Gin, built
Elderflower Collins
Barline 1h,Q,Q,t,Hl
The code is the shorthand off my printed menu; the Key tab decodes every letter.
- 1 1/2 oz Gin
- 3/4 oz Elderflower liqueur
- 3/4 oz Lemon juice
- top with Soda water
Build in the glass over ice, then lift once with a barspoon.
Highball, iced, lemon twist.
Taste
An ounce and a half of gin, three-quarters of elderflower liqueur, three-quarters of lemon, and soda over ice. The elderflower is the sugar in this Collins, so the sweetness arrives floral, and the lemon keeps it tart underneath. Long and light, lemon twist.
History
A Collins is gin, lemon, sugar, and soda, and the modern habit is to move the sugar into a liqueur. St-Germain, the first elderflower liqueur, arrived in 2007, made from flowers picked in the Haute-Savoie and macerated within 48 hours, and the Elderflower Collins followed the bottle onto back bars. Difford's prints a version that adds a touch of maraschino beside the elderflower. No creator and no date are attached to it. This menu pours an ounce and a half of gin, three-quarters of elderflower, three-quarters of lemon, and soda over ice, with a lemon twist.
Same shape, other bottles
The Highball family, with the bottle that changed.
- Gin Fizzwith simple syrup
- Tom Collinswith simple syrup
- Dark and Stormyaged rum and lime juice for gin and lemon juice
- Gin Rickeylime juice for lemon juice
- Kentucky Mulebourbon and lime juice for gin and lemon juice
- Mezcal Mulemezcal and lime juice for gin and lemon juice
This is one drink on my home bar's menu. Tick the bottles you own and the menu lists which of all 185 drinks they pour.