John Collins
Bourbon, lemon, sugar and soda over ice. The Collins on American whiskey — a name that once meant genever and now means this, and a better summer drink than the Whiskey Sour.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Fill a collins glass with ice.
Add the bourbon, lemon juice and syrup to a shaker, fill with ice, and shake briefly.
Strain into the glass over the ice and top with cold soda.
Stir once and garnish with a lemon wheel and a cherry.
A thoughtful finish
- A full ounce of lemon to half an ounce of syrup keeps it tart; the soda dilutes the sweetness further.
- A higher-proof bourbon survives the soda better than a 40% one.
- Rye makes it drier and spicier and is equally traditional.
Common mistakes
- Sour mix.
- Building it without shaking the sour first; the sugar does not dissolve.
- Too much soda. Three ounces is a top.
A few good questions.
What is the difference between a John Collins and a Tom Collins?
Spirit. A Tom Collins is gin; a John Collins, in modern usage, is whiskey — usually bourbon. Historically the names were tangled with genever and Old Tom gin.
Bourbon or rye?
Either. Bourbon is the common modern version and sweeter; rye is drier and closer to the nineteenth-century American whiskey.
How is it different from a Whiskey Sour?
Soda and ice. A Whiskey Sour is shaken and served up or on the rocks; a John Collins is the same sour lengthened with soda in a tall glass.
Who was John Collin?
A head waiter at Limmer's Hotel in London in the early 1800s, celebrated in an 1860s rhyme as the maker of the gin punch that took his name.
Variations
- Tom Collins — Gin, lemon, sugar and soda.
- Whiskey Sour — Bourbon, lemon and sugar, no soda.
- Whiskey Highball — Whisky and soda, no citrus.
- Lynchburg Lemonade — Tennessee whiskey, orange liqueur, lemon and soda.
Where it comes from
c. 1860s (name); whiskey version 20th century · London; United States · John Collin (namesake) · Limmer's Hotel
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The original John Collins was a gin punch served at Limmer’s Hotel in London in the early 1800s and named, by an 1860s rhyme, for the head waiter John Collin; it was made with genever, the Dutch gin, and when American bartenders made it with Old Tom gin the drink became the Tom Collins. The name John Collins floated free for a century and in modern American usage settled on the whiskey version — bourbon, lemon, sugar and soda — which is what every bar now means by it. It is a Whiskey Sour lengthened with soda, and in summer that is an improvement.
Sources
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
- Harry Johnson, Bartenders' Manual, 1888 (book)
- Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology, 2003 (book)
Strength. About 1.5 US standard drinks at an estimated 12% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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