Raspberry collins cocktail

This raspberry collins cocktail is a simple combination of gin, raspberries, lemon, sweetener and soda that's refreshing and fruity. It's a lovely drink to sip on, whether a warm day, brunch or whatever the occasion.

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In general, if we make cocktails at home, the style tends to reflect the weather. In colder weather, things like a rum old fashioned is a big favorite. I might mix in the odd sour or other spirit-forward drink, like a paper plane or rum sour.

As it warms up, longer drinks take the front seat, like gin and tonics or things like a watermelon mojito in the peak of summer. A Collins cocktail is another that's great for warm weather, but it also works well as just a great sipping drink, such as alongside brunch.

This fruity variation on the theme is wonderfully bright, both in color and flavor. It's conveniently also really easy to make.

What is a Tom Collins?

A Tom Collins is traditionally made with gin, lemon, sugar and club soda/soda water. The origins are a bit unclear, but it appeared in the well-known Harry Johnson's bartenders' guide in 1882 and has long been considered a classic.

Technically the Collins drink is a family of drinks since you can make it with other spirits as well. The "Tom" in Tom Collins is since it was originally made with Old Tom gin.

These days, you'll fins a number of variations on the theme, with a vodka Collins being a popular variant. Some have other "first" names, like a Juan Collins when you use tequilla and a rum Collins is sometimes called a Ron Collins.

The Collins cocktail family is arguably a sub-family of sour cocktails, since they all include a spirit, citrus and sweetener. But the big difference between Collins and a more typical sour is it's a longer drink since you add soda water/club soda.

It's this difference that has led to many calling a highball glass that you serve this in a Collins glass. It's that much of a classic!

Tips for making this drink

This is as I say a really easy drink to make, but a couple of tips to make it be it's best:

• Use fresh fruit - fresh raspberries and fresh lemon juice really make a HUGE difference. Bottled lemon juice just isn't the same.
• Use a good quality gin, as it's the only spirit and you will notice. Though that said, I wouldn't necessarily go for one with a particularly distinct flavor that may either be lost or not work with the lemon and raspberry.
• Add soda water right before serving - this isn't a hugely bubbly drink, but if you leave the drink to sit, the bubbles will disappear (not to mention the ice will over-dilute the drink.

If you want to make this as a batch, you can make the base mix of raspberries, syrup, gin and lemon ahead of time. You might in fact want to make a raspberry syrup to save having too much fruit sitting in there. Then, add your ice in glasses, divide the base and top up.

Ways to adapt this drink

I've kept this essentially like a classic Tom Collins with the addition of raspberries, but you can vary a little beyond that. To make a little stronger raspberry flavor, you could add a little raspberry liqueur (like my homemade raspberry liqueur or a bought one) - around ½oz (15ml) should be good, either in addition to or reducing the gin.

You can also add a mix of lemon and lime juice, or just lime, instead of the lemon, if you prefer. I've made it with a blend and it's nice having the more varied flavor.

Finally, you can of course use other fruits in there - make it mixed berry, try a strawberry collins or blackberry collins. So many options!

This raspberry collins cocktail is a wonderful combination of easy, refreshing, and with a lovely fruitiness. It's as bright in flavor as it is in color and makes a highly sip-able drink, especially perfect for warmer days.

Try these other easy summer cocktails:

• Strawberry Moscow mule
• Grilled peach mojito
• Strawberry collins
• Pineapple daiquiri
• Plus get more cocktail recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

This post was first shared in June 2017 and has been updated, primarily with new photos and some additional information.

Try some other gin-based cocktails:

• Bulago Gin Breeze from Food Lust People Love
• Gin-Steamed Bratwurst with Kraut Slaw from Palatable Pastime
• Grapefruit Salty Dog with Fizz from Hardly A Goddess
• Shrimp Martini from A Day in the Life on the Farm

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