John Collins
Ingredients
- 2 oz Tanqueray London Dry Gin
- 5⁄6 oz Lemon juice
- 1⁄2 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup
- 1⁄2 oz Sugar syrup 'rich'
- 1 2⁄3 oz Thomas Henry Tonic
- 1 2⁄3 oz Thomas Henry Soda Water
Method
Glass:
Serve in a Collins glass
Prepare:
- Select and pre-chill a COLLINS GLASS.
- Prepare garnish of skewered orange slice wheel and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry (sail).
How to make:
- SHAKE first 3 ingredients with ice.
- STRAIN into ice-filled glass whilst also pouring soda.
Garnish:
- Garnish with skewered orange slice and maraschino cherry (sail).
Review:
A refreshing balance of sour lemon and sugar, laced with London dry gin and lengthened with soda. Some know this cocktail as a Tom Collins, understandably so, but a Tom Collins is based on old tom gin, while a John Collins is based on London dry gin. I borrow the wise words of David A. Embury (below) to address this confusion on our Tom Collins page.
Variant:
In his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks David A. Embury says, "Originally there were two brothers only in the Collins family - Tom and John. During recent years, however, numerous cousins have appeared on the scene - Pedro, Pierre, Sandy, Mike, Jack, the Colonel and several others whose first names have not yet been officially recorded in the baptismal registry."
Captain Collins - with Canadian whisky
Colonel Collins - with bourbon whiskey
Dutch Collins or Genever Collins (aka Phil Collins) - with genever/jenever/Hollands
Jack Collins - with calvados
Jock Collins or Sandy Collins - with Scotch whisky
Joe Collins or Vodka Collins - with vodka
John Collins - with London dry gin
Jose Collins or Pepito Collins - with tequila
Mike Collins or Ronan Collins - with Irish whiskey
Pedro Collins - with light white rum
Pierre Collins - with cognac/brandy
Pisco Collins - with pisco
Rum Collins - with aged rum
Tom Collins - with old tom gin
Whiskey Collins - with bourbon/rye whiskey
History:
It would appear that the Collins morphed from the Gin Punch, a popular drink of the day and its creation and name are attributed to John (or possibly Jim) Collins, head waiter at Limmer's Hotel on Conduit Street in London during the late 1800s. The 'coffee house' of Limmer's Hotel was a true dive bar, popular with sporting types during the 19th century and famous, according to the 1860s memoirs of Captain Gronow (a Victorian writer of four observational tomes) for its Gin Punch as early as 1814.
John Collins is immortalised in an 1892 limerick written by Frank and Charles Sheridan about John Collins:
Nutrition:
One serving of John Collins contains 208 calories
