The recipe
- 1½ ozGin45 ml
- 1 ozLemon juice30 ml
- ½ ozSimple syrup15 ml
- 2 ozSoda water60 ml
How to make it
- 1Fill a highball with ice.
- 2Pour in everything.
- 3Stir gently.
Garnish: A lemon slice and a cherry.
Variations: Make it with Old Tom gin for a Tom Collins.
The ratio
3 : 2 : 1 : 4
In parts, a John Collins is 3 gin, 2 lemon, 1 syrup and 4 soda. Change one part and you have a cousin; the closest are below.
Built the same way
Head to head
- John Collins vs. Bramble
- John Collins vs. Earl Grey MarTEAni
- John Collins vs. Fitzgerald
- John Collins vs. French 75
- John Collins vs. Gin Basil Smash
- John Collins vs. Gin Fizz
- John Collins vs. Gunshop Fizz
- John Collins vs. Kentucky Buck
- John Collins vs. Mojito
- John Collins vs. Ramos Fizz
- John Collins vs. Rum Collins
- John Collins vs. South Side
- John Collins vs. Tom Collins
More Highballs & Fizzes
- Alabama Slammer — Amaretto, Southern Comfort and sloe gin stirred over ice with a splash of lemon: sweet, fruity and nutty, a college-bar favorite.
- Bay Breeze — Vodka with cranberry and pineapple juice: a Sea Breeze with pineapple in place of grapefruit.
- Bloody Mary — Vodka, tomato and lemon, seasoned to taste with Worcestershire, Tabasco, celery salt and pepper. Savory and spicy.
- Blue Lagoon — Vodka, blue curaçao and lime topped with lemon-lime soda: electric blue, sweet-tart and fizzy.
- Cuba Libre — Rum and cola with lime, which is the difference between this and a plain rum and Coke.
- Dark ’n’ Stormy — Ginger beer with dark rum floated on top. Spicy, sweet and moody.