John Collins

How to Mix Drinks: Bar Keepers' Handbook by Winter (1884, p.31) — Bar Keepers' Handbook 1884

1. Add lemon juice, sugar, Holland gin, and one-third glass of fine ice, fill with plain soda while stirring, remove the ice, and serve.

Ice: Fine ice

Scientific Bar-Keeping by E. N. Cook & Co. (1884, p.13)

1. Put the sugar, lemon juice, Holland gin, and small lumps of ice into a glass.
2. Open a bottle of plain soda and pour it into the ingredients.
3. Mix up well, remove the ice, and serve.

Ice: Small lumps of ice

The Police Gazette Bartenders Guide by Richard K. Fox (1888, p.29) — 1888 Gin

1. Mix the sugar, lemon juice, gin, ice, and plain soda well in an extra large bar glass.
2. Remove the ice and serve.

Ice: 5 or 6 small bits

Summary

A clear gin Collins checkpoint that keeps the remove-the-ice service detail explicit.

This is useful because it gives another late-century control point for Collins before later standardization narrows the family story.

Removing the ice before service is a meaningful period detail worth preserving.

Compared with Tom Collins (Brandy), this is the leaner gin branch with no cordial accent.

Bartender's Manual by Theodore Proulx (1888, p.27) — Theodore Proulx 1888

1. Cool a thin glass.
2. Squeeze half a fresh lemon with two-thirds tablespoon of sugar in a mixing glass, keeping the peel on the lemon, then add ice and Tom gin.
3. Stir very well, strain into the cooled glass, and add half a bottle of Delatour soda.

Ice: A few lumps

Summary

A Collins service that still sits close to punch and cobbler handling rather than later standardized tall-drink practice.

This is a very valuable Collins checkpoint because Proulx is unusually emphatic about method, peel handling, and correctness. It shows the drink as a defined professional standard by 1888.

Keeping the peel on the squeezed lemon is part of the intended flavor extraction, not a throwaway detail.

Compared with Gin Fizz, this is longer, peelier, and more obviously a lengthened-service drink than a sparkling sour.

Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender by Wm. T. Boothby (1891, p.42)

1. Set a very large glass with a large piece of ice in front of the customer and let him serve himself to the gin.
2. Dissolve the lemon juice and sugar in part of a bottle of plain soda, pour into the prepared glass, fill with the balance of the soda, stir, and serve.

Ice: Large ice piece

This is a particularly useful Collins checkpoint because Boothby insists it is a distinct very long drink rather than just a disguised fizz.

The service logic depends on the very large glass, customer-poured gin, and unusually long soda build.

Boothby's warning against serving a regular gin fizz as John Collins is historically important and preserved here.

Drinks a La Mode by Mrs de Salis (1891, p.14) — Drinks a La Mode 1891

1. Build over ice in a large tumbler with lemon, pineapple, sugar, and Holland gin, then add soda water, stir, and drink while effervescing.

Garnish: Pineapple slice

Ice: Ice

Mixed Drinks by Herbert W. Green (1895, p.58)

1. Muddle the half lemon and sugar in a mixing glass, then add shaved ice and Old Tom gin.
2. Shake well, strain into a thin lemonade glass, fill with Club soda, stir, and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

This is a useful Collins checkpoint because Green preserves a distinctly muddled and shaken lemon build before the final soda lengthening.

The service sits between sour and highball logic; the final identity comes from the soda finish in the serving glass.

Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler (1895, p.46) — George J. Kappeler 1895

1. Prepare the drink the same as Brandy Collins, substituting Holland gin for brandy.

Ice: One piece

Nose

Lemon oil and the malty-herbal depth of Holland gin define the aroma.

Palate

The Holland-gin base makes this version feel weightier and more old-world than later Tom Collins forms, while still clearly inhabiting the Collins template.

Finish

The finish is citrusy, sparkling, and gently grainy.

Summary

A genever-rooted Collins variant preserving older gin character inside a modern long-drink form.

This version is historically useful because it keeps the Collins family tied to older Holland-gin practice instead of letting the line appear to spring fully formed from later Tom-gin or London-gin service.

The drink inherits the muddled lemon-and-sugar technique from Brandy Collins, which keeps it structurally close to sour logic despite the longer serve.

Compared with many later John Collins templates, Kappeler's version still feels tethered to older gin traditions through its Holland-gin base.

The Mixicologist by C. F. Lawlor (1895, p.23) — C. F. Lawlor 1895

1. Put half a lemon with peel on and one spoonful of sugar into a mixing glass and muddle well.
2. Fill the glass two thirds full of shaved ice.
3. Add the Old Tom gin and shake well.
4. Strain into a thin lemonade glass.
5. Fill with club soda and stir.

Nose

Lemon peel, gin botanicals, and fresh soda rise immediately.

Palate

It is brighter and more openly refreshing than the stirred cocktails, with lemon and soda now doing as much structural work as bitters once did.

Finish

The finish is crisp, citrusy, and sparkling.

Summary

A classic Collins showing the cocktail family stretching into proper long-refreshment territory.

John Collins is historically central because it shows the old sweetened spirit drink moving decisively into the soda-lengthened highball family. The muddled lemon-with-peel method also preserves a more tactile older preparation style than many later standardised versions.

