Tom Collins History

The Tom Collins was invented in London in the 1820s by an American bartender named Stephen Price. An American who ran the Garrick Club in London.

The Tom Collins is a cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar and carbonated water. Served in a Collins glass over ice. The recipe for the Tom Collins first appeared in the 1876 edition of Jerry Thomas’ “The Bartender’s Guide”. 

Jerry Thomas’ Tom Collins Gin (1876)
2 part gin, 1 part lemon juice, 1 part syrup, Carbonated water

Fill up the glass with ice, add the ingredients and carefully stir it.

Garnish with lemon peel.

So where does the name "Tom Collins" originate?

John Collins, the headwaiter of London’s Limmer’s Hotel in the 1820s and 1830s. A pleasant chap, plump and nimble with a sparkle in his eye, he was nonetheless no great innovator when it came to the art of mixing drinks, but he made delicious punches. And while, yes, his eponymous gin punch [a cooling mix of English gin, lemon juice, a touch of sweetener and a healthy pour of iced soda water] was famous, as far as we can tell two centuries later, he didn’t actually invent it. Stephen Price was foul-mouthed and bossy, and Collins possessed the repertoire. American tipplers developed a preference for “John Collins” made with the newly-popular English old tom gin, which is essentially a brawnier and sweeter London dry gin. Drinkers were soon calling for Tom Collins, and didn’t really stop doing so until air conditioning became standard.

MORE INFO VODKA RECIPES @ http://www.surfdash.com/sections/viewsection/2754-the-barender