Last week at PubWest, standing around with a drink in your hand was a very popular activity for me. You go to mixers, out to dinner, meet for drinks, etc., and naturally, a cocktail is the accessory of choice.  Although I usually go the vodka cranberry route at those events because frankly it’s hard to screw up, I was craving nothing but Tom Collins(es) the entire time I was there.

I owe my affection towards Tom Collins (Have you met Tom Collins?) to my friend Sara Barnes. We met up for drinks when I was in DC a couple years ago and she ordered the fizzy, citrusy gin cocktail and thus introduced me to Mr. Collins. I wasn’t crazy about the drink then but retried it later after gaining a love of gin and now adore them on occasion. My biggest issue is 99% of the time when you order them at any bar, they’re made with overly sickly-saccharine sweet-n-sour mix (blech) and taste little like the pure, fresh version the original recipe is from. So here’s my ode to the Tom Collins.

Some would say I desecrate it by using lime juice in addition to lemon but I think it gives it a nice zing. Something I’d love to try is a similar drink I had at the Cup Cafe in the Hotel Congress while I was in Tucson: the “Indian Ice Water.” They used Tanqueray Rangpur, lime juice, sugar and soda. Sort of like a Tom Collins meets mojito. Yum.

Tom Collins

Makes one cocktail.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces gin
• ½ ounce lemon juice
• ½ ounce lime juice
• 2 tsp simple syrup or superfine sugar
• Club soda
• Maraschino cherries and orange slices for garnish

Directions

1.) Fill a small shaker with ice. Pour in the gin, lime and lemon juices, and sugar. Shake well. Strain and pour over ice in prepared Collins glass.

2.) Fill to the (almost) top with club soda. Stir to mix. Garnish with cherry and orange slice.

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