AuthorThe Cocktails Must FlowCategoryLemon Wheel, Maraschino Cherry, Sparkling WaterDifficultyBeginner

The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail—that is, a long drink stirred with ice and topped with soda—made from London dry gin, lemon juice, sugar and carbonated water. It differs from the John Collins by using Old Tom Gin rather than London Dry Gin.

A recipe for a John Collins is featured in the Steward and Barkeeper's Manual of 1869:

Teaspoonful of powdered sugar
The juice of half a lemon
A wine glass of Old Tom Gin
A bottle of plain soda
Shake up, or stir up with ice.
Add a slice of lemon peel to finish.

Drinks historian David Wondrich has speculated that the original recipe that was introduced to New York in the 1850s would have been very similar to the gin punches that are known to have been served at London clubs such as the Garrick during the first half of the 19th century. He states that these would have been along the lines of gin, lemon juice, chilled soda water, and maraschino.

The specific call for Old Tom gin in the 1869 recipe is a likely cause for the subsequent name change to "Tom Collins" in Jerry Thomas's 1876 recipe. In contemporary parlance, the John Collins refers to a Tom Collins made with whiskey instead of gin. Earlier versions of the gin punch are likely to have used Hollands instead.

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