John Collins Cocktail Recipe
The whiskey-based Collins: bourbon, lemon and sugar built tall over ice and topped with soda.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 11%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Bourbon45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice30 ml (1 oz)
- Simple syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Soda water60 ml (2 oz)
How to Make It
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Add bourbon, lemon juice and syrup, and stir briefly.
- Top with soda water.
- Garnish with lemon and a cherry.
Garnish
Lemon slice and a cherry
What it tastes like
It smells of lemon and lime peel, it is carbonated and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Bourbon
- American whiskey made from at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak. The corn gives sweetness, the barrel vanilla; swap in rye and the drink turns noticeably spicier.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Freshly squeezed lemon; one lemon gives 30-40 ml. It can swap with lime, but lemon is softer and less aromatic, so use a touch more.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
- Soda water
- Plain carbonated water. It goes in LAST and nothing is stirred after it. An open bottle goes flat fast, so small bottles make more sense than big ones.
The Story
Named for a head waiter at London's Limmer's Hotel. Its gin cousin the Tom Collins is the better-known drink, but the original was whiskey.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a John Collins mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a John Collins?
- Roughly 11% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a John Collins be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a John Collins hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.