New York, 1870s.
| 2 oz · 60 ml | GIN | 40 % |
| 1 oz · 30 ml | LEMON JUICE | |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | SIMPLE SYRUP | |
| 3 oz · 90 ml | SODA WATER |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 3.5 oz mixed with ice, 0.8 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.7 oz of water |
| Topped | Poured after the melt, kept whole: soda water 3 oz, no alcohol |
| Served | 3.5 + 0.7 + 3 = 7.2 oz in the glass, 0.8 oz of it alcohol |
| Strength | 0.8 ÷ 7.2 = 11.1 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM GIN
The pine note in juniper berries, and the reason gin tastes like a forest. Co-distilled with the spirit during production. Found in actual pine trees, rosemary, basil, and a good London Dry. The "Christmas tree" smell of gin and the smell of a forest floor share a single molecule.
ALSO IN Negroni · Martini · Gimlet · Gin & Tonic · Aviation · Corpse Reviver #2 · French 75 · Bramble
FROM LEMON · the lemon aroma
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
ALSO IN Margarita · Mojito · Daiquiri · Whiskey Sour · Gimlet · Moscow Mule · Paper Plane · Aviation
Gin, lemon, sugar and soda. Alpha-pinene from juniper lifts through the citral of fresh lemon, and CO₂ from the soda amplifies the nose. ABV lands near 10% post-dilution: a long, refreshing pour that reads lighter than its gin base suggests.
The Tom Collins name took off with a hoax: an 1874 New York joke about a fictitious man named Tom Collins who had supposedly been bad-mouthing the asker, sending crowds to chase him through saloons. The drink itself descends from the John Collins, a gin punch credited to a headwaiter at Limmer's Hotel in London. The recipe traces to Jerry Thomas's 1876 Bartender's Guide, usually on Old Tom gin (the slightly sweetened style some credit with the name).
