Recipe for tom collins
Lovely recipe for the classic drink: “Tom Collins”.
We have the recipe (not the image) from the book: “Gin – vodka – tequila – 150 new and classic cocktails“, from which author Brian Lucas says the following about the drink:
“A ‘collins’ has become the generic term for all spirit-based cocktails with lemon juice, sugar syrup, and soda water, hence we have Brandy Collins, Rum Collins, and Vodka Collins, to name just three.
It is claimed that it originates more than a hundred years ago, where the original gin-based drink, Tom Collins, got its name for the first time.
The story goes that a bartender in London named John Collins originally made the cocktail with Dutch genever gin – a gin sweetened with sugar and glycerin, which was far more widespread at the end of the 19th century than today. Genever gin was also known as ‘Old Tom,’ and hence, the
drink John Collins invented confusingly became Tom Collins.Nowadays, the two names are used almost interchangeably. However, if you order the drink in a bar, you should always check the list of ingredients or specify which base spirit you expect – in some cocktail menus, John Collins is the name given to the whiskey-based drink, while Tom Collins remains its gin-based sibling.
Tom Collins is both a very popular and an incredibly classic drink. It is a refreshing drink in a tall glass, which masks the alcohol content, making it seem mostly like a cocktail for hot summer vacation days.”
Ingredients
- 6 cl Gin
- Lemon Juice Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp. Sugar
- Sparkling Water
- Ice Cubes
Instructions
- Shake the first 3 ingredients with ice and strain into a glass filled with ice.
- Top up with soda water and stir.
- Garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry.