Editing Tom Collins

{{Short description|Cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar and club soda}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox cocktail
| name        = Tom Collins
| image       = VTR - Tom Collins.jpg
| caption     = 
| type        = highball 
| gin         = yes
| served      = rocks
| garnish     = [[Lemon]] slice and [[maraschino cherry]]
| drinkware   = collins
| ingredients = 
*{{cvt|6|cL|usoz|0}} [[Old Tom gin]]
*{{cvt|2.5|cL|usoz|1}} [[lemon juice]]
*{{cvt|1.5|cL|usoz|1}} [[simple syrup]]
*{{cvt|5|cL|usoz|1}} [[club soda]]
| source = url
| sourcelink = https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1972/tom-collins#ingredients
| prep        = Mix the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a tall glass with ice, top up with soda water, garnish and serve.
}}

The '''Tom Collins''' is a Collins [[cocktail]] made from [[gin]], [[lemon juice]], sugar, and [[carbonated water]]. This "gin and sparkling [[lemonade]]" drink is typically served in a [[Collins glass]] over ice with a cherry garnish. A non-alcoholic "Collins mix" [[drink mixer|mixer]] is produced, enjoyed by some as a soft drink.

The drink is a variant of the similar [[John Collins (cocktail)|John Collins]].

==History==
[[File:TomCollinsOrigins.PNG|200px|thumb|right|An August 1891 article from the British weekly magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' disparaging British physician [[Sir Morell Mackenzie]] noting in August 1891 that the title of the song actually was "Jim Collins" and that Mackenzie otherwise inaccurately quoted and characterized the song.]]

The earliest publication of any Collins, as well as any Fizz recipe, are both located in the same book, American bartender and author [[Harry Johnson (bartender)|Harry Johnson]]'s 1882 ''Harry Johnson's'' ''New and Improved Bartender’s Manual, or How to Mix Drinks of the Present Style, in English and German.'' The book includes a Tom Collins calling for [[Old Tom gin]] and a John Collins calling for [[Jenever|Holland Gin]], most likely what is now known as Genièvre.

Johnson's recipe for Tom Collins from 1882 is as follows:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Harry [from old catalog |url=https://archive.org/details/harryjohnsonsnew00john/page/50/mode/2up?q=collins |title=Harry Johnson's new and improved bartender's manual; |date=1882 |publisher=New York, Samisch & Goldmann, printers |others=The Library of Congress |pages=51–52}}</ref>

* Three-quarters table-spoon of sugar
* 3 or 4 dashes of lime or lemon juice
* 3 or 4 pieces of broken ice
* 1 wine glass full of Old Tom gin
* 1 bottle of club soda
* Instructions: mix up well with a spoon, remove the ice, and serve.  Attention must be paid not to let the foam of the soda water spread over the glass.

Cocktail historian David Wondrich stated that there are several other earlier mentions of this version of the drink and that it does bear a striking resemblance to the gin punches served at London clubs like the Garrick in the first half of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|last=Regan|first=Gaz|title=gaz's Cocktail Book|url=http://www.ardentspirits.com/ardentspirits_old/Cocktails/1B20111017.html|work=John Collins and Tom Collins: A Discussion|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105024812/http://www.ardentspirits.com/ardentspirits_old/Cocktails/1B20111017.html|archive-date=5 November 2013}}</ref>

Clearly unaware of the drink's actual origins, in August 1891, British physician [[Sir Morell Mackenzie]] wrote an article in the influential 19th century magazine ''[[Fortnightly Review]]'' claiming that England was the originating country for the Tom Collins cocktail and a person named John Collins was its creator.<ref name="Corrections">{{cite journal|last=Lemon|first=Mark|date=8 August 1891|journal=[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]|title=An 'umble corrections|volume=101|pages=70|access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cT1XAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA70}}</ref> In the article, Mackenzie quoted an old song called "John Collins."<ref name="Corrections"/> However, the British weekly magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' immediately disparaged Mackenzie's efforts, noting in August 1891 that the title of the song actually was "Jim Collins" and that Mackenzie otherwise inaccurately quoted and characterized the song.<ref name="Corrections"/>

Confusion over the cocktail's origins continued as American writer [[Charles Montgomery Skinner]] noted in 1898 that the Tom Collins had made its way to the "American bars" in England, France, and Germany, where the American invention stimulated curiosity in Europe and served as a reflection of American art.<ref>{{cite book|last=Skinner|first=Charles Montgomery|year=1899|title=Myths and Legends Beyond Our Borders|pages=247–248|publisher=[[J. B. Lippincott & Co.]]|access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s80WAAAAYAAJ&q=%22tom+collins%22+gin+date:1800-1900|isbn=1-4179-8029-X}}</ref>

