Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Simple Can Be Better

Feel that? That’s Friday, the first Friday of Spring. Admittedly, this winter hasn’t sucked as much as it has in years past. At least here, your local mileage may vary, but either way it’s an important step in the right direction season wise. I’m much more of a warm weather person than cold weather, so while I like having all four seasons where I live, the preference is for the summer months.

To that end, I went looking for something to get me in the warm weather mood when I discovered I’ve somehow never made one of the oldest, and simplest drinks around: The Collins. Mrs. Sharkbait was equally as surprised when I informed her of this: “You’ve made something called a Devil’s Titty* but never made a Collins??”

*I have not, I don’t think this exists, but now I’m determined to invent one.

After having been shamed, I went ahead and made the classic Collins from the Waldorf Astoria Book:

2 oz. Hayman’s Old Tom gin

.75 oz. Lemon juice

.25 oz. Simple syrup

2 oz. Chilled soda water

Add all ingredients except club soda to a mixing glass. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a Collins glass filled with large ice cubes. Top with club soda and stir briefly to integrate. Garnish with a brandied cherry and/or citrus peel or slice (optional).

The nose is very bright, with a pronounced lemony aroma. I get a little bit of the gin underneath as well, but the lemon scent is the star of this particular show. The cherry adds a hint of sweet smells, but not much, and only if it happens to be under your nose when you smell/sip it. Overall it’s very appealing.

Speaking of the sip, this is excellent right off the bat. It’s bright, cold and refreshing. The lemon flavor comes out the most initially, a little surprising to be honest given the proportions at work here. Especially since I think the simple syrup is doing most of the heavy lifting to keep the flavors in balance, and preventing the lemon juice from overpowering (or over sour-ing?) the flavors. The result is something that is very, very drinkable. The soda water adds a nice effervescent touch and might also help restrain the lemon flavors a bit.

Now, to the gin. It’s mostly hidden surprisingly. You can kind of tell it’s there at the end of the sip, but even then, it is very faint, and I honestly don’t think I would notice if I wasn’t looking for the flavors in there, which is doubly surprising since the recipe calls for Old Tom gin, which is slightly sweeter than London dry (which is what I used here). I imagine using Old Tom would keep the gin flavor level about the same, or maybe even not even come out at all. Not that I think this is a bad thing per-se. I usually prefer a little more gin ‘oomph’,  but I don’t know if that would work here. The beauty is the simplicity, and a restrained base spirit is simple but effective. Especially with the spring/summer vibe this drink has going for it.

This is a great classic cocktail for a reason. It’s delicious, and will be an excellent choice to break out more often now that spring is here and the weather is (finally) starting to warm up. Enjoy the weekend!

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)