Highball · 1876
Tom Collins
A gin sour, lengthened with soda. The blueprint for every Collins since.
Specification
| London dry gin | 50 ml |
| Fresh lemon juice | 25 ml |
| Sugar syrup 1:1 | 20 ml |
| Soda water | to top, ~80 ml |
| Lemon wheel and cherry | 1 each |
Method
- 01Shake gin, lemon and syrup briefly with ice.
- 02Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass.
- 03Top with soda and stir once from the bottom.
- 04Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Where it comes from
Printed by Jerry Thomas in 1876, and named after a running practical joke in New York where people were sent to find a man named Tom Collins who was supposedly insulting them. The joke died, the drink did not.
If you change one thing: Shake briefly, not hard. Over-aerating before adding soda leaves you with a glass of foam that pushes the liquid out.