The Tom Collins cocktail was first made by Jerry Thomas, known as the father of American mixology, and was featured in his 1876 book “The Bartender’s Guide”.
In the 1800s, there was a humorous story where if someone asked, “Have you seen Tom Collins?” the other person would respond, “I know a Tom Collins,” and the person asking would say, “He was just here and talking about you.” Even newspapers at that time made punny headlines such as “The latest on where Tom Collins has been seen.” I still don’t quite understand what’s funny about it, but I suppose humor has changed quite a bit from then to now!
What are our ingredients?
- Gin
- Lemon juice
- Simple syrup
- Soda
Let’s start preparing
We put 2 shots of gin, 3/2 shots of fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of simple syrup (simple syrup is sold in bottles like other syrups. If you don’t have simple syrup, you can add 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar tomorrow) into a shaker and shake until the ingredients are completely mixed. If you used powdered sugar, make sure it has completely dissolved. After filling the glass we want to use with ice cubes, we pour the cocktail we prepared in the shaker into the glass, add 3 shots of soda, and stir the cocktail one last time with a pipette. We made our cocktail ready to drink by attaching a slice of lemon and 1 cherry on the edge of the glass.
Cheers!