Honey Vodka Collins
Stir; Shake ∙ 4 min ∙ 18.2% ABV ∙
The Honey Vodka Collins is a shaken vodka sour of honey and fresh lemon, served over ice in a highball glass — this build takes no soda water. Bright and tart up front, the sip rounds into a silky, warming finish, with a clean spirit backbone keeping the sweetness from lingering too long.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- In the base of the shaker, stir: Honey 2 bsp and Vodka 60 ml until the Honey dissolves
- Add Lemon juice 30 ml
- Shake with ice and strain into the ice-filled glass
- Garnish with a lemon slice
Tips
- Stir the honey and vodka together before adding lemon or ice — honey seizes up in cold liquid and won't dissolve once it's chilled.
- Shake hard for a full 10-12 seconds; honey is viscous and needs the extra agitation to fully integrate.
- Strain into a fresh bed of ice rather than the shaker ice, so the drink stays cold without over-diluting.
History
The Honey Vodka Collins has no documented creation story of its own; it is a modern variant that swaps the usual sugar or simple syrup of a Vodka Collins for honey, giving the sour highball a rounder sweetness.
It descends from the Collins family of drinks, tall gin-and-lemon sours topped with soda water that trace to 19th-century London and New York. A John Collins, tied to a headwaiter of that name at Limmer's Old House in Mayfair, was recorded as early as the 1860s, and the gin version known as the Tom Collins appeared in print in Harry Johnson's 1882 bartender's manual and again in Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tender's Guide. Vodka replaced gin as the base once vodka's popularity rose in the mid-20th century, producing the Vodka Collins that this honey-sweetened version varies.
FAQ
What is in a Honey Vodka Collins?
Vodka with honey stirred into it until dissolved, shaken with fresh lemon juice and strained over ice into a highball glass, garnished with a lemon slice. Unlike a standard Collins, this build takes no soda water.
Is a Honey Vodka Collins the same as a Tom Collins?
No. A Tom Collins is built on gin and lengthened with soda water. This one uses vodka, replaces the sugar with honey stirred in before shaking, and is served without soda, so it lands shorter and rounder than a true Collins.
Why use honey instead of sugar syrup?
Honey brings a floral depth that plain sugar syrup does not, and it sits well against vodka's neutral bite. It has to be stirred into the spirit before anything cold goes in, though — honey seizes up on contact with chilled liquid and will not dissolve afterwards.
