Firstly, what is a Tom Collins?
It's is a perfectly balanced cocktail combining Bombay Sapphire with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar all poured into tall highball glass with cubed ice before being refreshingly lengthened with chilled soda water. It's the perfect balance of sweet and sour.
Where did it come from?
It's actually got a really good back story. Back in the 1870's in New York and Pennsylvania, people would come up to you in the street and ask you, 'Have you seen Tom Collins?' And you'd be like, 'No... why?' Then they'd say, 'Well, if you haven't, perhaps you had better do so, and as quick as you can, for he is talking about you in a very rough manner. You should find this chap and see what his 'beef' is with you.' So you go off to the nearest bar and ask the bartender... 'Have you seen Tom Collins?'. The bartenders would say, 'He was just here a moment ago and you've unfortunately just missed him, he went to 'X' bar, why don't you stay for a drink and catch him slightly later?' You'd have your drink, then go in search to the next bar. The same thing happens in the next bar and and the next. These shenanigans would continue all night until the last bar where the clever bartender announces that there isn't really a person called Tom Collins, it's actually a drink and that'll be $2 please!
Journalists would help to propagate the 'Tom Collins Hoax', by printing false sightings and the like to keep the story going. One slight downside of the hoax was that people who were actually called Tom Collins actually got a little bruised in the street by angry people who'd been the butt of the joke!
What does it say about you if you order one?
As it's a cocktail with plenty of heritage, it's one for people in the know who want a great-tasting, refreshing drink but also to be seen outwardly to friends as informed and worldly. Over the past few years the cocktail has certainly gained momentum with the general public in cocktail bars right around the world. In fact - and any bartender worth his or her salt will tell you - pretty much every cocktail ever devised is a long lost aunt or uncle of the Great Great Grandpa Collins. It's a classic example of that old adage, if it ain't broke - don't fix it! Quite often if a cocktail has stood the test of time (ie 140 years in the Collins instance) then there is a reason people are still drinking it - because its plain delicious and can be ordered in any good bar around the world.
Is there anything you could use instead of a cocktail shaker and a strainer if you don't have one to hand?
Definitely. Cocktail equipment can be expensive or hard to come by, so be innovative! You could use a jam jar or Kilner airtight jar (the ones with the orange seal) instead of a cocktail shaker. They work exceptionally well. You could also use a fine tea strainer as the strainer and even an egg cup as a measure for pouring out spirit ingredients in parts.
A wooden kitchen rolling pin is great for muddling soft fruits if you don't happen to have a 'muddler'. Perfect for when making a twist on a Collins like the Bombay Sapphire White peach & Elderflower Collins, which requires the Ginologist to squish the juicy peaches into a pulp to extract their flavour. Measuring spoons are great to measure out syrups or liqueurs and even a chop stick can be used as a stirrer in a built cocktail.
What recipe should we use if we want to make one at home?
Ingredients
50ml Bombay Sapphire
25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
15ml Gomme sugar syrup (2:1 ratio) or 2 teaspoons of caster sugar
50ml Soda water
Glassware
Highball glass
Ice
Good quality cubed ice
Garnish
8" clear non-bendy straw
Large lemon wedge
Method
Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar and Bombay Sapphire to a clean highball glass. Stir. Add plenty of cubed ice. Stir again. Top with soda water then stir for a final time. Garnish with the lemon wedge then serve to a friend with a smile or enjoy responsibly.
*Sam Carter is the Senior Ambassador for Bombay Sapphire. To discover more great cocktails you can make from the comfort of your own home download the Mixed Cocktail app.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.