British · Drinks · SAMPLE RECIPE
Tom Collins · gin, lemon & lively soda
Old Tom gin, fresh lemon, and a little sugar lengthened with cold soda water. A tall, sparkling classic with a simple lemon-and-cherry finish.
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A NOTE FROM THE KITCHEN
Old Tom gin gives this Collins its rounded character.
Use Old Tom gin for this version; its lightly sweet style differs from London dry. Ready-to-use simple syrup is made with equal weights sugar and water and starts cooled. Soda water is chilled and added only after shaking the still ingredients.
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Tom Collins · gin, lemon & lively soda
Sample recipe awaiting kitchen testing. Timings are estimates. Contains alcohol.
The good part
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BEHIND THE DISH · London roots and a transatlantic Collins tradition
Tom Collins · gin, lemon & lively sodaBeyond the plate.
Gin, lemon, sugar, and soda make a tall drink whose ice and bubbles are as important as its spirit.
ORIGINS & EVOLUTION
From punch to a tall glass.
The Collins family developed from gin punch associated with London’s John Collins tradition and traveled widely. Names and base spirits changed along the way. Old Tom gin became closely associated with the Tom Collins, though dry-gin versions are also familiar.
CULTURAL CONTEXT
A glass takes the cocktail’s name.
The long, narrow Collins glass suits a drink lengthened with soda and filled with ice. Old Tom’s rounded, lightly sweet character gives a different result from London dry gin. The return of that style has helped bartenders revisit older Collins recipes.
AT THE TABLE
Shake the base, then add soda.
We use Old Tom gin with measured lemon and prepared simple syrup. The still ingredients are shaken first, following a method also used by gin producers, then topped with cold soda over fresh ice. Lemon and a cherry finish each glass.
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