Southbury Tom & Jerry

Christmas in Connecticut, a 1945 comedy set in New England features a character called Jefferson Jones who is a returning war hero who had been stuck on a life raft for 18 days and fantasized about real food, including chocolate cake and ice cream. I adore Tom & Jerry and I’m super into this version which features rye whiskey and chocolate stout–it’s the most custardy hot chocolate you’ve ever had. Best enjoyed in a horse-drawn sleigh.

INGREDIENTS

For each serving:
2 Tablespoons Tom & Jerry batter
3 oz. stout-rye mix, warmed
4 oz. hot milk

Garnish: cocoa powder

For rye-stout mix:
12 oz. chocolate stout
6 oz. rye whiskey

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ABV LEVEL

Rye-stout mix:
Mix together stout and rye and bottle. To ensure your finished drink is the right temperature, put the bottled mix in a bain-marie before making the individual drinks.

For batter: Separate 3 eggs. Beat egg whites with ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks, gradually adding ⅓ cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Add 1 oz. of rum or brandy to the egg yolk mixture. Fold in reserved egg whites.

To serve: Heat however many 10-ounce mugs you require. Measure 4 oz. of milk for each serving and pour into saucepan or milk warmer. Heat until hot, being sure not to boil. Dump out warming water from mugs. For each serving, put 2 Tablespoons batter and 3 oz. of warmed stout-rye mix, and whisk briefly to combine. Add 4 oz. of hot milk, whisking constantly to create a frothy consistency. Garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder.