Willy Collins V1.0

Well, I did the Wonkatini™.  Now here is the Willy Collins™.

Make lemonade and ice blue raspberry lemonade Kool-Aid flavors.
Pour into ice cube trays and freeze.
Place ice cubes (4 yellow to 1 blue) in a Collins glass (tall, 10-14 fl. oz.).
Pour over ice cubes:

• 1 fluid ounces of butter-infused scotch (yet, Wonka's butter scotch)
• 2 fluid ounce of Sweet & Sour mix

Fill glass to top with seltzer water.
Stir to combine.
Garnish with a chocolate-covered cherry on a stem.

This recipe is ©2014 A. T. Kettle, Confecgineer™ {a business}.  All rights reserved.  Reduplication of this recipe without the consent of the author is prohibited.

This has a very odd taste, like the scotch is fighting with the lemonade.  I think the sweet & sour adds way too much sour for this to work the way I wanted it to.  On my next go round, I think I will replace the sweet & sour with simple syrup, like in the original Collins recipe.  Again, the butter is too light; it is completely lost in the other strong flavors.  I will have to make a stronger butter scotch infusion if this drink is to work.  I am going to leave the ice cubes to melt and see what color it turns into.

The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are.  To see them larger, simply double click on the picture.  Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism.  Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say “No” or have a number in front of it.

©2014 Karl Arthur Haefner.  All rights reserved.

Ooooo . . . the colors!

Ever since I saw colored ice cubes on the internet, I knew I wanted to do something with them.  What better place to do this than in a Collins drink, which starts with a glass filled with ice.  The drink is based on lemon juice, so I went with lemon flavors of Kool-Aid for my ice cubes.

The blue one is Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade and the yellow is just plain Lemonade.  These should work well in a Collins formula.  I have made up an ice cube tray of each and am waiting for them to harden before proceeding on the Collins recipe.

The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are.  To see them larger, simply double click on the picture.  Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism.  Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

A brief history of the Collins

The first recorded recipe of a Tom Collins was in the Bar-Tender's Guide of 1876 by Jerry Thomas.  The recipe included three variations.  One simply changed the alcohol.  The recipe is as follows:

• Take 5 or 6 dashes of gum syrup.
• Juice of a small lemon.
• 1 large wine-glass of whiskey.
• 2 or 3 lumps of ice.
• Shake up well.
• Strain into a large bar-glass.
• Fill up the glass with plain soda water.

Of note, at this point in time, the drinks did not have different names; they were all Tom Collins.  The alcohol of choice was tacked on at the end, as in Tom Collins Gin.  How the Collins got its name follows two different legends.

In 1874, there was a hoax going around New York.  People were told a certain Tom Collins was in a bar talking down about them.  When the insulted person found the bar and asked for Tom Collins, they were handed this drink.

The second legend is of a headwaiter by the name of John Collins.  A certain gin punch was served at his hotel that was apparently similar to the Tom Collins recipe.  The Collins name was added to the punch, and the Tom came from the use of Old Tom gin used in the punch.

Like all recipes, however, the Collins recipe existed prior to it being written down.  In The Bar-tender's Guide, the whiskey version is listed first.  In my opinion this would make it the primary version of the drink.  The whiskey version is known as the John Collins, which is the headwaiter's name.  This little thesis of mine is partially confirmed.

Seems the original Collins was made with an aged Dutch gin "with a whisky-ish body and subtle juniper notes (Regan)."  This evolved into the sweeter Tom Collins, with Old Tom gin replacing the Dutch gin.  When whiskey was introduced back into the Collins, John was revived for its similar flavor.

The modern Collins continued to evolve, as all things do.  Sweet and sour mix replaced the syrup and lemon juice, and a cherry garnish was added.  All of this lays the groundwork for my Willy Collins.

The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are.  To see them larger, simply double click on the picture.  Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism.  Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

References:
O'Neil, Darcy, ed. "Jerry Thomas' Bartenders Guide." Art of Drink. Art of Drink, 31 July 2007. Web. 3 May 2014. <http://www.artofdrink.com/jerry-thomas/pg36.php>. Rpt. of Thomas, Jerry. The Bar-Tender's Guide, How to Mix All Kinds or Plain and Fancy Drinks. New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1887. Print.

Regan, Gary. "The Cocktailian: The story behind the story of a drink with no name." SFGate. Hearst Communications, Inc., 11 July 2008. Web. 3 May 2014. <http://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/The-Cocktailian-The-story-behind-the-story-of-a-3205753.php>.

Ward, Oliver, ed. "Tom Collins." Gin Foundry. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2014. <http://www.ginfoundry.com/cocktail/tom-collins-cocktail/>.

Why work on a Collins?

While working on other cocktail recipes, I got the idea of trying my hand at a scotch cocktail.  Going through the drink mixing cards (Flash Cards) from my bartender school days, I came across several potential recipes to play with, including the Rob Roy and the Marlon Brando.  I settled on the Collins family of drinks, of which the scotch relative is Joe Collins.

The recipe for a modern Collins is pretty basic.  One fills a Collins glass with ice, pours in 1 ounce of alcohol, 2 ounces of sweet and sour, and tops it with soda.  What is a Collins glass?

The Stolzle S3500013 11 oz New York Series Collins Glass

This is a typical Collins glass.  It is described as

Shaped similarly to a highball glass, only taller, the collins glass was originally used for the line of collins gin drinks, and is now also commonly used for soft drinks, alcoholic juice, and tropical/exotic juices such as Mai Tai's. Typical Size: 14 oz. ("Glasses and containers")

However, the one in the picture is 11 ounces, so there is apparently a range of glass sizes.  I have seen anything from 10 to 14 ounces in my research.  However, I have been unable to find anything that resemble a Collins glass at any of the stores in town.  It suddenly dawned on me that I could use a tall 12-ounce mason jar as a temporary substitute to work on the recipe.

Ball® 12oz Regular Mouth Quilted Crystal Jelly Jars

Maybe not as thin as a Collins glass, but definitely in the ballpark.  Now to start working on my Willy Collins variation.

The pictures on the page appear smaller than they are.  To see them larger, simply double click on the picture.  Also, I always welcome your constructive criticism.  Click on the Comment link below next to the icon of a pencil; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

References:
Flash Cards. Denver, CO: Bartending and Casino College, n.d. Print.

"Glasses and containers." Drinks Mixer. SheKnows.com LLC, n.d. Web. 3 May 2014. <http://www.drinksmixer.com/guide/1-3.php#6>.