As time passed, interest in the Tom Collins diminished and its origins became lost. Early on during the 1920s [[Prohibition in the United States]], the American journalist and student of [[American English]] [[H. L. Mencken]] said:<blockquote>The origin of the ... Tom-Collins ... remains to be established; the historians of alcoholism, like the [[philologists]], have neglected them. But the essentially American character of [this and other drinks] is obvious, despite the fact that a number have gone over into English. The English, in naming their drinks, commonly display a far more limited imagination. Seeking a name, for example, for a mixture of whiskey and soda-water, the best they could achieve was whiskey-and-soda. The Americans, introduced to the same drink, at once gave it the far more original name of [[highball]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Mencken|first=Henry Louis|year=1921|title=The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XbZIAAAAMAAJ/page/n121 99]|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]]|access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XbZIAAAAMAAJ|isbn=0-394-73315-0}}</ref></blockquote>

=== John Collins ===
{{Main|John Collins (cocktail)}}
A drink known as a John Collins has existed since the 1860s at the very least and is believed to have originated with a headwaiter of that name who worked at Limmer's Old House in Conduit Street in Mayfair, which was a popular London hotel and coffee house around 1790–1817.<ref name=Regan>
{{cite web
 | last= Regan
 | first= Gaz
 | title= The Tom Collins and the John Collins: A Discussion
 | work= gaz's Cocktail Book
 | url= http://www.ardentspirits.com/ardentspirits_old/Cocktails/1B20111017.html
 | url-status= dead
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111019221957/http://www.ardentspirits.com/ardentspirits_old/Cocktails/1B20111017.html
 | archive-date= 19 October 2011}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 | last= Calabrese
 | first= Salvatore
 | title= Classic Cocktails
 | year= 1997
 | publisher= Prion
 | location= London
 | isbn= 1-85375-240-1
 | page= 166
}}
</ref>

[[File:Tom_Collins.jpg|thumb|right|A Tom Collins served at Rye in San Francisco, California]]

The following rhyme was written by Frank and Charles Sheridan about John Collins:
<blockquote><poem>My name is John Collins, head waiter at Limmer's,
Corner of Conduit Street, Hanover Square,
My chief occupation is filling brimmers
For all the young gentlemen frequenters there.</poem></blockquote>

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 fashionable 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]] [[liqueur]]".<ref name="Regan"/>

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 1887 recipe. Earlier versions of the gin punch are likely to have used [[Jenever|Dutch gin]] instead.<ref name=Regan/>

Some confusion regarding the origin of the drink and the cause for its change of name has arisen in the past due to the following:

{{anchor|Tom Collins Hoax of 1874}}<!--- target for incoming link(s) --->

===The Tom Collins Hoax of 1874===

In 1874, people in New York; [[Pennsylvania]]; and elsewhere in the United States would start a conversation with, "Have you seen Tom Collins?"<ref name="Great">{{cite news|last=Sinclair|first=George|date=26 March 2007|via=[[Scribd]]|title=The Great Tom Collins Hoax|access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/18790/Tom-Collins-Article|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202024918/http://www.scribd.com/doc/18790/Tom-Collins-Article|archive-date=2 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Walsh|first=William S.|year=1892|title=Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities|pages=[https://archive.org/details/handybooklitera03walsgoog/page/n456 450]|publisher=J. B. Lippincott Company |access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://archive.org/details/handybooklitera03walsgoog|isbn=0-7426-4152-X}}</ref> After the listener predictably reacts by explaining that they did not know a Tom Collins, the speaker would assert that Tom Collins was talking about the listener to others and that Tom Collins was "just around the corner", "in a [local] bar", or somewhere else near.<ref name="Great"/> The conversation about the nonexistent Tom Collins was a [[List of hoaxes#Proven hoaxes of exposure|proven hoax of exposure]].<ref name="Great"/> In The Great Tom Collins hoax of 1874, as it became known, the speaker would encourage the listener to act foolishly by reacting to patent nonsense that the hoaxer deliberately presents as reality.<ref name="Great"/> In particular, the speaker intended the listener to become agitated at the idea of someone talking about them to others such that the listener would rush off to find the purportedly nearby Tom Collins.<ref name="Great"/> Similar to the [[1874 Central Park Zoo Escape|New York Zoo hoax]] of 1874, several newspapers propagated the very successful practical joke by printing stories containing false sightings of Tom Collins.<ref name="Great"/> The 1874 hoax quickly gained such notoriety that several 1874 music hall songs memorialized the event (copies of which now are in the [[U.S. Library of Congress]]).<ref name="Great"/><ref>For the 1874 sheet music about the Tom Collins hoax, see [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/mussm:@OR(@field(TITLE+@od1(Tom+Collins++))+@field(ALTTITLE+@od1(Tom+Collins++))) Library of Congress].</ref>

