Tom Collins

The Tom Collins is another cocktail classic.  Everyone has heard of it, not everyone has consumed one. 

I have had a Tom Collins before, and if my memory serves me well, it reminded me of a flat and off-tasting Sprite.  Mind you, this was when I was around 18 years old or so, and at the time, I had no palate for cocktails.  If it was sweet, I could drink it.  I was also using a Tom Collins mix, which, much like the sour drinks of old I talked about yesterday, the Tom Collins mix was made entirely of sugar. 

Today's recipe though, is free of such shenanigans, and will taste miles better. 

The Tom Collins is an old drink, its origins dating back to 1874.  Then, "Tom Collins" was the name of a fictitious hooligan, a rather innocuous hoax that was featured in multiple newspapers.  Papers printed reports of a troublemaker named Tom Collins, and the name began to stick on various drinks in 1876. 

Here is the recipe:

Tom Collins
American Bar, page 187

3/4-1 oz lemon juice
1/4-3/4 oz sugar syrup
2 oz gin
soda
stemmed cherry
lemon

Stir first three ingredients well over ice cubes in a Collins glass, fill with soda, add cherry and lemon slice.

For the Tom Collins, I'll be using Bombay Sapphire gin, Nellie and Joe's Famous Key West Lemon Juice, Schweppes club soda, and simple syrup from Fresh Market.

This is chuggable.  I had to catch myself from downing this drink at an extreme clip. 

Quick sidebar:  Those that know me, know that I have a tendency to chug everything I drink, especially water.  I don't know where this stems from; I've consumed absurd amounts of water ever since I was a kid.  I don't normally chug beer though, for whatever the reason.  I can, if need be (the old college case-races, 2 on 2...good times).  Anyway, as a result of this tendency, when something is as tasty as the Tom Collins, I have to force myself not to down it too quickly.  If only this were my lone quirk.

As I was saying - the Tom Collins is chuggable.  Like many of the drinks featured of late, this is a brilliant cocktail for warm weather, in part because of the large ice cubes that make the cocktail more akin to an ice tea than a martini.  You'll be reminded of a light lemonade, perfect to cool you off.

And it doesn't taste like a Sprite in the slightest.  You can easily taste the lemon juice, which pairs nicely with the gin.  Bombay Sapphire has really nice fruit notes as it is, and the lemon juice and gin go together like Lennon and McCartney. 

The Tom Collins receives an unequivocal recommendation.  But don't buy a mix.  I implore you, please.  Do. Not. Buy. A. Mix.

Do though, have an excellent weekend.  And let me know how the drinks are going - love hearing feedback from those who have made recipes and written in.  As always, I appreciate your readership!

Cheers!



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