The muddle is important: this is not simply a squeeze-and-top drink. The shake and final soda extension create the Collins texture.

Compared with Morning Cocktail, John Collins is less aromatic and more openly lemon-refreshing. It marks a cleaner split from cocktail toward long drink.

The Cocktail Book a Sideboard Manual for Gentlemen (1901, p.53)

1. Dissolve the sugar in a long glass with the lemon juice.
2. Add three or four lumps of ice and the Holland gin.
3. Pour in a bottle of soda water.

Ice: Three or four lumps

This is a clear private-house Collins witness that preserves the Holland-gin John line distinctly.

The source explicitly treats it as built long service rather than a shaken fizz variant.

The Complete Buffet Manual or How to Mix Fancy Drinks by J. E. Sheridan (1901, p.45) — Gin

1. Mix the ingredients well in a large bar glass.
2. Remove the ice and serve.

Ice: Small bits of ice

This is a useful Collins checkpoint because Sheridan preserves a direct soda service distinct from the shaken fizz grammar.

The ice-removal step is one of the notable service details here.

Daly's Bartenders' Encyclopedia by Tim Daly (1903, p.33)

1. Add the sugar, lemon juice, ice, and Holland gin to a mixing glass.
2. Fill with seltzer water, spoon well, and serve immediately.

Ice: Small lumps

This is a useful Collins witness because Daly explicitly notes the need for immediate consumption to keep the foam in place.

The drink is built and spooned rather than shaken, staying faithful to the Collins long-drink line.

The Complete Buffet Guide by V. B. Lewis (1903, p.47) — Gin

1. Mix the sugar, lemon juice, gin, ice, and plain soda well.
2. Remove the ice and serve.

Ice: Broken ice

Nose

Gin and lemon stay direct and simple.

Palate

Lewis's form is slightly plainer and drier than some fruit-dressed Collinses, which helps show how the family could contract as well as expand.

Finish

The finish is clean, sparkling, and citric.

Summary

A plain-soda Collins from the leaner highball branch.

Drinks as They Are Mixed by Paul E. Lowe (1904, p.47) — Lowe 1904

1. Add the ice, lemon juice, sugar, and Tom gin to a large bar glass.
2. Fill with plain soda, stir well, and serve.

Ice: 6 lumps

Nose

Gin botanicals and lemon rise lightly through the soda.

Palate

This matters as a clean checkpoint in the settled Collins line, where Old Tom, sugar, lemon, and bottled soda are already functioning as a standard service grammar.

Finish

The finish is brisk, lightly sweet, and refreshing.

Summary

A mature Collins-family long drink in standard bar form.

Louis' Mixed Drinks with Hints for the Care & Serving of Wines by Louis Muckensturm (1906, p.98)

1. Dissolve the sugar with a spoon, add the ice, pour in the remaining ingredients, fill with Club soda, and serve.

Ice: Ice

Jack's Manual by J. A. Grohusko (1910, p.61)

1. Build the sugar, lemon juice, lime juice, ice, and Holland gin in a large glass.
2. Stir up well, remove the ice, and serve topped with club soda.

Ice: 3 lumps of ice

The source explicitly says to remove the ice before serving.

The Buffet Blue Book by John H. Considine (1912, p.38) — Blue Book 1912

1. Build the ice, fine sugar, lemon juice, and Tom gin in a large bar glass.
2. Add the plain soda, mix well with a spoon, remove the spoon, and serve.

Ice: Lumps of ice

Bartenders' Guide: How to Mix Drinks by Wehman Bros. (1912, p.37)

1. Combine the sugar, lemon juice, lime juice, ice, and Holland gin, pour in a bottle of plain soda, mix well, remove the ice, and serve.

Ice: Ice

The Up-to-Date Bartender's Guide by Harry Montague (1913, p.30)

1. Put the ice, bar sugar, lemon juice, gin, and plain soda into a large bar glass.
2. Stir well, remove the ice, and serve.

Ice: Ice

Julian's Recipes by Julian Anderson (1919, p.13)

1. Build the lime juice, lemon juice, ice, and Holland gin in a large glass.
2. Pour in the club soda, mix, and serve.

Ice: Ice

About Town Cocktail Book by Joe Fitchett (1925, p.26) — Old-Fashioned

1. Mix well and drink while fizzing.

Ice: Ice

This matters because it preserves an 'old-fashioned' Collins label attached to a plain gin-and-soda lemon service.

The source emphasizes immediate fizzy service rather than elaborate decoration.

L'Art du Shaker by Dominique Migliorero (1925, p.36)

1. Build in a large tumbler, stir well, and serve.

Ice: Ice

Cocktails by Pedro Chicote (1928, p.361) — Gin Collins

1. Shake and strain into a water glass, top with soda, and serve.

Ice: Crushed ice

This matters because it keeps the older gin-led Collins naming visible inside a late Spanish source rather than flattening the family entirely into Tom Collins.

The source preserves the classical shake-then-lengthen Collins grammar.

The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book by Albert Stevens Crockett (1935, p.108)

1. Shake, strain, and fill with soda.

Ice: Ice

One of the two Collins family drinks.

Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em by Stanley Clisby Arthur (1938, p.47)

1. Make exactly as for the Tom Collins, but replace the gin with three-quarters jigger rye whiskey and one-quarter jigger rum.