Tom Collins is one of those cocktails that most people have heard of, but have never ordered. It’s a pretty simple combination of gin, lemon, sugar syrup and soda water that doesn’t jump off the page on a cocktail menu, but it’s always a great option, especially in hot weather. Of course, there is an easy way to make the drink more unique, and that’s by mixing up the choice of gin.
Three years ago or so at 214 Bermondsey, a bartender introduced me to a Tom Collins made with St.George Spirits Terroir Gin, a gin I was familiar with from various Maverick Drinks events. It’s a brilliant bottle of booze, featuring botanicals of douglas fir and California bay laurel that will transport you to the West Coast (of the USA that is), but it’s a tricky one to use in cocktails as the flavours are pretty full on.
In a Tom Collins, lengthened by soda water, softened by sugar, and balanced by lemon, the Terroir gin shines through and makes the drink its own. A trip to the distillery in Alameda last year sealed the deal for me, and it’s now a permanent fixture on my gin shelf, and is almost solely put to use in this drink. Here’s what you need:
2 shots of St.George Spirits Terroir Gin
3/4 shot of Lemon Juice
1/2 a shot of sugar syrup
Top up with soda water
No shaker required! Add the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup to a tall glass and fill it up with cubed ice. Give it a stir with a bar spoon, top it up with soda water, and garnish with a lemon wheel if you so wish. Simple, refreshing, delicious, and unique!