===Early recipes===
The first published Tom Collins recipe appears to have been in Harry Johnson's 1882 book, ''New and Improved Bartender’s Manual or How to Mix Drinks of the Present Style''. This book contains a recipe for two Collins drinks, the John Collins and the Tom Collins. The John Collins calls for Holland Gin, which is most likely what is also known as Genièvre, but the recipe for the Tom Collins in this book is as follows:

<blockquote>'''Tom Collins'''
(Use an extra large bar glass.)
Three-quarters table-spoon of sugar;
3 or 4 dashes of lime or lemon juice;
3 or 4 pieces of broken ice;
1 wine glass full of Old Tom gin;
1 bottle of plain soda water;
mix up well with a spoon, remove the ice, and serve.
Attention must be paid not to let the foam of the soda water spread over the glass.</blockquote>
 
In the 1884 book, ''The Modern Bartender’s Guide'' by O. H. Byron there is a drink called a "John Collins' Gin" where he calls simply for gin with no specifications of which gin, lemon juice, sugar, and filled with soda. That book also has a "Tom Collins' Brandy", which consists of brandy, lemon juice, gum syrup and Maraschino liqueur, and filled with soda water built in the glass over ice. This book also lists a recipe for a "Tom Collins gin and whiskey", with the only instructions that it is "concocted in the same manner as a brandy receipt, substituting their respective liquors".
 
Another 1884 book, ''Scientific Barkeeping'' by E.N. Cook & Co, also includes both a John Collins and a Tom Collins, the former calling for Holland gin and the latter for whiskey. There is a recipe for the Tom Collins in the 1887 posthumous edition of [[Jerry Thomas (bartender)|Jerry Thomas]]' ''Bar-Tender's Guide.''<ref name="Great"/><ref name="Difford">{{cite book|last=Difford|first=Simon|year=2008|title=Cocktails: Over 2250 Cocktails|pages=351|publisher=diffordsguide|isbn=978-0-9556276-0-6|access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SV5YryuX3_EC&pg=PA351}}</ref> Since New York based Thomas would have known about the widespread hoax and the contents of his 1876 book were developed during or right after The Great Tom Collins hoax of 1874, it was believed by George Sinclair that the hoax event was the most plausible source of the name for the Tom Collins cocktail.<ref name="Great"/><ref name="Difford"/> Classified under the heading "Collins" with similarly named whisky and brandy drinks,<ref>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Jerry|year=1887|title=Jerry Thomas' Bar-Tender's Guide or How to Mix Drinks|pages=36|publisher=[[Dick and Fitzgerald]]|access-date=25 November 2008|url=http://www.theartofdrink.com/book/pg36.php|archive-date=23 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080823184027/http://www.theartofdrink.com/book/pg36.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Jerry Thomas' Tom Collins gin instructed:

<blockquote>'''Tom Collins (1887)'''
(Use large bar-glass.)
Take 5 or 6 dashes of [[gum syrup]].
Juice of a small lemon.
1 large wine-glass of [[gin]].
2 or 3 lumps of [[Ice cube|ice]];
Shake up well and strain into a large bar-glass. Fill up the glass with plain [[soda water]] and drink while it is [[wiktionary:lively|lively]].<ref name="Great"/></blockquote>

This was distinguished from the [[Fizz (cocktail)#Gin fizz|Gin Fizz]] cocktail in that the three dashes of lemon juice in the gin fizz was "fizzed" with carbonated water to essentially form a "gin and sodawater" whereas the considerably more "juice of a small lemon" in the Tom Collins essentially formed a "gin and sparkling lemonade" when sweetened with the gum syrup.<ref name="Great"/> The type of gin used by Thomas was not specified in his 1887 book, but was most likely Old Tom if that was responsible for the change in the drink's name.<ref name="ardentspirits">{{cite web|url=http://www.ardentspirits.com/ardentspirits_old/Cocktails/1B20111017.html|title=Ardent Spirits Bartender Bulletin|publisher=ardentspirits.com|access-date=26 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105024812/http://www.ardentspirits.com/ardentspirits_old/Cocktails/1B20111017.html|archive-date=5 November 2013}}</ref>

===Popularity===
By 1878, the Tom Collins was being served in the barrooms of New York City and elsewhere.<ref name="Cookery">{{cite book|last=Croly|first=Jane Cunningham|year=1878|title=Jennie June's American Cookery Book, Containing Upwards of Twelve Hundred Choice and Carefully Tested Recipes|pages=[https://archive.org/details/jenniejunesamer00crolgoog/page/n411 400]|publisher= Excelsior Publishing House |access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://archive.org/details/jenniejunesamer00crolgoog}}</ref> Identified as among 'the favorite drinks which are in demand everywhere' in an advertisement for the 1878 edition of ''The Modern Bartender's Guide'' by O. H. Byron, both Tom Collins gin and whiskey and Tom Collins brandy were considered fancy drinks.<ref name="Cookery"/> In the 1891 book, ''The Flowing Bowl: When and what to Drink,'' author [[William Schmidt (bartender)|William Schmidt]] listed the Tom Collins as including:

