Tom Collins: Colin's Collins (Cherry Collins)

Santa  Fe Spirits: Wheeler's Gin Colin's Collins
(Cherry Collins)

Welcome Back as we continue our look at Wheeler’s Gin from Santa Fe Spirits.  Today we are going to make a variation of the Tom Collins called Colin’s Collins.  This was specifically given to us by Santa Fe Spirits themselves, and so we hope to do it proud.  We’re assuming that this was invented by someone named Colin, but in a world where uncertainty lurks around every corner, one can never truly know. 





Colin’s Collins ...or should it be The Colin’s Tom Collins ...or Tom Collins by Colin ...anyway, this variation relies on Gin and some other stuff.  Here’s what you’ll need:

Gin:  Such as Wheeler’s Gin from Santa Fe Spirits.
Lime:  Limes that yield a good amount of juice.
Soda Water:  It should be high carbonation and unflavored.  Unless you have a soda-gun at home, we recommend using something from a glass bottle, as it holds better carbonation.
Luxardo Cherry Syrup:  This dark and sweet syrup comes in jars of Luxardo cherries but is also sold separately by Luxardo.  This should not be confused with Luxardo’s Maraschino liqueur, which is a clear, cherry flavored liqueur.
Optional: Simple syrup (tastes may vary).










While the original recipe for a Tom Collins called for a large wine-glass full of gin (no, really it did), 3 ounces is where you'd wanna set a maximum for this one. 

As you can see, there is no ice in the glass.  One of the reasons is that your gin should already be chilled a bit, but it is also because we're going to use a thick syrup here, and ice has a tendency to harden it up and prevent proper mixing.










Made from Marasca Cherries, Maraschino should be pronounced Mara-ski-no, so keep that in mind.





While you can find Luxardo Cherries cheaper online, it should be no surprise that since we live in the most expensive city in North America, the store that sold this to us charged us $25 for it.  We know some of our fans aren't exactly at the point where they don't have to care about spending that on a whim, so let's look at alternatives...

Now the cherries you see near the ice cream toppings at the grocery store are total crap, so don't think you can just use that and get away with it.  Also, don't just put some cherries in a blender, it's probably not a good idea.    

There are many different ways to make these at home, with recipes ranging from extremely simple (cherries + Luxardo maraschino + sugar), to complex ones which add sugar, spice, and everything nice.  But yes, you still need to buy at least something from Luxardo.  There are also some videos on youtube which show the steps involved.  So when cherries go on sale, this might be something you'd want to try.

Recipe 1,  Recipe 2,  Video.  













Now, the only warning here is that the cherries are slathered in thick maraschino syrup, which will stain anything it touches.  With that in mind, you may want to hold off on them as a garnish if you want to keep that brunch-tastick outfit of your white polo shirt and khakis safe from cherry-red destruction.

Our thanks again to Santa Fe Spirits for their participation with Wheeler's Gin.  Check out our next entry where we will once again feature Wheeler's Gin in the Gin Sour.