ClassicsSummer

Tom Collins

First printed by Harry Johnson, Bartenders' Manual, 1882

The Tom Collins is gin, lemon and sugar, shaken and topped with soda in a tall glass. It is light, crisp and refreshing, the drink to make when it is too hot for anything stronger. The first long drink of the warm season.

  • GlassCollins
  • MethodShaken
  • Ingredients4
  • Prep3 min
  • DifficultyEasy
Tom Collins

Ingredients

Making a batch?
Servings
Lemon wheelGarnish
Total volume—

Directions

  1. Shake the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice.
  2. Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice.
  3. Top with club soda and add a straw.

ToolsJiggerShakerHawthorne strainerCollins glass

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History

The Tom Collins took its name in the 1870s and is likely related to the John Collins, a London drink named for a headwaiter at Limmer's Old House. In 1874 a hoax swept New York, and the name stuck. Harry Johnson's 1882 bartender's manual gives one of the first printed recipes, with Old Tom gin. The tall Collins glass is named for the drink.

Making a batch? Scale it for a crowd, add dilution water, and see how many bottles to buy.
Quick sizes
How are you making it? ⓘ Batching includes dilution water. Pre-batched cocktails need added water to replace the melt from stirring or shaking. We use Jeffrey Morgenthaler's standard: 18% for spirit-forward drinks, 25% for shaken.

What you'll need to buy

Based on 750ml bottles (25.4 oz), rounded up.

Bottle math, generally

750ml bottle25.4 oz
2 oz pours per bottle12 cocktails
1.5 oz pours per bottle16 cocktails
1 oz =29.6 ml
This recipe per 750ml of spirit—

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