Whiskey Collins
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 14% ABV ∙
The Whiskey Collins is a bourbon-based Collins: bourbon, lemon juice, and sugar syrup shaken, then topped with soda water in a tall glass. Crisp and fizzy with a tart edge, the chilled backbone stays smooth while the fizz lifts a bright, faintly spiced finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 4 ingredients with ice: Bourbon 60 mlLemon juice 30 mlSugar syrup 15 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 2 dashes
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Soda water and briefly stir
- Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Add the Angostura bitters at the shaking stage, not as a float, so they integrate into the sour rather than sitting on top.
- Pre-chill the Collins glass before building so the ice-filled pour stays cold without over-diluting.
- Stir only briefly after topping with soda water to preserve the fizz rather than knocking it flat.
History
The Whiskey Collins has no separate invention story of its own: it is simply the Collins made with whiskey rather than gin, a substitution old enough to appear in the very first printed Collins recipes. When Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tenders Guide set down the drink in its 1887 edition, it actually gave three versions of the "Tom Collins" side by side, made with whiskey, brandy, or gin, showing that the Collins was already understood as an interchangeable format rather than one fixed recipe. The whiskey version later came to be called by other names as well, including the Colonel Collins and, in the United States, often simply the John Collins, since American bartenders substituted domestic whiskey once the genever traditionally used in the John Collins became scarce.
The Collins itself descends from the gin punches served at London clubs in the early 1800s and is traced to a headwaiter named John Collins at Limmer's Hotel in London, whose drink crossed to New York by the 1850s-70s and split into rival Tom and John versions depending on the gin used. The Whiskey Collins keeps that same lemon-sugar-soda structure while swapping in whiskey for the gin base.
FAQ
What is a whiskey Collins?
A Whiskey Collins is a tall, fizzy bourbon cocktail, shaken with lemon juice for brightness and topped with soda water, then served over ice in a Collins glass with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.
What is in a bourbon Collins cocktail?
A bourbon Collins is bourbon, fresh lemon juice, and sugar syrup, shaken with ice and topped with soda water. This build also adds a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters to the shake for extra depth, then finishes with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.
What makes a drink a Collins?
A Collins is any spirit shaken or built with citrus juice and sugar, then lengthened with soda water and served tall over ice, typically in a glass named for the drink itself. The Whiskey Collins follows that same structure, swapping in bourbon as the base spirit instead of gin.
What's the difference between a John Collins and a Tom Collins?
A John Collins is traditionally made with whiskey or genever, while a Tom Collins uses gin; both share the same lemon, sugar, and soda water build. This Whiskey Collins is essentially the bourbon-based style associated with the John Collins name.
Do people still drink Tom Collins-style cocktails?
Yes, Collins-style cocktails remain popular, especially in warmer months, because the soda water keeps them light and easy to drink despite a full spirit base. The Whiskey Collins is one of several spirit-swapped variations that keeps this classic tall-drink format in regular rotation on cocktail menus.
