How to Make a Tom Collins
The Tom Collins is a lemon highball with backbone. It is refreshing, bright, and easy to drink, but it should still feel like a real cocktail rather than sparkling lemonade. The drink lives in that narrow space between sour and spritz. Get the lemon, syrup, and soda right, and it becomes one of the cleanest warm-weather orders on the board.
Ingredients
A dry gin keeps the drink crisp and lets the lemon stay fresh instead of candy-like.
Fresh lemon is the spine here. Bottled juice makes the drink feel flat in seconds.
This should only round the edges. Too much syrup and the Collins loses its snap.
Cold soda gives the drink length and lift. Flat soda makes it feel finished before it starts.
Instructions
- 1
Shake gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice.
Shake the base first so the gin, lemon, and syrup arrive balanced before you lengthen the drink.
- 2
Strain into a collins glass filled with ice.
Fresh ice in the Collins glass keeps the dilution clean.
- 3
Top with club soda and stir gently.
Top with soda and stir lightly. You want bubbles left in the glass.
- 4
Garnish with a lemon slice and a cherry.
Lemon and cherry garnish is classic and keeps the drink recognizable.
Bartender Tips
- ★This is one of the best drinks to recommend when a guest wants something light but not boring.
- ★Do not over-shake the base. The soda is going to do some of the lifting for you.
- ★A Tom Collins should drink drier than a lot of casual bars make it.
Variations
John Collins
Use bourbon instead of gin for a rounder and warmer version of the same format.
Vodka Collins
Use vodka if the guest wants less botanical character. Serviceable, but less interesting.
Elderflower Collins
Add elderflower liqueur for a floral summer riff that still stays in the Collins family.
Where It Sits on a Menu
The Tom Collins is the classic answer to guests who want gin but do not want the austerity of a Martini or the bitterness of a Negroni. It is polite, familiar, and easier to love on the first try than most old-school gin drinks.
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