 4 oz of hot milk (hot water can be substituted).
- Stir until foamy.
- Garnish with ground nutmeg.
Notes
Nutrition
Tips To Whip Your Eggs To Stiff Peaks
- Cold eggs separate easier. Room temperature eggs whip to a peak easier.
- Make sure your mixer or whisk is spotlessly clean and perfectly dry along with your mixing bowl.
- Speaking of whisks, skip them. It takes quite a while to whisk eggs by hand, so better off using an electric mixer if at all possible.
- A copper, stainless steel or glass bowl works best. Plastic bowls should be avoided since they can hold onto invisible greases that will wreak havoc on your whites.
- Do not try to whip eggs on rainy or humid days. Too much humidity in the air will affect the process and will make you cry. Been there, done that and I now avoid rainy days like the plague.
Egg Warning: Yes, this drink is made with raw eggs. The batter should be refrigerated when not in use and consumed the same day. It is not recommended that pregnant women, young children, the infirm or the elderly consume raw eggs. I am in no way an expert on food safety though, so if you have concerns about using raw eggs, you may want to find a raw egg alternative at your local grocery store (you can find an article on Pasteurized Eggs 101 HERE).
Tom And Jerry Drink vs Eggnog
Some might confuse Tom And Jerry drinks with Eggnog.
They are somewhat similar, but a Tom And Jerry is served warm and Eggnog is served cold. The consistency of the drinks varies also with Eggnog being a thicker heavier drink than the lighter Tom And Jerry.
And lastly, Eggnog is all mixed up and ladled out of a big self-service bowl (or God forbid, a milk carton) whereas Tom And Jerry batter is premade, but the drinks are mixed one by one as they are needed.
Why Is It Called A Tom And Jerry?
It's debatable who created this classic holiday cocktail.
Some say Jerry Thomas, a bartender in New York who was author to one of the first bartenders guides, concocted the drink back in 1847. So the name Tom And Jerry would be a combination of his last and first name.
The other theory is Pierce Egan, an English journalist and writer, created and named the drink after characters in his 1820's novel called "Life In London, Or The Day And Night Scenes Of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. And His Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom". Could there be a longer title for a book?
It definitely was not named after the cat and mouse duo of Tom And Jerry. That I do know!
Tom And Jerry Drink Bowl Sets
Popular in the 1940's, there were quite a few varieties of the bowl sets made.
The ones you will see most often were made by Hazel Atlas. They were white milk glass featuring a holiday scene in red and green and normally emblazoned with the words Tom And Jerry on both the bowl and cups.
Home Laughlin made some "fancier" cream colored ceramic bowl sets that were gold rimmed with matching lettering. No scenes, just the words Tom And Jerry.
As did Hall China with their black bowls with gold lettering. A much more serious and formal look.
Anchor Hocking's Fire King had some iridescent cups and bowls in their Peach Lustre line (which was really more of a shiny rose gold than a true peach, if you ask me). It's sort of an odd color for a Christmas drink set, but it's one that collectors are always on the lookout for.
I do have to say, I think the classic red and green on white milk glass produced by Hazel Atlas ones are my favorites! Some say they are a little too kitschy. In my book there is never too much kitschiness for Christmas!
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.)
Where To Find Vintage Tom And Jerry Punch Bowl Sets
Etsy or Ebay are your best bets. Sure you can run across one at the thrift store or estate sale once in a blue moon, but full sets are becoming more rare to find.
Do You Have To Have A Fancy Tom And Jerry Drink Set?
Absolutely not. It does make it a bit more festive and nostalgic, but using a glass punch set (COMMONLY found at thrift stores, BTW), Santa mugs or even regular old coffee mugs will work just as well. Heck, make them in a paper cup if you want.
How To Make A Virgin Tom And Jerry Drink
Well, this is pretty easy. If serving this to kiddos and non-drinkers, just skip the rum in the batter altogether and then when mixing the drinks in your glasses, skip the rum there also. It is still an awesome, festive and tasty drink without the rum.
Have you ever had a Tom And Jerry drink? Were there any unicorns involved?
