The Tom and Jerry was invented by Professor Jerry Thomas—rise please—over seventy years ago, in the days when New York was the scene of the soundest drinking on earth. The Tom and Jerry and the Blue Blazer—the latter a powerful concoction of burning whisky and boiling water—were the greatest cold weather beverages of that era.

—Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1933. His recipe for the Tom and Jerry:

1 egg
½ glass Jamaica Rum.
1 Tablespoon Powdered Sugar.
1/2 Glass Brandy.