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WINTER DRINKS
Tom and Jerry.
I may premise that what led to this excel
lent hot drink being invented or mixed is not
generally known. The following particulars
were communicated to my son by Mr. Jerry
Thomas himself, of the Planter's House, St.
Louis, and afterwards of his own saloon at the
corner of the Sixth Avenue and Broadway, New
York. He said;
' One very cold day I was mixing an egg
nogg, and was about to add the milk and ice to
the mixture, when all at once I thought, " If the
nogg is good cold, why should it not on a cold
day like this be better hot ?" I determined to
try. I put two tablespoonfuls of the batter into
a tumbler, and, instead of milk and ice, put in
half a pint of boiling water, stirring quickly all
the time to keep it smooth. I then added the
usual brandy, Jamaica, and Santa Cruz rum,
and a dust of nutmeg, and offered it to 'a
customer who was present; he tasted, he drank,
and at once pronounced it " nectar fit for the
gods"; it was exhilarating, and made him "feel
warm all over." I also tasted it, and with my
acquired taste said, "That will do."
' It soon became known, and when a name
was about to be given it a facetious friend who
was present suggested that it should be called
after myself, "Jerry Thomas," "or better still,"
he said, "call it 'Tom and Jerry,'" and that is
the name it has been known by ever since.'
The mixture is made as follows, using a