Recipe: Tom Collins (my way)

For my New Year's drink of choice, I wanted so badly to enjoy a dirty martini. I bought the gin, the vermouth, the olives... But sadly no matter how I mixed them, the result was repulsive. I guess I'm just too sissy to enjoy that strong taste of alcohol. I need something tasty that masks the alcohol flavor. I didn't want to waste that giant bottle of gin so I searched until I found a drink recipe I thought I could handle. The Tom Collins. It seemed simple enough, and tasty enough, so I sent my husband to the store to pick up the two things I was missing: Lemon juice and club soda. He mistakenly purchased lime juice, but I decided to go with it. Also, I needed a simple syrup but was pretty sure he'd have too hard a time finding that and decided to make my own. To make your own simple syrup you need a sugar to water ratio of 2:1. In a pot on the stove I boiled one cup of water, then I gradually added 2 cups of sugar, stirring constantly until it was completely dissolved. Allow it to cool and pour into a bottle and store in the fridge.

It's pretty difficult to mess this drink up. I did not use a Collins glass, oh well. I used a jigger for my measurements but if you don't have one, just know that a normal sized shot glass is 1 1/2 oz, and I poured in the club soda last until the glass was nearly full.

Tom Collins

1 1/2 oz gin
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
5 oz club soda
cherries for garnish, and a splash of cherry juice

Add the gin, lime juice, syrup and club soda to a glass with ice. Splash in a bit of cherry juice and drop a couple cherries in. Stir well with a spoon. Enjoy!