Vintage 1940s Tom & Jerry Ivory with Gold Lettering Punch Bowl Set

Product Description

Vintage 1940s Tom & Jerry Ivory Punch Bowl Set recalls a holiday drinking tradition with roots in Regency-era London. The warming cocktail is generally credited to British writer and sporting journalist Pierce Egan, who popularized the drink in the 1820s alongside his enormously successful book and stage adaptation, Tom and Jerry, or Life in London. Americans enthusiastically adopted the concoction, and by the twentieth century, serving Tom & Jerrys had become a familiar Christmas ritual in homes and taverns across the country.

The large ivory-colored punch bowl is emblazoned with gleaming gold "Tom & Jerry" lettering and accompanied by matching cups. Traditionally, a decadent batter of eggs, sugar, and warming spices was spooned into each cup before rum, brandy, and hot milk or water were added, creating a rich, frothy drink somewhere between eggnog and a hot toddy. Made for passing around on cold winter nights, this 1940s set preserves both the recipe and the convivial ritual that surrounded it.