Our cocktail of the week came directly from our Lush Life guest Joe Worthington (European Trade Relations Manager). It’s very, very gin forward, of course, using both Rare Dry Gin and Bloody Shiraz Gin.
Where was the Tom Collins born?
Who is Tom Collins and why does he have a cocktail named after him? Well, it all started with a bit of a practical joke. A friend of yours would walk into a bar, and you would ask them if they knew Tom Collins. He said no he didn’t know him.
You would tell him that he was badmouthing your friend at a the last bar and then your friend would run into the other bar looking for this Tom Collins. Of course, there would be no one there by that name! A bartender in New York felt sorry for all these chumps and offered them a cocktail or two. Thus, the Tom Collins cocktail was launched!
Another story is that, around the 1810’s, a John Collins, from Limmer’s Old House in London, became attached to the cocktail and it morphed into Tom. Or it could be because it was a cocktail made with Old Tom Gin.
We are sure that the man himself, the father of the bartending, “Professor” Jerry Thomas, the author of one of the first cocktail recipe books, included it in his Bon Vivant’s Companion, published in 1877!
What is the Tom Collins
A Collins cocktail (John, Tom, Whiskey, Rum) is originally Old Tom Gin, lemon and sugar, topped up with soda water and served in a Highball glass with ice. Here we are using two Four Pillars Gins. A bit of shaking is required!
What is Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin
Joe told me that, “Essentially we just poured high proof 90% gin over these grapes and then put them in a wine press. Squeezed the hell out of it. Cam (the owner) said that every single day that we were onto a winner. I believe over the next however many months he perfected this recipe and decided on a Shiraz, because, well, not only is it the one of the national grapes in Australia, it’s very particular, Barossa. They’re very well known for their Shiraz. It became our riff on a Sloe Gin. Sloe berries.”
How to make the Four Pillars Gin Who Shot Tom Collins
You’ll need the following ingredients and equipment:
- Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin
- Old-fashioned Lemonade
- Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin
- Lemon
- Ice
- Jigger
- High Ball Glass
For US measurements, please use my handy Cocktail Measurements converter!
You can buy Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz here
Who Shot Tom Collins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 30 ml Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin
- 100 ml Old-fashioned Lemonade
- 15 ml Bloody Shiraz Gin
- Lemon
Instructions
- Mix gin and lemonade in a highball over ice.
- Squeeze in two wedges of lemon
- Float Bloody Shiraz Gin on top