I’m feeling nostalgic today and decided to update a post I made a while back about the Tom Collins cocktail. The nostalgia comes in because a Tom Collins was the first cocktail I ever tried. It has sweetness but also enough tart to make your tongue twitch in anticipation of the next delightful sip. As always, I am drawn to the history of classic cocktails–how they began and what was going on in the era. It’s an added bonus that a Tom Collins is made with gin–a much-maligned, and always to be esteemed, tipple.
In the 1950s gin held the honor as one of the top spirits used for after-dinner cocktails. Martinis, gimlets, and Tom Collins were all the rage in that decade of renewed optimism and prosperity. Interest in retro drinks has revived as we look back in time with nostalgia and a sense of longing for simpler experiences. Made with gin, simple syrup, and lime juice, gimlets are light and refreshing. Martinis are rather strong and seem the height of sophistication. The Tom Collins has a special place in my memory because my mother sometimes served it to treasured guests. The concoction heralds back to the 19th century when similar drinks were offered to the in-crowd in fashionable London public houses.
In 1874 a zany hoax game spread like wildfire in the eastern United States and did much to increase the popularity of the cocktail. People would go around asking, “Have you seen Tom Collins?” The point was to trick the recipient of the hoax into acting out and showing himself in the worst possible light. Remind you of today’s demented reality shows? False sightings of Tom Collins sprang up everywhere, and Tom was always purported to be “just around the corner.”
TOM COLLINS
Ingredients:
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce simple syrup (one part water, one part sugar mixed)
2 ounces gin
Club soda
Maraschino cherry or fresh lime for garnish
Directions:
In an ice-filled cocktail shaker, shake the lemon juice, simple syrup, and gin. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with club soda, and garnish with lime and/or a maraschino cherry.
What is your favorite summertime cocktail?
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories
That was a fun and informative post. I have to say I’ve never had a Tom Collins but now I want to try one! 🙂
Try one on a hot day, Mae, when you need a refreshing, relaxing cool down.
Fun pist. I love learning the history of things from our past. I’m a wine drinker so I like a good Sangria but I like a good Amaretto on the rocks or Limoncello. I must’ve had an Italian spirit lol
Oh, I do love Amaretto as well! I remember long, long ago how there were these drinks in a one-serving bottle– kind of the beginning of wine coolers– and they were amaretto.
My mother-in-law used to drink Tom Collins. Great to hear a bit of history about the drink. You don’t hear about them much today I enjoy a sparkling water with a twist of lime.
Kathleen, I haven’t had a Tom Collins in many years but could use one about now! You’re right in that we don’t hear about them much anymore. Classic cocktails faded away, to be replaced by giant fruity cocktails. However, classic cocktails seem to be making somewhat of a comeback– Old Fashioned, Gin and Tonic, Martini, Whiskey Sour, Negroni, Manhattan, Side Car… Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing that your MIL enjoyed Tom Collins.