Tom Collins (low-calorie)
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 9.5% ABV ∙
A low-calorie Tom Collins shakes London dry gin with lemon juice and a sugar-free sweetener syrup, then tops it long with soda water. Crisp and dry, with juniper-forward gin and tart lemon leading before the soda lightens it into a clean, fizzy, easy-drinking finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 3 ingredients with ice: London dry gin 45 mlLemon juice 30 mlSugar-free sweetener syrup 20 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Soda water and briefly stir
- Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Use a sugar-free sweetener syrup built for cold drinks so it dissolves fully in the shake instead of turning grainy.
- Top with soda water only after straining into the ice-filled glass, then stir just briefly to keep the fizz from going flat.
History
The low-calorie Tom Collins is a modern adaptation that swaps the traditional sugar syrup for a sugar-free sweetener, trimming the calorie and carbohydrate count while keeping the gin, lemon, and soda water base intact. It belongs to a wider trend of "skinny" or keto-friendly reworkings of classic cocktails that emerged as bartenders and home mixologists responded to demand for lower-sugar drinks, rather than tracing to one credited inventor or bar.
Its lineage runs back through Collins, the 19th-century family of gin, citrus, sugar, and soda water drinks named for a London waiter. Harry Johnson's 1882 bartender's manual is the earliest printed source to record both a Tom Collins, made with Old Tom gin, and a John Collins, made with Holland gin, and the wider Collins name is generally traced to a headwaiter at Limmer's Hotel in London. The low-calorie version keeps that same structure but replaces the sugar syrup with a sugar-free alternative to cut calories.
FAQ
Is a Tom Collins low in calories?
This version is, at about 113 kcal per serving, because it replaces regular sugar syrup with a sugar-free sweetener syrup while keeping the gin, lemon juice, and soda water. A standard Tom Collins made with regular sugar syrup runs higher in calories, so swapping the sweetener is what keeps this build lighter.
How do you make a sugar-free Tom Collins?
Shake London dry gin, fresh lemon juice, and a sugar-free sweetener syrup with ice, strain into an ice-filled Collins glass, then top with soda water and stir briefly. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry. Using a sugar-free syrup in place of regular sugar syrup is what makes it sugar-free while keeping the same gin-and-lemon backbone.
What cocktail is lowest in sugar?
A sugar-free Tom Collins, like this one, keeps sugar low by using a sugar-free sweetener syrup instead of regular sugar syrup, while the gin, lemon juice, and soda water carry no added sugar of their own. At roughly 113 kcal per serving, it is also a keto-friendly option for a low-sugar drink.
