A John Collins is a
cocktail which was attested in 1869, but may be older. It is believed to have originated with a headwaiter of that name who worked at Limmer's Old House in
Conduit Street
Conduit Street is a street in Mayfair, London. It connects Bond Street to Regent Street.
History
The street was first developed in the early 18th century on the Conduit Mead Estate, which the Corporation of London had owned since the 15th centu ...
in
Mayfair, which was a popular London hotel and coffee house around 1790–1817.
Description
The John Collins is a Collins
cocktail—that is, a
long drink
A long drink or tall drink is an alcoholic mixed drink with a relatively large volume (> 12 cl, frequently 16–40 cl or between 5–9 fluid ounces). In Finland, a ‘long drink’ specifically contains gin plus a mixer, almost always a fruit sod ...
stirred with ice and topped with soda—made from
London dry gin
Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis'').
Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...
(or
Bourbon whiskey),
lemon juice
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...
,
sugar and
carbonated water. A recipe for a John Collins is featured in the ''Steward and Barkeeper's Manual'' of 1869:
Teaspoonful of powdered sugar
The juice of half a lemon
A wine glass of Old Tom Gin
A bottle of plain soda
Shake up, or stir up with ice. Add a slice of lemon peel to finish.
Drinks historian David Wondrich has speculated that the original recipe that was introduced to New York in the 1850s would have been very similar to the gin punches that are known to have been served at London clubs such as
the Garrick during the first half of the 19th century. He states that these would have been along the lines of gin, lemon juice, chilled soda water, and
maraschino
Maraschino ( , ) is a liqueur obtained from the distillation of Marasca cherries. The small, slightly sour fruit of the Tapiwa cherry tree ( ''Prunus cerasus'' var. ''marasca''), which grows wild along parts of the Dalmatian coast in Croatia, ...
.
The specific call for
Old Tom gin
Old Tom Gin (or Tom Gin or Old Tom) is a gin recipe popular in 18th-century England. In modern times, it became rare but has experienced a resurgence in the craft cocktail movement. It is slightly sweeter than London Dry, but slightly drier than ...
in the 1869 recipe is a likely cause for the subsequent name change to "
Tom Collins
The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically serv ...
" in Jerry Thomas's 1876 recipe. In contemporary parlance, the ''John Collins'' refers to a Tom Collins made with whiskey instead of gin. Earlier versions of the gin punch are likely to have used
Hollands instead.
In popular culture
The following rhyme was written by Frank and Charles Sheridan about John Collins:
My name is John Collins, head waiter at Limmer's,
Corner of Conduit Street, Hanover Square,
My chief occupation is filling brimmers
For all the young gentlemen frequenters there.
See also
*
Punch (drink)
The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruits or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the ...
*
Singapore Sling
Notes
{{IBACocktails
Cocktails with gin