Pierre Collins
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 13.3% ABV ∙
The Pierre Collins is a Cognac-based riff on the Tom Collins, shaking brandy with lemon juice and sugar syrup before topping with soda water. Brisk and effervescent, with a warm, fruity depth beneath the crisp fizz, finishing clean and lightly sweet rather than sharp or heavy.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 3 ingredients with ice: Cognac 60 mlLemon juice 25 mlSugar syrup 15 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Soda water, lightly stir and serve with a straw
- Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Pre-chill the Collins glass so the ice doesn't melt fast once the soda water goes in.
- Use a fresh lemon; bottled juice reads flat and mutes the cognac's fruit notes underneath.
History
Pierre Collins is the cognac-based member of the Collins cocktail family, essentially a Tom Collins made with brandy in place of gin. No individual bartender or bar is credited with inventing it; the name simply follows the Collins tradition of pairing a base spirit with a first name, and its earliest documented mention comes from David A. Embury's 1948 book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, which lists Pierre alongside other "cousins" such as Pedro and Jack that had joined the original Tom and John Collins.
The Collins itself traces to early-to-mid 19th century London, where it is generally linked to a headwaiter named John Collins at Limmer's Old House, a Mayfair hotel and coffee house active around 1790 to 1817. The gin version became known as Tom Collins after Old Tom gin was specified in an 1869 recipe, with its first published recipe appearing in Harry Johnson's 1882 bartending manual; some historians also link the name's spread to a popular hoax that circulated in American bars in 1874. Pierre Collins keeps that same lemon-sugar-soda structure but swaps in cognac for gin.
FAQ
What's in a Collins cocktail?
A Collins cocktail is built from a base spirit, lemon juice, sugar syrup, and soda water, shaken or built and served long over ice. The Pierre Collins version uses cognac as that spirit, shaking it with lemon juice and sugar syrup before straining over ice and topping with soda water.
What is a Collins cocktail?
A Collins cocktail is a long, fizzy drink built from a base spirit topped with soda water over ice in a tall Collins glass. The Pierre Collins uses cognac as its spirit, giving it a fruitier, warmer profile than the gin-based Tom Collins.
