- 75 ml Old Tom gin
- juice of a lemon, freshly squeezed
- 15 ml simple syrup
- soda water
Fill, naturally, a Collins glass with ice and set it in the freezer. Shake the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice. Strain into the prepared glass and top up with soda water. Garnish with a slice of lemon and, if you wish, a maraschino cherry.
Perfect for hot summer afternoons, Tom Collins is probably the most well known of the Collins family of drinks, a Collins being a sour cocktail, that is, a spirit mixed with sugar and citrus, that has been topped up with soda water. Basically a Tom Collins is alcoholic lemonade for grown-ups. Lovely for a picnic or a right old punt.
Add a small dash of Bitter Truth’s Cucumber Bitter, if you have some. Try substituting St. Germain for the simple syrup to add a hint of elderflower. If you’re feeling really fancy a French 75 cocktail uses Champagne in lieu of the soda water. Class.