A classic Tom Collins recipe is 60 ml gin, 22 to 30 ml fresh lemon juice and 15 to 30 ml simple syrup, shaken hard, strained over fresh ice in a Collins glass and topped with chilled soda water. Garnish with a lemon wheel, and add a maraschino cherry if you like a touch of sweetness on the finish.
TL;DR:
- Fresh lemon juice should be used exclusively, with one lemon providing enough for one drink, to ensure proper tartness and balance.
- Proper technique involves shaking the gin, lemon, and syrup together before adding soda to preserve carbonation and maintain a Cold, fizzy drink.
- The choice of gin significantly influences the flavor of the Collins, with Old Tom gin being sweeter and London dry offering a crisper, drier profile.
- Using chilled soda water and strain over fresh ice are essential steps to prevent the drink from becoming flat or warm.
- Adjust syrup and lemon quantities based on the gin’s character, tasting and tweaking until the balance suits your palate.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients and ratios for a proper Collins
- How to make a Tom Collins step by step
- Choosing a gin that suits your Collins style
- Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Variations worth trying at home
- Getting a consistently good result at home
- Why balance matters more than the recipe itself
- Bring home a gin built for your Collins
- Sources
- FAQ
Ingredients and ratios for a proper Collins
The Tom Collins rewards precision more than most cocktails, mostly because its four ingredients leave nowhere to hide an imbalance. Get your mise en place sorted and the rest is easy.
- Gin: 60 ml (2 oz), the backbone of the drink.
- Fresh lemon juice: 22 to 30 ml (3/4 to 1 oz), never bottled.
- Simple syrup: 15 to 30 ml (1/2 to 1 oz), adjusted to taste.
- Soda water: enough to top the glass, chilled beforehand.
- Ice: fresh cubes for straining, separate from your shaking ice.
For syrup, a standard 1:1 ratio of sugar to water dissolved over gentle heat suits most palates. A richer 2:1 syrup, favoured for its stability and resistance to warming the drink, is worth making if you mix Collins regularly, and BBC Food’s method recommends chilling it well before use. One fresh lemon typically yields close to the lower end of your juice measure, so keep a spare on hand.
How to make a Tom Collins step by step
Getting the method right matters as much as the ratios. The sequence below keeps the drink cold, balanced and properly carbonated from first sip to last.
- Chill your Collins or highball glass and prepare a fresh batch of ice separate from your shaker ice.
- Add gin, lemon juice and syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice, then shake hard for 8 to 15 seconds until the shaker feels cold to the touch.
- Double strain into the chilled glass over fresh ice, top with chilled soda water and give it one gentle stir to combine.
Shaking the gin, lemon and syrup together before adding soda is the method Serious Eats recommends, since shaking a carbonated ingredient exhausts its fizz fast. Adding chilled soda after straining keeps the sparkle intact and the drink colder for longer.
If you’re short on time, building directly in the glass, gin, lemon and syrup over ice, stirred, then topped with soda, works as a shortcut. It’s faster but less integrated, and the flavours sit in layers rather than marrying the way a proper shake achieves.
Tools worth having on the bar: a jigger for accurate measures, a Boston or cobbler shaker, a Hawthorne strainer with a fine strainer for double straining, and a proper Collins or highball glass. Our Pink Fit Cosmopolitan recipe walks through the same shaker technique if you want to see it applied elsewhere.
Pro Tip: Pour the soda down the length of a barspoon rather than straight into the glass. It keeps the bubbles alive and gives you a longer-lasting fizz.
Choosing a gin that suits your Collins style
The gin you choose shapes the whole drink far more than most people expect. A Tom Collins historically called for Old Tom gin, and the IBA’s guidance on the John Collins still notes that distinction, though a crisp London dry is now just as common behind most bars.
- Old Tom gin: sweeter and rounder, so you can often trim syrup by 5 to 10 ml and still land balanced.
- London dry gin: drier and more assertive, needing the full syrup measure to soften its edges.
- Botanical or citrus-forward gins: shift the drink’s aromatics noticeably, so taste before you commit to a full batch.
