A hot, frothy cousin of eggnog with a spirited spine, it drinks warm and custardy beneath a meringue-light cap, the sweetened egg batter loosened by brandy and dark rum and lengthened with steaming milk. Grated nutmeg perfumes every sip, while the brandy's warmth and the rum's dark, molasses depth keep all that richness from tipping into cloying.
Garnish: Grated Nutmeg
built · Mug
muddle
Separate the egg. Beat the white to a stiff froth; beat the yolk with the sugar until smooth, then fold together into a light batter (this is the Tom and Jerry batter, traditionally made in volume ahead).
build
Spoon a generous scoop of the batter into a warmed mug.
add
Add the brandy and dark rum and stir gently to loosen the batter.
top
Top with hot milk, stirring lightly to fold the batter through into a frothy, custardy cup.
garnish
Grate fresh nutmeg over the top and serve hot with a spoon.
Who first mixed it is contested. Jerry Thomas put himself forward as its inventor and carried it into barrooms across 19th-century America through his Bar-Tender's Guide, yet the drink was already around before he took it up. Its name points back to London — to Pierce Egan's 1821 Life in London and the play that followed it, Tom and Jerry, or Life in London — though even the Egan link is credited loosely rather than proven. Thomas stretched his batter and brandy with boiling water where today's mugs take hot milk, and the drink endures as a winter ritual across the Midwest.