Ingredients

12 egg(s)

1 cup sugar

1 bottle brandy -- brandy

Pinch of ground allspice

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

1 bottle rum -- dark rum

milk

nutmeg

mug

Instructions:

Separate the eggs. Beat the whites until they form a stiff froth, and the yolks -- to which you have added the sugar -- "until they are as thin as water," as the professor advises, gradually adding 4 ounces brandy (spiceaholics will also add a pinch each of ground allspice, cinnamon, and cloves). Fold the whites into the yolks. When ready to serve, give it another stir and then put 1 tablespoon of this batter in a small mug or tumbler. Now add 1 ounce brandy (although some die-hard Dixiecrats prefer bourbon) and 1 ounce Jamaican rum, stirring constantly to avoid curdling. Fill to the top with hot milk and stir until you get foam. Sprinkle a little grated nutmeg on top. This one may require practice and a certain amount of fiddling, but it's well worth the effort. Note: Some people find the milk too rich and filling, so they use half hot milk, half boiling water.

The Wondrich Take:

Invented in the early 1850s by "Professor" Jerry Thomas -- the Bolívar of American drinking -- at the Planters' House hotel, St. Louis, the Tom and Jerry was a holiday favorite for a century. The '60s, with their thirst for novelty and mania for convenience, killed it off, but you can still find the mugs -- little white ceramic things with "Tom & Jerry" printed in gold -- in back-country thrift shops (or on eBay, of course).

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