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The Tom Collins is the original highball cocktail. Gin, lemon juice, sugar, soda water, served tall over ice. Simple, refreshing, basically a boozy lemonade with carbonation, and it has been on bar menus since the 1870s.

There is a thing called the Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874 which is one of the better stories in cocktail history. The hoax was that you walked into a bar and asked the bartender ‘Have you seen Tom Collins?’ as a setup to a fake outrage about a man who was supposedly slandering you across town. The bartender, in on it, would direct you to the next bar where ‘Tom Collins’ was apparently last seen. The joke was the chase. The drink that bears the name was created shortly after, allegedly by a bartender capitalising on the gag.

It became one of the most ordered drinks of the late 1800s. The original was made with Old Tom gin, a slightly sweeter style of gin that was huge before Prohibition and came back into fashion in the 2010s. London Dry works fine. The cocktail is forgiving.

What it requires is fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice ruins it. The whole drink is gin plus lemon plus fizz, and if your lemon juice is the murky brown stuff from a plastic bottle shaped like a lemon, you have ruined the cocktail at the foundation. Squeeze a real lemon. It takes 30 seconds.

Tom Collins

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Gin, lemon juice, sugar, soda water, served tall over ice. The original highball cocktail and the easiest gin drink to nail at home.
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Prep Time 3 minutes
Total Time 3 minutes
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
 

  • 2 oz Gin
  • 1 oz Fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz Simple syrup or 2 tsp sugar
  • Club soda to top, about 3 oz
  • 1 Lemon wheel to garnish
  • 1 Maraschino cherry optional

Instructions
 

Build:
  1. Add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a Collins (tall) glass.
  2. Fill the glass with ice cubes.
  3. Top with about 3 oz of club soda.
  4. Stir gently with a bar spoon to combine without breaking up the bubbles.
Garnish:
  1. Garnish with a lemon wheel on the rim and, if you must, a maraschino cherry.

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 0.2gSodium: 0.02mgSugar: 11g

Notes

The 'Tom' in Tom Collins originally referred to Old Tom gin, a slightly sweeter style of gin popular in the 1800s. London Dry gin works fine, just bump the simple syrup by 1/4 oz to compensate.
If you only have lemon-lime soda, use it but cut the simple syrup. The soda already has sugar in it.
For a Vodka Collins, swap the gin for vodka. Same recipe, different drink. For a Whiskey Collins, swap for bourbon. Same again.
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 170

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Tips That Actually Matter

  • Fresh lemon, no exceptions. Bottled lemon juice will ruin this cocktail more than any other. Squeeze it.
  • Tall glass, lots of ice. A Collins glass is taller and narrower than a highball. The ice keeps the drink cold; the height shows off the bubbles.
  • Soda last, stir gently. Pour the soda last. Stir from the bottom up just once or twice. Aggressive stirring kills the carbonation.

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