Blueberry Collins (Original Recipe)

 

I'm finishing up my summer drinks (and my blueberry syrup) by coming up with ways to change the color and flavor of a few classic cocktails. The Collins is an obvious gin and soda model to work with. The blueberry syrup only needs to replace the simple syrup and all else remains the same. 

For a fun twist, I thought it would be nice to use Vitae's Old Tom gin to tame the juniper notes and add some oak mellowness to this American standard.

• 2 oz. Old Tom gin (Vitae used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. blueberry syrup
• club soda
• lemon slice, maraschino cherry and mint garnishes

Combine gin, lemon juice and syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with soda and stir gently. Garnish at will with mint and fruit.

Imagine Espana (Original Recipe)

I've got a project underway to combine the local Virginia spirits from MurLarkey with international brands. How does one take liqueurs and whiskies from across Europe and Asia and turn them into great cocktails using a base spirit that is unknown overseas? It's easy when you consider that gin is a great base for refreshing spring cocktails.

Licor 43 is a Spanish cordial made from citrus, fruits, spices and brandy. It has a pleasing vanilla flavor and adds sweetness where sugar would usually go in a drink. But it is far more interesting than simple syrup in this twist on a Collins.  MurLarkey makes ImaGination gin, a rich botanical blend of a gin that can really outshine other American gins for its depth of flavor. Far from a juniper-heavy gin, MurLarkey goes for spice and herbs for an unexpected taste.

• 1 1/2 oz. MurLarkey ImaGination gin
• 1 oz. Licor 43
• 1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• sparkling water
• cherries and orange twist garnishes.

Combine lemon juice and liquors in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with cherries and orange twist. 

Tequila Collins

Of course a white tequila is necessary to mimic the fizzy gin drink known as the Collins. This recipe is easier to make than the one for the gin Collins. That must be because, when it comes to tequila, no one wants to stress too much or work too hard. This cocktail is built in a glass with no shaking involved. It calls for simple syrup rather than having to dissolve sugar granules, which is easier. Furthermore, the portion of tequila is less than the gin in a Collins so it fits in my Collins glass and is not as strongly flavored.

The recipe calls for a maraschino cherry garnish. I had a lovely blood orange that needed to be part of this experience, though. Garnish however you like.

• 2 oz. white tequila
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. simple syrup
• sparkling water
• maraschino cherry

Build drink in a Collins glass with tequila, juice, and simple syrup. Add ice and top with sparkling water. Stir and garnish. 

John Collins

John Collins is the whiskey brother to Tom Collins. I realize there is also a Whiskey Collins, but the Collins is such an Irish-American cocktail that it needs doing with a real Irish whiskey.

I'm hot and cold on my feelings about Donegal Estates whiskey. It is dry and almost flavorless except for a bit of grain on the center of the tongue. This makes it excellent as a cocktail whiskey with light and refreshing drinks like the Collins. It is uninteresting when taken neat, except that occasionally it pairs well with shortbread or as a topper to fizzy drinks. For me, it wasn't worth the price, in the 30 dollar range, but that's the thing about Irish whiskey imports. You pay a premium regardless of quality.

• 2 oz. Irish whiskey (Donegal Estates used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice 
• 1 tsp. sugar
• soda
• lemon slice
• orange slice
• maraschino cherry (green used)

Combine whiskey, juice and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass (Guinness glass used) and top with soda. Garnish with fruit.

Gin Fizz & Gin Cooler

There are a lot of similar gin cocktails out there since the beginning of the Fizz, Collins, and Fix assimilation of the late 19th century. These are two that are nearly identical. A Fizz is exactly what it sound like: drink with gin, lemon and soda. It is less potent than the Tom Collins, which has three ounces of gin and is designed to get you drunk quickly.

The Gin Fizz (left) is a nice refresher on a hot day. Made almost like the Tom Collins according to the recipe below.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• sparkling water

Combine gin, lemon juice and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water.

The Gin Cooler (right) is part of a more nebulous group of drinks (some that use mint and some that use sparkling water or juices) designed to chill the blood on hot days. Make it like this, without a shaker.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• sparkling water
• lemon peel

Mix gin and sugar in the bottom of a Collins glass without ice until sugar dissolves. Add ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with the lemon peel. 
 

