classic · built
Tom Collins recipe
Gin, lemon, sugar — topped with soda. The definitive highball.
A Tom Collins is 45 ml (42.3 g) Gin, 22 ml (22.7 g) Fresh Lemon Juice, 15 ml (16.7 g) Simple Syrup and 90 ml (90 g) Soda Water, built and served in a highball glass. It pours to about 172 ml before ice, at roughly 10.5% ABV. Weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them is what keeps the balance identical from one round to the next.
- Glasshighball glass
- Methodbuilt
- Pour volume172 ml
- Strength (est.)10.5% ABV
- Time3 min
Tom Collins ingredients — in millilitres and grams
Grams are what the PourPilot coaster actually targets. They are not the same as the millilitres: a spirit is lighter than water, a syrup is heavier, so 30 ml of one is never 30 g. The right-hand column is the density we use, in grams per millilitre.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight | g/ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gin | 45 ml | 42.3 g | 0.94 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Fresh Lemon Juice | 22 ml | 22.7 g | 1.03 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Simple Syrup (1:1) | 15 ml | 16.7 g | 1.11 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Soda Water | 90 ml | — | 1.00 | Top to taste |
How to make a Tom Collins
- Set your highball glass on the scale (or on the PourPilot coaster) and zero it. Every measurement below is given in millilitres and in grams, so you can use either.
- Fill the highball glass with fresh ice.
- Build Gin, Fresh Lemon Juice and Simple Syrup straight into the glass, weighing each pour.
- Top with Soda Water and stir once, gently, from the bottom up.
Tom Collins: the questions people actually ask
How strong is a Tom Collins?
Roughly 10.5% ABV as poured, before the ice dilutes it — typically another 15–25% water by the time you finish stirring or shaking. Sessionable. Comparable to a glass of wine by volume.
What glass should a Tom Collins be served in?
A highball glass. Fill it with fresh ice, not the ice you mixed with.
Can I make a Tom Collins without a jigger?
Yes — that is what the gram column is for. Put the glass or tin on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour to the weight. It is more accurate than a jigger because nothing is left clinging to the inside of the measure. The PourPilot coaster does the same thing without you having to watch a display: it lights up as you approach the target and tells you when to stop.
Why are some ingredients not weighed?
Dashes of bitters and rinses are too small to weigh reliably — a dash is roughly 0.8 ml, well inside the noise of any bar scale. Count them instead. Everything else in this Tom Collins is weighed.
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