A John Collins is a

long drink A long drink or tall drink is an alcoholic mixed drink with a relatively large volume (>, frequently ). The phrase "long drink" is also sometimes used to refer specifically to the Finnish long drink, also known as a lonkero. A long drink will ha ...

London dry gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

and

carbonated water Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent quali ...

, 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 ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, which was a popular London hotel and coffee house around 1790–1817. It is essentially a variant of

Tom Collins The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. This "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically served in a Collins glass over ice with a cherry garnish. A non-alcoholic "Collins mix" drink mi ...

, evidently a latter name for the same drink.

Description

The John Collins is a Collins

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

—that is, a

stirred with ice and topped with soda—made from

and

. 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 The Garrick Club is a private members' club in London, founded in 1831 as a club for "actors and men of refinement to meet on equal terms". It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world. Its 1,500 members include many actors, writers, j ...

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 Marasca 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 "

" 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

Dutch gin Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavoured traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium, and adjoining areas in northern France ...

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.

Notes

{{IBACocktails Cocktails with gin

Description

In popular culture

See also

Notes