Gin, lemon, sugar, soda, tall glass. Six glasses’ worth of variations.
The Tom Collins is to gin what the Old Fashioned is to bourbon. Spirit + citrus + sugar + soda + ice + tall glass. Cooked up in 1870 at Limmer’s Hotel in London, refined in America, taught to every bartender as the prototype highball.
The template is bulletproof: 60mL spirit, 30mL fresh lemon, 20mL simple syrup, top with chilled soda water, fill a Collins glass with ice, garnish with a lemon wheel and a cherry. Swap the spirit, swap the citrus, swap the syrup, you have the entire family.
The recipes
Cocktail
The Tom Collins
The original highball. Why you are pouring this tonight The original highball. Gin, lemon, sugar, soda, ice, tall glass. Invented at Limmer's in London in the 1860s, named…
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Cocktail
Vodka Collins
Tom Collins minus the gin botanicals. Why you are pouring this tonight The Vodka Collins is what you order when you want a Tom Collins but the gin…
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Cocktail
Raspberry Collins
Tom Collins with five muddled raspberries and a touch less sugar. Why you are pouring this tonight The Raspberry Collins is what I make when summer fruit is…
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Cocktail
Cucumber Collins
Tom Collins with three slices of cucumber muddled in. Why you are pouring this tonight Tom Collins with three slices of cucumber muddled in. Light, refreshing, the most-ordered…
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Cocktail
Elderflower Collins
Tom Collins with Saint-Germain replacing some of the simple syrup. Why you are pouring this tonight Tom Collins with Saint-Germain replacing some of the simple syrup. Floral, light,…
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Cocktail
Whisky Collins
Tom Collins's older American cousin. Why you are pouring this tonight Tom Collins's older American cousin. Sometimes called a 'John Collins'. Bourbon or rye in place of gin.…
Read the recipe →The Collins is the cocktail to teach a beginner. Easy to balance, hard to ruin, and once they have made one they understand the highball template that runs from G&T to Mojito to Mule to Long Island Iced Tea.