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.
Where was the Tom Collins born?
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. Still you can use any style gin you wish and today I’m making it with Tanqueray No. Ten. A bit of shaking is required!
What is Tanqueray No. Ten
Tanqueray No. TEN is named after the pot still where it’s made o the “Tiny Ten.” It’s made from a combination of whole citrus fruits – lime, ordange and white grapefruit, including juniper, coriander, and a hint of chamomile flowers!
Here is the recipe!!!
T10 Collins Twist
Equipment
Ingredients
- 50 ml Tanqueray No. Ten
- 40 ml Pineapple juice
- 10 ml Lime Juice
- 3 x cucumber slices
- Soda
- Shiso Leaf
Instructions
- Muddle the cucumber slices in a shaker
- Add the rest of the ingredients and ice to the shaker
- Shake it all together
- Double strain into a Highball glass filled with ice
- Top with soda
- Garnish with a shiso leaf (Put the giant leaf in before the Ice!)
- Add ice