Other posts you may enjoy:
Best Soft And Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
20+ Cozy Hot Chocolate Recipes
Top 10 Christmas Themed Fudge Recipes
Crockpot Baked Apple Recipe
Nancy
My Moma use to make us a similar Virgin drink as kids. We did call it eggnog. She would put an egg yolk in a glass, then about a tablespoon of sugar and stir. Then add vanilla to warm milk and add to the glass with the yolk, stir some more, then top with sweetened whipped egg whites and a little nutmeg. We never had any I'll effects from the raw egg and would beg her to make it for us back in the 60's. Thanks for reviving an old memory. My mom was 92 when she passed last year.
Pam
Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your mom passing. I found the 1st Christmas without my mom was really hard.
Mary Boger
So funny.....I have the same set, bought cheap because it was Christmasy. Never used for its intended purpose and never will. Use the bowl for popcorn, mugs for cocoa or just cute kitchen decoration. But it was such a good deal!! lol
Pam
I think I might want to start a collection of them. The only problem is they are hard to store the other 11 months out of the year!
Carolyn
Rum flavoring could be used if a person didn't want the alcoholic rum.
Pam
Oh, that's true. I didn't think of that!
Karen Jantzen
Thanks for the background on the drink; I always wondered about it whenever I saw the sets at stores. 🙂
Barbara O
O! The memories! I was born in 1950 - yeah, I'm OLD! My mom & dad always had Tom & Jerrys at Christmas time. They always served them to guests and invited people over on Christmas Eve for T&Js! They had the exact same set you have. My dad was the driving force - he would go down to south Rockford, IL to an Italian bakery and buy the egg batter mix and then fill his bowl up, have his hot water and rum and whiskey all ready to mix each drink. We always had them for our family Christmas gatherings too. They were - and still are - very popular in that area. When I moved to the South nobody knew what I was talking about
Pam
That's fantastic. I love keeping all the old family traditions alive. And glad to know that you used to be able to buy it at the bakery. I had heard that, but when I called around to the old-school bakeries here in town, I couldn't find anyone who knew what I was talking about.
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
Oh my...sounds like a boozy snickerdoodle in a cup...I'll be right over!
Thanks for sharing, Pam!
Patti
Oh wow, I can't believe I've never heard of this before. What a cute retro set and the recipe sounds super yummy. This may be a great new signature Christmas cocktail for us. Pinning for later.
Barbara Chapman
I like Linda at Itsy Bitsy's comment above! Too funny, Pam!!! I have seen similar sets to these at antique stores and I think I'd end up using them for hot chocolate. Great recipe, though, and I think I have had it before as I remember a rum drink served hot!
Thanks and I pinned a couple for you and for everyone. Yum!
Happy Christmastime to you,
Barb 🙂
Julie Briones
Looks yummy! Love the serving dishware, too!
Mike
This would’ve been great, got all the ingredients gathered up, but didn’t realize the author didn’t include instructions for when to add the sugar. Since this was our first go around with this recipe, we didn’t know which step this was added so didn’t realize until after the batter had already been made. Too late for us! The ingredients call for 2 lbs! That’s a lot of sugar to not include what ought to be done with it.
Pam Kessler
I am so sorry! How did I miss that! Yes, you add the sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks and butter in it and mix it up. I've corrected the recipe card and added that 2 pounds is equivalent to 4 1/2 cups also. Yes, it is a lot of sugar to leave out! Again, I am so sorry for any problems that caused!
John W.
Made this for our office party last weekend and it was a HUGE hit! Thanks for the recipe!
Kelly Harnett
Thank you so much for the history on these!! It made my day, I just came across a set of cups, no bowl but absolutely love this!! Can't wait to use it for Christmas this year!
Leslie
I’ve made this for years however now living in Florida and have major separation of foam and eggs in containers . Syrupy sweet liquid settles to bottom! I’ve tried everything possible. Is it the water content in the eggs?
Pam Kessler
I wonder if it has to do with the humidity in Florida. I know here in Ohio, I cannot whip eggs up into good stiff peaks if it's raining or snowing outside, so I would imagine it's the same concept with humidity down there.
Raychee
Brings back memories! Grandpa would make these every winter and had such a cool T&J set . He'd make us virgin versions. I loved the crispy crust that would form on the top of the batter. Interesting that he would only use buttermilk but I haven't found any recipe online that uses buttermilk. I'll have to see if my mom has his recipe somewhere!