The Cocktail College Podcast: The Tom Collins
We’re gonna go out on a limb and wager that nobody’s ever started a bar fight over a Tom Collins. It’s light, citrusy, fizzy, and just boozy enough to feel like a proper cocktail. Sure, the drink might be a little boring on paper to some, but beyond its simplicity lies one of the great origin stories in cocktail history — complete with fake names, old-time pranks, and a debate over whether “Tom” was even the right guy in the first place.
There’s the John Collins, the Gin Punch, the Collins glass, and let’s not forget the 19th-century hoax where people were sent to bars looking for a man who was “talking trash” about them. And that’s only the half of it. There’s also the drink itself: gin, lemon, sugar, soda water — as simple and satisfying as cocktails get.
It’s a highball in structure, a sour in spirit, and still one of the most enduring templates ever poured over ice. But where did the Tom Collins actually come from? And how can something so classic still surprise and impress us all these years later? Here to discuss all of that and more is Allison Everitt, a Detroit-based bartender and founder of Fast Friends, a pop-up celebrating industry-led hospitality. Tune in for more and don’t forget to apply to VinePair’s Best New Bartender competition here!
Listen Online
Allison Everitt’s Tom Collins Recipe
Ingredients
2 ounces Old Tom gin
½ ounce simple syrup (1:1)
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
Soda water, to top
Garnish: lemon twist
Directions
Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice.
Shake until chilled and strain into a Collins glass.
Fill with ice and top with soda water.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Get in touch: cocktailcollege@vinepair.com
Follow us on Instagram:
VinePair
Tim McKirdy
Allison Everitt
Fast Friends
The article The Cocktail College Podcast: The Tom Collins appeared first on VinePair.