Note from Lost Cocktails: I have been wanting to feature the “Tom and Jerry” since I created the Lost Cocktails blog. My husband and I visit Niagara Falls a couple times a year and it’s a tradition on our way back to stop at Schwabl’s in West Seneca, New York outside of Buffalo. Sidenote: Anthony Bourdain visited Schwabl’s for his Travel Channel series, “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.”
When we come through in the winter there is always a fresh bowl of Tom and Jerry’s at the bar. It’s their signature winter drink which is served from Columbus Day to St. Patrick’s Day.
This visit was no exception. After trekking through a blizzard on the Peace Bridge in late January I was more than ready to try the renowned concoction I’ve been eyeing up for years on our way through.
The server kindly let me take photos and explained the process that goes into making the Tom and Jerry. She explained about making sure the mug is hot – an essential first step – and then adding the dark rum and brandy mixture before topping off with the egg batter.
I don’t know Schwabl’s exact recipe for their Tom and Jerry but it is exquisitely delicious. If you find yourself in the Buffalo area on a cold and wintry day it’s essential to stop and try it out for yourself.
In the interim, I found the recipe below in “The Bar-Tender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas, 1887” to hold you over.
Tom and Jerry
(Use punch-bowl for the mixture.)
- Take 12 fresh eggs
- 1/2 small bar-glass of Jamaica rum
- 1-1/2 tea-spoonful of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tea-spoonful of ground cloves
- 1/2 tea-spoonful of ground allspice
- Sufficient fine white sugar
Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and the yolks until they are thin as water, then mix together and add the spice and rum, stir up thoroughly, and thicken with sugar until the mixture attains the consistence of a light batter.
A larger or smaller quantity of this mixture may be made by increasing or diminishing the proportions of the ingredients given in the above recipe.
N.B. – A tea-spoonful of cream of tartar, or about as much carbonate of soda as you can get on a dime, will prevent the sugar from settling to the bottom of the mixture.
How to Serve Tom and Jerry.
(use small bar glass.)
- Take 1 table-spoonful of the above mixture.
- 1 wine-glass of brandy.
- Fill the glass with boiling water, grate a little nutmeg on top, and serve with a spoon.
Adepts at the bar, in serving Tom and Jerry sometimes employ the following mixture: – one-half brandy, one-quarter Jamaica rum, one-quarter Santa Cruz rum. For convenience, these proportions are mixed and kept in a bottle, and a wine-glassful is used to each tumbler of Tom and Jerry, instead of brandy plain.
Copenhagen.
This is only another name for Tom and Jerry.
The Bar-Tender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas, 1887
Check out the Lost Cocktails eBook on Amazon
