Did you play an April Fool’s Day prank on someone? Or, did someone play one on you? I’m thankful that I didn’t experience either! I wanted to do something different this time around for a cocktail idea & pondered what was happening this week….and, thought of April Fool’s Day!
Who’d have thought there was a drink to mark the occasion…..
Tom Collins
Plus, there’s a story behind it!! Thanks to Kate Satton of The Spir.it.com for the explanation it. “…As history dictates, this gin-based sparkling lemonade comes from the Great Tom Collins hoax of 1874.
A mighty prank at that time, bar goers would tell unknowing friends of a “Tom Collins” who had been trashing their name as of recent. Pranksters would tell those unsuspecting buddies that Collins was just around the corner, encouraging them to fight their battle at the other bar. After angrily walking over, those pranked would come to see that there was no Tom Collins to be found. Why? Because Tom Collins simply didn’t exist.
Once the prank grew more famed, bartenders began creating Tom Collins cocktails so that when a customer would come in asking for Tom Collins, they could serve them up a drink.”
What a great story! Now, here’s how to make one:
Ingredients:
2 parts gin
1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
simple syrup
chilled soda water
orange wedge
cherry
Preparation:
Mix the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a Collins glass with ice
Top with soda water
Garnish
Serve