Mixing this totally tasty classic Tom Collins cocktail brings back many memories! It’s a classic cocktail that is refreshing and delicious.

The flared glass filled with the cocktail with a lemon wheel on the glass rim

Here is one of my favorite (but by no means my only) Tom Collins cocktail memories.

When I was first dating Christopher, he took me to a restaurant near the university we attended and that was the drink I ordered. The two things I remember most about the Tom Collins cocktail are that it is delicious and that when you laugh while drinking it, you will cough and choke.

Yup, I believe it was our second date and there I was coughing and sputtering. But I did it as delicately as I could. I must have because he asked me for another date and the rest is marital history!

So, I have a love for this cocktail. It reminds me of youth, Indian summer nights and laughter!

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How to make the Tom Collins cocktail

We have gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup and club soda. Ta-da! That’s it.

I have to say that I was super shocked when I realized that this is a GIN drink. I remember my mother telling me and I was like, “What? Gin?! ME?”

I couldn’t even tell! That’s the fun part about it. And maybe the scary part. It doesn’t taste like alcohol. So a person could drink one too many before realizing it. But did I? No, not that night. 🙂

Gin, lemon and club soda on a table with a shaker and glassware

Nothing like a great glass

I will lament for a minute. I love the classic Collins glass but didn’t own any. So, I went on a mission to all the stores around my area that I could think of. I couldn’t find one.

For this post, I ended up using a ‘long’ drink glass, which I felt would do in a pinch. What makes a Tom Collins so unique? It’s cylindrical and tall with straight up and down sides, from the bottom of the glass to the rim. Thanks to its dimensions, lots of drinks look nice in this cocktail glass so you can use it often. The ‘long’ glass I used has a flare to it. But for the purists among us, I admit it’s definitely not a Collins glass!

Back to the recipe.

I fill my shaker half way with ice.

I pour out 2 ounces of gin. I used Bombay Sapphire Gin, which I love!

Gin poured out with the bottle, shaker and glass in the background

Into the shaker it goes.

Next, I cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. I always use one of these cups when I’m squeezing fruit with this. Wide measuring cups allow for all the juice to be caught!

I measure out 1 ounce of the squeezed juice.

I also cut a lemon wheel for the garnish.

lemon measured out with a wooden board with cut lemons. There is a cocktail shaker and glass in the background

I pour the lemon juice into the shaker to join happily with the gin.

I measure out 1 ounce of simple syrup, but did not photograph it for some weird reason. Maybe I was super excited to walk down memory lane with this cocktail in hand. Yes, that must be it!

I pour the simple syrup into the shaker as well.

Now it’s time to cap the shaker.

Shaker is capped and ready for it to be shaken. There is a board with lemon slices and a glass in the background

Cap and shake

I pour all the contents including the ice into the glass that wants to be a Collins glass.

The contents of the shaker poured into the glass with club soda in the background

See the flare of the glass? Yes, so do I…so…do….I!

I carefully open the club soda. When I was in my teens, I was known to open one of these babies way too fast and then spend precious minutes moping up my mess.

Time to pour the club soda in the glass!

Club soda poured into the flared tall glass with club soda in the background

Look at that lovely foam at the top!

I top the cocktail with some more club soda and stick the lemon wheel on the rim of the glass.

Vertical view of the cloudy cocktail in a flared glass with lemon as the garnish

I hope you enjoyed this Tom Collins cocktail recipe as much as I enjoyed jogging down memory lane!

Please feel free to Pin any photo to Pinterest and Yum the recipe to Yummly. Leave me a comment to tell me about one of your favorite date drinks!

And as always, may all your dishes/drinks be delish!

A tall flared glass filled with the collins. THere is a lemon wheel on the rim - Square

Totally Tasty Classic Tom Collins Cocktail

This refreshing and fun gin drink is an old favorite and sure to please!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cocktail

Cuisine: Cocktails

Keyword: tom collins, tom collins cocktail

Prep Time: 5

Total Time: 5

Servings: cocktail

Calories: 213kcal

Author: Elaine Benoit

Ingredients

2 ounces gin I used Bombay Sapphire
1 ounce lemon juice freshly squeezed
1 ounce simple syrup
Club soda to fill glass

Garnish

lemon wheel

Instructions

Fill a shaker half way with ice
Add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup
2 ounces gin, 1 ounce lemon juice, 1 ounce simple syrup
Cap shaker and shake at least 10 times
Pour into Collins glass or other glass
Open club soda slowly
Club soda to fill glass
Pour club soda to the top of glass
Place lemon wheel on the rim of the glass
lemon wheel
Sip
Don’t laugh while drinking, may result in coughing and sputtering
Smile
Enjoy

Equipment

cocktail shaker

collins glass

See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!

Notes

Some people make this with a sweet and sour mix, but I prefer to concoct my own sweet and sour with the lemon and simple syrup.

Nutrition

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Tom Collins Cocktail | Tasty Classic