Among our own range, Slim Crop Gin brings a bright, herbaceous lift that suits a classic, well-balanced Collins. Tropical Trim Gin leans fruit-forward and works well in the twists covered below. White Christmas Gin carries a warmer, more aromatic character that suits a seasonal pour. Whichever you pick, take a trial sip after shaking and adjust syrup by 5 to 10 ml before you strain the final glass.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Most Tom Collins problems trace back to a handful of habits, and each one has a quick fix once you know what to look for.
- Bottled lemon juice: always use fresh. A single lemon usually yields close to 25 to 30 ml, enough for one drink.
- Adding soda to the shaker: this flattens the drink before it’s even poured, as several sources note. Add soda only after straining.
- Too sweet: add a touch more lemon juice or lengthen with extra soda.
- Too tart: stir in a touch more syrup rather than starting over.
- Flat or warm: chill your soda and glass beforehand, and always strain over fresh ice rather than reused shaker ice.
Pro Tip: Keep a bottle of soda water in the fridge specifically for cocktails. Room-temperature soda loses fizz faster the moment it hits warm gin.
Variations worth trying at home
Once you’ve nailed the classic ratio, the Tom Collins takes small changes well without losing its identity.
- Old Tom Collins: swap in an Old Tom-style gin and trim syrup by 5 to 10 ml to match its natural sweetness.
- Fruit variations: lightly muddle berries or cucumber in the shaker, then strain thoroughly to keep the finished drink clear of pulp.
- Herbal twists: a basil or rosemary sprig, bruised gently and used as garnish, adds aroma without changing the core recipe.
- A tarter modern style: halve the syrup and add a small pinch of salt to sharpen the citrus.
Getting a consistently good result at home
Consistency comes down to preparation as much as pouring. Make your syrup ahead and keep it chilled, since a cold syrup blends faster and won’t warm the drink on contact. Keep soda water in the fridge specifically for cocktails, and always strain over fresh ice rather than the cloudy ice left in your shaker, which carries diluted flavour into the next round. At Winston Quinn, our approach to gin starts with the same principle: natural botanicals, carefully distilled, so the spirit itself does the work rather than needing to be masked.
Why balance matters more than the recipe itself
A Tom Collins lives or dies on balance, not on hitting an exact number to the millilitre. We built our gins around a flavour-first approach precisely because a spirit with real character gives you more room to adjust syrup and lemon by feel rather than formula. Taste as you go, trust your palate over the measuring line, and don’t be afraid to tweak a ratio until it’s yours.
— Winston
Bring home a gin built for your Collins
Once you know the ratio, the gin you pour makes the biggest difference to how your Collins tastes.
- Slim Crop Gin suits a bright, classic Collins where the botanicals need to shine through the citrus.
- Tropical Trim Gin carries fruit notes that pair naturally with the variations above.
- White Christmas Gin brings a warmer, more aromatic edge for a seasonal pour.
Browse the full Gins collection to find your match, or take our gin match quiz on the recipes and cocktails page if you’d rather we point you toward the right bottle. For serving and glassware ideas beyond the Collins, our Dry Cut Martini page has a few useful notes too.
Sources
For further reading, BBC Food covers the classic recipe and syrup method, Serious Eats details shaking versus building, and the IBA explains naming conventions and the Old Tom tradition. The Washington Post adds historical context on why proportions vary.
FAQ
What is a Tom Collins drink made of?
A Tom Collins is made from gin, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and soda water, shaken and topped to finish. The classic build uses 60 ml gin with 22 to 30 ml lemon juice and 15 to 30 ml syrup, garnished with a lemon wheel.
What are common mistakes making Tom Collins?
The most frequent mistakes are using bottled lemon juice instead of fresh, and adding soda water into the shaker where it loses its fizz. Straining over reused, cloudy shaker ice instead of fresh ice is another common issue that flattens the finished drink.
What is the difference between Tom Collins and John Collins?
The main difference is the gin: a Tom Collins traditionally uses Old Tom gin, while John Collins recipes and naming conventions differ, often built around a different base spirit. Modern practice varies, and many bars now use a London dry gin for either drink.
What gin is best for making a Tom Collins cocktail?
A London dry gin gives a crisp, classic result, while an Old Tom gin’s natural sweetness lets you cut back on syrup. For a bright, herbaceous version, Slim Crop Gin is a good match, and Tropical Trim Gin suits fruit-forward twists.
