Have you seen Tom Collins?

The Tom Collins is a very simple yet extremely moorish sparkling gin libation, one which has well and truly stood the test of time. It was first published in Jerry Thomas' 'The Bartenders Guide' in 1876 and is a very simply drink, essentially a gin and sparkling lemonade. Despite it's simplicity it has undergone a lot of change over the years due to styles of gin going out of fashion and substitutes being sought, to this end there is much debate as to which style of gin should be used in this drink...

Just to clarify, when I say which gin 'should' be used in this drink i'm not presuming to pinpoint an exact brand which must be used, after all that would abuse the freedom and creativity which allows bartenders to flourish, I am merely attempting to pinpoint the style of gin which would have been used to craft the original Tom Collins.

In the recent past a wide variety of gin's have been used to craft this drink, Plymouth, Tanqueray and Beefeater all make a fantastic Tom Collins with big bold flavours, G'Vine Floraison also makes a rather cheeky and pleasant Tom Collins, although now some classic styles of gin are making a comeback and fighting for a place as the correct style to be used when recreating this classic beverage

Old Tom is one of these classic styles of gin which has recently come back in to vogue, this sweetened style of gin, is a throw back to the 18th century when the base spirit used as a canvas for gin had a lot of impurities which were evident in the final product. This style of gin was either sweetened with sugar, or at times when sugar was at a premium distilled with sweeter, more pungent botanicals to mask the unpleasant impurities. One of the pioneering brands in the revival of Old Tom Gin is Haymans Old Tom. It is widely believed that the Collins is a category of drinks of which the Tom Collins is a twist using Old Tom Gin, if you ordered a Tom Collins in a bar now days you, would probably be served a little something like this;

Tom Collins (Old Tom)

Haymans Old Tom Gin - 60ml

Lemon Juice - 25ml

Simple Syrup - 10ml

Soda Water - Top

Very simply shake the first three ingredients over ice, strain over fresh, cubed ice and top with soda, garnish with a lemon wedge.

This style of Tom Collins is delightful, a refreshing classic lemonade fortified with gin, the botanical notes shine through beautifully, a charming easy to drink libation perfect for the summer months. It is however not as true to the original as some may believe... 

The origins of the Tom Collins can be traced back to the Tom Collins hoax of 1874, where some rascal spread word across New York of some fellow by the name of Tom Collins slandering people left, right and centre.

The practical joke is recorded to go a little something like this, the rascal in question approaches a group in a bar, turns to one upstanding gentleman among their number and enquires whether they had 'seen Tom Collins?' The practical joker then continues to inform the person that Tom Collins had been talking about them in a very rough manner, saying things which are rather calculated to induce people in to thinking there is nothing they wouldn't steal short of a red hot stove... the rascal would then inform the gentlemen of where Tom Collins could be found and the chase would begin! 

The joke got  to such heights that groups of people, all wronged by this mysterious Tom Collins would travel from bar to bar in search of him, news papers of the time were even in on the joke publishing fake sightings of Tom around the city. It is believed that one cheeky bartender tired of people storming in to his saloon asking after Tom Collins decided to furnish these angry gentlemen with a libation of the same name and the Tom Collins was born! This claim can be substantiated over that of the use of Old Tom gin by looking at the book in which it first appeared, Jerry Thomas lists the Tom Collins as a catagory of drinks providing a recipe for one made with Whisky, Brandy and of course Gin.

So if it isn't named after Old Tom gin, what gin does one use? Considering the company the gin Tom Collins holds, namely Whisky and Brandy and taking in to account Hollands gin, aka Genever was imported in to the states at six times the amount of London gin, one would be wise to concede this full bodied Dutch style of gin would have been used in the original Tom Collins, a libation which would look a little something like this;

 Tom Collins (Genever)

Bokma Genever - 60ml

Lemon Juice - 25ml

Simple Syrup - 12,5ml

Soda - Top

Once again very simply shake the first three ingredients over ice, strain over fresh, cubed ice and top with soda, garnish with a lemon wedge.

A Tom Collins made with genever is certainly a different kettle of fish, the malty character of the spirit shines through, the drink itself has somewhat of a pleasantly oily mouthfeel, still refreshing but not as clean and crisp as one containing old tom gin.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown