Tom Collins is a classic gin sour lengthened with club soda. The drink should be bright, cold, and sparkling.
Shake gin, lemon juice, and sugar with ice until cold. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice, add club soda, stir gently, and garnish with one orange slice.
Serve in a Collins glass over ice with one orange slice. The Tom Collins should look tall, bright, and sparkling, with clear bubbles and a citrus garnish that reinforces the lemon-gin profile without making the drink feel tropical.
Pair it with fish and chips, grilled chicken, oysters, green salads, salty fried snacks, or light picnic food. Gin botanicals, lemon juice, sugar, and club soda make it especially useful as a palate-cleansing highball.
The Tom Collins is a 19th-century classic from the Collins family of tall sparkling sours. Its lasting appeal comes from turning gin, lemon juice, sugar, and club soda into a long drink that is lighter than a short sour but more structured than a simple highball.
Best for warm weather, aperitif drinking, brunch, garden parties, and classic highball service. It works when a menu needs a familiar gin cocktail that is refreshing, carbonated, and easy to pace.
Gin brings juniper and botanicals, lemon juice gives clean acidity, sugar rounds the sour edge, and club soda adds length, lift, and sparkle. The orange slice adds a soft citrus aroma over a crisp, dry finish.
Sparkling, classic, citrus-led, sociable, and refreshing.
Use a rounder gin style for a softer profile, or adjust sugar slightly to make the drink drier or softer. Keep the gin, lemon juice, sugar, and club soda structure intact so it remains a Tom Collins.
11%
⚠️ Alcoholic beverage: not suitable for minors, pregnant individuals, or designated drivers. Please enjoy responsibly.
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