"Tom Collins...you may know the cocktail, but do you know why a Gin Collins has a first name?"

I will begin with what makes a "Collins", a Collins...the Collins is the tallest of all drinks and is typically the tallest (and usually the thinnest) of bar glasses.  The "Collins Glass" will hold anywhere from 12 to 16 ounces.  The basic Collins is simply a "Sour" served in a tall glass with a bit of sparkling water or as one classic cocktail book says, "it is a lemonade made with charged water and spiked with gin or some other liquor."

The original Collinses were made with gin, but oddly enough it was not made with London Dry Gin. The gin usually at hand in the mid 1800's would have been Old Tom Gin, which is a lighter and in most cases slightly sweeter than the London Dry style.  With the rebirth of classic cocktails, there was a need for this almost extinct gin style, in particular the Tom Collins and a previously discussed Martinez.

Anchor Distilling's Old Tom Gin...Follow the Black Cat

Why Old Tom Gin?  Why the black cat?  The patchwork of tales begins with one Captain Dudley Bradstreet, dating back to 1736.  Bradstreet had acquired a London property and was sitting on a stock of gin.  He hung a sign depicting a painted black cat in the window and let it be known that "doses of sweet mother's ruin could be had at that address."  Under the cat's paw sign was a slot and a lead pipe, which was attached to a funnel inside the house.  Customers would place their money in the slot and "lo and behold", the sweet nectar would flow.  As legend goes other houses began "copy-catting" and would wait for people to call "puss" and when the voice within replied with a "meow", they knew bootleg gin was at hand.  Very soon Old Tom became an affectionate nickname for gin. 

Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em 1937

In the constant search for classic cocktails I stumbled upon a very unique Tom Collins recipe in the copy of my Famous New Orleans Drinks... from 1937.  Stanley Clisby Arthur says "like many another thirsty quencher, the Tom Collins is subject to infinite variations.  It is not difficult to concoct and no knack is needed to make it just right, but we implore you not to leave out the dash of orange flower water.  Depart not from the recipe, sanctioned by John Swago, one of the best old-time mixologists who ever pushed a Tom Collins across the polished mahogany."

As a nod to John and Stanley here is my recipe...

Barragan's Tom Collins

1 1/2 Anchor Old Tom Gin

1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

2 dashes Fee Brother Orange Flower Water

top with sparkling water

and garnish with a Luxardo Cherry

Cheers!