I drank my first Tom and Jerry yesterday -- well, my first since I sipped my grandma's about 25 years ago -- and I am a believer. I am not sure why I haven't had one before, considering I am a big fan of egg nog, brandy and rum. It's hot, sweet and potent -- the perfect combo to dull the drone of yammering relatives and hookey holiday ditties.

My smitten-ness with this classic holiday cocktail drove me to Wikipedia, where I learned a sports writer named Pierce Egan coined the phrase in a book around 1820. To Egan, "Tom and Jerry" means fighting, drinking and causing trouble. I don't know about you, but that's what I like to toast at Christmastime.

Here's a basic recipe for the Tom and Jerry:

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup or 1 tsp powdered sugar
• 1 oz. dark rum
• 1 oz. Cognac or brandy
• hot milk or hot water
• grated nutmeg for garnish

Preparation:

1. Separate the egg white from the egg yolk and beat them separately.
2. Fold the beaten eggs together and place into an Irish coffee glass -- or any mug.
3. Add the sugar or simple syrup, dark rum and brandy.
4. Fill with hot milk or hot water.
5. Stir well.
6. Sprinkle with nutmeg.