Cocktail Tom Collins

How to prepare the Tom Collins cocktail?

Preparation time5 min

Ingredients:  

• Gin 50ml
• Lemon juice 100ml
• soda 100ml
• sugar 1 tablespoon
• Ice

Other ingredients:

• A slice of lemon to decorate.

The Tom Collins is the simplest and easiest gin cocktail recipe to prepare, since it can be made without the need to use a cocktail glass or a mixing spoon. Likewise, most professional bartenders advise preparing this cocktail directly in the glass in which it is going to be drunk. In this sense, this should be a tall and wide glass, also called a “Collins glass” or “shaker”, like the ones that are also used to prepare Martini.

As they say, the original recipe was created by John Collins, a waiter of English origin, who created these cocktails with gin in 1890. The name is the combination of the last name of its creator and the name of the gin, sweet and of Dutch origin that used, called Old Tom. However, in other cocktail manuals it is pointed out that the origin of this combination with gin is much earlier and that it was prepared in the United States before that date, since the Tom Collins is still a variant of the famous “Gin Sour”..

The Tom Collins is a basic lemon gin recipe. To begin its preparation, first pour the lemon juice into the glass and add a tablespoon of sugar or syrup and two measures of gin. To finish, add the soda and dilute the sugar, stirring everything well. You should also add between three and four ice cubes, as well as a slice of lemon to decorate. The syrup can be prepared with two equal measures of water and sugar, mixed over low heat.

The Tom Collins is one of the best cocktails with gin that can be prepared in summer, since in addition to its simplicity, it is a very refreshing drink. In this sense, soda can be replaced by almost any soft drink to the consumer’s taste, for example, Sprite, sparkling water, siphon, lemon soda and even soda can be used, although in some cases, such as Sprite or soda, the result will be slightly sweeter than the original recipe. At the same time, for those users who prefer a less acid touch, it is possible to replace the lemon slice with some lime wedges that will give it a different and much fresher touch.

Being such a simple cocktail, Tom Collins has many variants depending on the type of alcohol used as a base for its preparation. In this way, if vodka is used instead of gin, the so-called “Vodka Collins” or “Comrade Collins” is created, if rum is used, it will be called “Ron Collins” and if the gin is changed for tequila, it will be called “Juan collins”.