Tom Collins
Sparkling lemonade, grown up.
Gin, lemon and sugar shaken, then lengthened with soda in a tall glass full of ice. Fresh and thirst-quenching, it is the head of the Collins family.
- Long drink
- Shaken
- Glass
- Collins glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Strength
- Light
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- Cubes
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Gin
45 ml
-
Lemon juice
22.5 ml
-
Simple syrup
22.5 ml
-
Soda water
top up
Garnish
- Orange slice
- Maraschino cherry
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a collins glass.
- Pour the gin into the shaker.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Add the simple syrup.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Shake well.
- Fill the collins glass with ice.
- Strain into the glass.
- Top with soda water.
- Stir briefly.
- Garnish with an orange wheel and a cherry on a pick.
The story
Origins
LegendA story passed down, not confirmed by the sources.
The origins of the Tom Collins are disputed. An English tradition links it to John Collins, a headwaiter at Limmer's Hotel in London in the 19th century, known for a gin punch; the switch to the name Tom is said to come from the use of Old Tom gin, but this theory lacks firm proof. In the United States, in 1874, the so-called Tom Collins hoax spread: victims were told that a certain Tom Collins was badmouthing them in a nearby bar and sent off to find him in vain, as New Orleans and Atlanta newspapers of that year attest. The recipe appears in print in Jerry Thomas's 1876 guide and in Harry Johnson's 1882 manual.
Sources (5)
- Difford's Guide — Tom Collins (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- PUNCH — Tom Collins (opens in a new tab) recipe and history
- IBA — All cocktails, page 5 (no Tom Collins) (opens in a new tab) recipe
- IBA — All cocktails, page 3 (John Collins listed) (opens in a new tab) recipe
- American Dialect Society archives — Tom Collins (April 1997) (opens in a new tab) history
Taste profile
- Citrus
- 4 out of 5
- Fresh
- 4 out of 5
- Bubbly
- 3 out of 5
- Sour
- 3 out of 5
- Sweet
- 2 out of 5