Fraise Fizz

I was really excited to discover this recipe just when I was wondering what to do with my strawberry liqueur and raspberry syrup. What a combination! Imagine a Collins with fresh summer flavors. It is a great time of year to preserve fresh fruit in alcohol and use it in cocktails.

For the strawberry liqueur, I simply made a cooked strawberry syrup and added alcohol. See my recipe for the Belmont Stakes for this. In fact, if you have strawberry syrup on hand at all, just add a little rum or vodka and you have something like liqueur fraise in no time at all.

•  2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. strawberry liqueur
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• club soda
• lemon twist
• whole strawberry

Combine gin, lemon juice, sugar and strawberry liqueur in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of ice. Top with soda and stir. Garnish with lemon twist and whole strawberry.

Tom Collins

The original Collins is the gin fortified Tom Collins. This cocktail was known in the old days to be a very potent drink--though now it is regarded as gentle summer sipping. That is because it used to be part of a family of cocktails known as fizzes and flips. These drinks were served without ice and were intended to be drunk in one gulp: eggwhite, soda, lemon and all. This practice continued when egg white was ommited, ice was left in and the glass was filled to the top with soda. So people used to down a Tom Collins on command (when people at the bar ordered you one as a bit of a joke), and the three ounces of gin and all that soda made sure you were pretty tipsy.

Nowadays people seldom do the cherry and orange slice for garnishes, partly because it is a lemon juice drink and doesn't require orange or cherry in the cocktail itself. The Tom Collins has always been about simplicity and speedy drink making, so do what suits you according to your bar requirements and preferences.

• 3 oz. gin
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• club soda
• maraschino cherry
• orange slice

Combine gin, juice and sugar in a highball glass full of ice. Top with soda and stir. Garnish with fruit (lemon slice shown).

Rum Collins

There might be some debate if this drink is necessary. If all you have is rum and soda, though, it's pretty necessary. Lime juice is the only other substitute from the Tom Collin's lemon juice. Everything else is done the same.

• 3 oz. light rum
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• club soda
• lemon slice
• maraschino cherry

Combine rum, lime juice and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Top with soda and garnish with lemon slice and cherry

Ramos Fizz

The Ramos Fizz, like all fizz category drinks, involves egg white to get it that amazing white foam. The recipe I looked at in the New York Bartender's Guide would make a pretty disgusting drink, adding the soda and egg white after shaking (which would make for a slimy unshaken fizz). The trick to getting egg white foamy is to shake it with the other ingredients without ice (a dry shake) before adding ice and reshaking (wet shake). Then top with cold soda.

There's some discrepancy about the difference between a fizz and a flip. According to David Wondrich in Imbibe! Flips are egg drinks without soda--low drinks intended to be drunk as a single shot. Fizz drinks aren't supposed to have ice usually. They should also be chilled and served with cold soda after shaking and served in a long (tall) glass the way a Tom Collins should be served. The Ramos Fizz is the tallest of all with ice, cream and 3 ounces of gin. This is why the drink is favored by serious gin drinkers. You can't get it at just any bar because the need for the orange flower water to scent the foam. Be selective when you order one of these Ramos Fizzes, and make it with care if you try it at home.

• 3 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. half-and-half
• 3-5 dashes orange flower water
• 1 egg white
• club soda

Combine all ingredients except soda in a shaker. Shake vigorously to create foam. Add ice and shake again until chilled. Pour into a chilled Collins glass. Add ice if necessary and top with soda.

(Irish) Whiskey Collins

The Tom Collins is a gin drink with lots of lemon and soda. It's reputedly an Irish cocktail named after a fictitious man with the gift of the gab. That's why I chose to make the whiskey variant with an Irish whiskey, and not just any Irish whiskey. Glendalough double barrel is about as close to bourbon as an Irish whiskey can get, with part of its aging in ex-bourbon barrels and a high corn component of its grain composition.

• 3 oz. whiskey (Glendalough double barrel used)
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• club soda
• maraschino cherry
• orange slice

Combine whiskey, lemon juice and soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass full of fresh ice and top with soda. Garnish with cherry and orange slice.

Bourbon Collins

I guess I was on a roll, doing bourbon versions of popular drinks. But this is the first Collins I've made for the blog. I guess I just like bourbon drinks.

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1/2 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• soda
• lime twist

Combine bourbon, sugar, and juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass. Top with soda and add lime twist garnish.