Ear: Jerry

Ah, the beloved winter punch drink, Tom and Jerry. Jeremiah “Jerry” Thomas (1830-1885), aka “The Professor,” the founding father of modern bartending, who wrote the first bartending guide, claimed that he first concocted the drink in 1847, and named it after himself and his two pet white mice (or rats, according to some stories), Tom and Jerry.

From Liquor.com: “… the Thomas we mostly hear about is the craftsman: the man who made his own bitters and infusions, mastered complex formulae and effortlessly tossed arcs of flaming whiskey back and forth between silver mugs.

“But there’s at least one other side to the man: There’s the Thomas who would tend bar with a pair of pet white rats frolicking around on his shoulders and black bowler hat; the one who decorated his bar with the finest billiards tables and colossal paintings of himself mixing drinks; the one who took bets on elections and sporting matches and any other thing whose outcome was uncertain.”

Although there is some argument about whether or not Thomas actually did invent the drink, VintageAmericanCocktails.com says: “Jerry Thomas most likely invented the Tom and Jerry, since there was no reference to it till Jerry Thomas published his recipe.”

His original recipe can be found in his 1862 book “How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon Vivant’s Companion,” which is available both online and, interestingly enough, it’s still in print.