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Cocktails

You Deserve a Breezy, Crushable Collins

May 15, 2023

Story: Punch Staff

photo: Lizzie Munro

Cocktails

You Deserve a Breezy, Crushable Collins

May 15, 2023

Story: Punch Staff

photo: Lizzie Munro

The underrated classic knows no bounds. Here are nine of our favorite easy takes.

Like so many drinks, the origins of the Collins are muddled. If you take the American side of the story, the Tom Collins evolved from the “The Great Tom Collins Hoax” of 1874, in which pranksters would tell a friend they had run into one “Tom Collins” at a bar around the corner who had bad-mouthed said friend. When the friend would leave to find “Tom Collins,” the trick sparked a wild-goose chase of, perhaps, not-so-epic proportions.

Or you can choose the British side, which (more likely) suggests that the Tom Collins was the creation of London bartender John Collins, who dreamed up an eponymous gin punch in the latter half of the 19th century, that, when made with Old Tom Gin, presumably became the Tom Collins. Featured in Harry Johnson's 1882 bartender's manual, the classic is a bubbly drink made of lemon, sugar, soda water and gin.

Ask any bartender today for a riff on the Collins, and you’ll be certain to come away with at least a dozen variations. Bartenders have brought the centuries-old drink into the modern day by putting an aperitif-like spin on the drink, swapping the gin for other base spirits and amping up the citrus flavor with cordials or other juices, like grapefruit. Still, despite so many layered takes on the drink, some argue that its simplest form may already be the best: “In its original gin—specifically Old Tom—capacity, it’s just transcendent,” says Maison Premiere’s William Elliott.

Infernal Collins
Recipe

Infernal Collins

A gingery take on the bubbly classic.

Underrated Classic Cocktail Tom Collins
Recipe

Maison Premiere’s Tom Collins

In a Gimlet-like approach, lemon cordial adds extra brightness to the classic.

Phil Collins
Recipe

Phil Collins

An herbal, cucumber-y highball designed to commemorate the Genesis singer’s birthday.

Bitter Tom Cocktail
Recipe

Bitter Tom

A bitters-based Tom Collins with Campari and Bénédictine.

Salted Plum Vodka Collins
Recipe

Salted Plum Vodka Collins

Salted plum and citrus results in a complex, thirst-quenching take on the Tom Collins.

frenchette collins cocktail recipe
Recipe

Eponine Collins

A French-inflected Collins complemented by Suze and Amaro Montenegro.

luli tom collins cocktail recipe
Recipe

Luli Collins

A grape-based riff on the Tom Collins.

Recipe

Scarlet Pimpernel

A low-ABV cooler designed for New Orleans summers.

Recipe

Chain Reaction

A simple, refreshing combination of plum wine, peach liqueur and Amaro Angeleno.

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