John Collins
Gin, lemon, sparkle.
Gin, lemon, sugar and soda over plenty of ice: a grown-up lemonade in its cleanest form. Crisp and thirst-quenching, it is the head of the Collins family.
- IBA · The Unforgettables
- Long drink
- Built
- Glass
- Highball glass
- Method
- Built
- Strength
- Light
- Time
- 2 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- Cubes
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Gin
45 ml
-
Lemon juice
30 ml
-
Simple syrup
15 ml
-
Soda water
60 ml
Garnish
- Lemon slice
- Maraschino cherry
Proportions
How to make
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Pour the gin.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Add the simple syrup.
- Top with the soda water.
- Stir gently.
- Garnish with a lemon slice and a cherry.
The story
Origins
ProbableA plausible account, without definitive proof.
By tradition, the name recalls John Collins, head waiter at Limmer's Old House, a hotel and coffee house on Conduit Street in London, famous in the early nineteenth century for its gin punch. A rhyme by Frank and Charles Sheridan places him at work behind that very bar. In the United States a Collins recipe made with Old Tom gin appears in print in 1869, and in 1876 Jerry Thomas published it as the Tom Collins, a name perhaps owed to the style of gin. By 1882 Harry Johnson's manual already separated the John Collins, made with Dutch gin, from the Tom Collins made with Old Tom. Today the IBA codifies it with gin, lemon, sugar syrup and soda, built in the glass.
Sources (3)
Taste profile
- Citrus
- 4 out of 5
- Fresh
- 4 out of 5
- Bubbly
- 3 out of 5
- Sour
- 3 out of 5