Wed, December 12, 2012

Tom & Jerry time

Now I can finally say I have sipped my first Tom & Jerry holiday drink ever. That's right, up until now I had never experienced this Wisconsin tradition. And that's exactly what it is...I think it has something to do with our state's love of brandy. I've got a story about it coming up this afternoon on the PhilCast.

Anyway, this wasn't just any Tom & Jerry either. Nope, this one was a family recipe dating back decades. And as Mark from Mark's Eastside in Appleton described it table side I noticed he used the words "secret ingredient" at one point.

I had no idea about all the work that went into the making of what they call the 'batter" of this drink, a sweet, creamy taste treat that seems to float atop a mixture of some concoction of booze.

Not being a drinker, the booze part was a bit strong for me, but I quickly developed a sipping method using a slight draw from my stir stick for the booze, then poking my face into the frothy topping for the appropriate mix trickling down into my belly warming me from the inside out.

And Reggie and I even had the opportunity to share some holiday cheer sitting right next to the big flocked tree at Mark's Eastside.

I'm just old enough to remember when most families went out to buy a real tree, then had it flocked. This thing is old school and beautiful.

And for a couple of guys who don't drink we did okay. After dinner I convinced Reggie to try another Wisconsin favorite that I had never had before I discovered them at Mark's; the Brandy Alexander.

Somebody fire up the blender!