<blockquote><poem>'''Tom Collins Gin (1891)'''
The juice of half a lemon in a large glass,
a [[bar spoon|bar-spoonful]] of sugar,
a drink of [[Tom gin]]; mix this well;
2 lumps of ice,
a bottle of plain soda.
Mix well and serve.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schmidt |first=William |year=1891 |title=The Flowing Bowl: When and What to Drink: Full Instructions how to Prepare, Mix, and Serve Beverages |page=179 |publisher=C.L. Webster |access-date=25 November 2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTgEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA179}}</ref></poem></blockquote>

One turn-of-the-20th-century recipe subsequently replaced the lemon juice with lime juice.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wiley|first=Harvey Washington|year=1919|title=Beverages and Their Adulteration: Origin, Composition, Manufacture, Natural, Artificial, Fermented, Distilled, Alkaloidal and Fruit Juices|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beveragesandthe00wilegoog/page/n418 394]|publisher=P. Blakiston's Son|access-date=25 November 2008 |url=https://archive.org/details/beveragesandthe00wilegoog}}</ref>

===Others===
An alternate history  places the origin in St. Louis.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lossos|first=David|title=Early St. Louis Hotels|url=http://genealogyinstlouis.accessgenealogy.com/hotels.htm|publisher=Genealogy in St. Louis|access-date=22 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709221909/http://genealogyinstlouis.accessgenealogy.com/hotels.htm|archive-date=9 July 2012}}</ref>

==Modern mix==
The 1986 ''The Book of Cocktails'' provides a modern take on Thomas' 1876 recipe for this [[long drink]]:<blockquote>'''John (or Tom) Collins (1986)'''<br>ice cubes<br>2&nbsp;oz. [6&nbsp;cL] dry gin<br>2&nbsp;oz. [6&nbsp;cL] lemon juice<br>1 teaspoon sugar ([[Syrup#Gomme syrup|gomme]]) syrup<br>soda water<br>slice of lemon<br>1 colored cherry<br>Place ample ice in large glass. Add gin, lemon juice and syrup. Top up with soda water and stir well. Serve with lemon slice, cherry and a straw.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ridgwell|first=Jenny|year=1986|title=The Book of Cocktails|pages=49|publisher=HPBooks|access-date=25 November 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlED009gZ54C&pg=PA49|isbn=978-0-89586-483-3}}</ref></blockquote>

==Variants==
{{redirect|Vodka Collins|the band|Vodka Collins (band)}}
A simple Summer Collins is a two-ingredient cocktail consisting only of equal parts gin and lemonade, served over ice with an optional fruit garnish. The Vodka Collins uses vodka in place of gin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/2-ingredient-cocktails/|title=2-Ingredient Cocktails You'll Want to Memorize|first=Lauren|last=Cahn}}</ref> The [[South Side (cocktail)|South Side]] uses lime juice in addition to or in place of lemon and adds [[Mentha#Culinary|mint]]. A [[Rum Collins]], also called a Ron Collins, uses light rum in place of gin and lime juice in place of lemon juice.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://flourchild.com/the-rum-collins-is-good-enough-to-die-for/ | title=AN EASY RECIPE TO MAKE THE BEST RUM COLLINS COCKTAIL | date=15 January 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://havana-club.com/en/cocktail/ron-collins/ | title=RON COLLINS }}</ref> A [[French 75 (cocktail)|French 75]] uses Champagne in lieu of soda water. The Juan Collins is made from [[tequila]], [[lime juice]], sugar or some other sweetening agent, and [[club soda]]. This drink typically is served in a Collins glass over ice.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cocktails.about.com/od/tequilarecipes/r/juan_colllins.htm | title=Juan Collins Recipe | publisher=About Food | access-date=11 February 2016 | archive-date=16 February 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216010445/http://cocktails.about.com/od/tequilarecipes/r/juan_colllins.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|Liquor}}}}
*[[Collins glass]]
*[[Gin sour]]
*[[List of cocktails]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{ccat-inline}}

{{Cocktails}}

[[Category:Cocktails with gin]]
[[Category:Cocktails with lemonade]]
[[Category:Bubbly cocktails]]
[[Category:Sour cocktails]]
[[Category:Sweet cocktails]]
[[Category:Cocktails with carbonated water]]