Last Updated on May 21, 2022 by laurenpacek
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This Vodka Collins is a simple, refreshing, and delicious cocktail. It's easy to mix up and is a fun riff on the Tom Collins.
These drinks are super refreshing and go down very easily. They're almost like a sparkling lemonade with a boozy kick! This drink would be lovely on a hot summer's day, imho.
Table of contents
What is a Vodka Collins?
A Vodka Collins is a variation on the Tom Collins cocktail, which is made with gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. The drink is typically served in a tall glass -- known as a Collins glass -- over ice.
Now, a Vodka Collins takes all of the ingredients of the Tom Collins and swaps out the gin for (you guessed it) vodka.
Let's talk about the ingredients below.
Ingredients
- Vodka: For this cocktail, I recommend using a decent to good quality vodka. I've been working my way through a bottle of Ketel One, and it was lovely in this drink. Basically, since the drink isn't super heavily flavored, you want to make sure that you're using a vodka that you would enjoy drinking on its own. If the vodka doesn't taste great, you'll be able to taste it in this cocktail.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed, please. The pre-squeezed stuff that you can find in the grocery store (think the little plastic lemon-shaped container) just pales in comparison to the fresh stuff in terms of flavor.
- Simple syrup: Simple syrup is just a syrup that's made up of water and sugar. For this drink, we're using equal parts water and granulated sugar to make a plain simple syrup. You can use store bought syrup, but it's so easy to make homemade simple syrup that it's almost silly not to make your own.
- Carbonated water: I opted for club soda. Just make sure that whatever you use isn't flavored. And please stay away from tonic water. It will be far too bitter for this drink.
- Garnishes: I garnished my drink with an orange wheel and a maraschino cherry. Not mandatory, but highly recommended.
How to make a Vodka Collins
You'll start out by pouring your vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup into a Collins glass with ice. Then, you'll top that all off with some club soda.
Make sure to give it all gentle but thorough stir. Otherwise, all of the flava will remain on the bottom of the glass. And you want to make sure that every sip is delicious.
You could stop here, and you'll have a perfectly delicious and balanced cocktail. However...
I'm of the opinion that you should garnish your cocktails. Is it absolutely necessary? No, it's not.
BUT it really makes your drink pop, visually. And we eat/drink with our eyes first, right?
Now drink up!
Recommended tools
- Tall glasses (Collins glasses)
- A bar spoon
- Cocktail picks
- A cocktail jigger
- A citrus juicer
Other vodka drinks
- Redcurrant and Rosemary Vodka Soda by The Margarita Mum
- Vodka Sour from A Nerd Cooks
- Cosmopolitan from Garnish
- Dirty Shirley from A Nerd Cooks
- Elderflower Mule from The Cocktail Snob
- Limoncello Martini from A Nerd Cooks
FAQs/Tips and Tricks
Sure. There are variations on this drink that are easy to make. Like we talked about above, using gin instead of vodka will result in a Tom Collins, whereas using tequila instead of vodka will make a Juan Collins.
Yes, you can do that. However, I'd recommend serving them pretty much immediately after making the big batch. You don't want the carbonated water to lose its fizz if it sits for too long.
If you do opt to make a bigger batch of Vodka Collinses, just scale up the ingredients proportionally, depending on how many drinks you want to make.
Yep! This recipe, as written, uses a plain simple syrup. You could totally switch things up and use a flavored syrup, though. If you'd like to go that route, do yourself a favor and check out the various flavored syrup recipes that I've shared.
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The Recipe
Vodka Collins
This Vodka Collins is a simple, refreshing, and delicious cocktail. It's easy to mix up and is a fun riff on the Tom Collins.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ¾ ounce simple syrup
- 4 ounces club soda
- orange wheel and maraschino cherry, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add the vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a tall glass with ice.
- Top with club soda. Give everything a gentle stir with a bar spoon.
- Garnish with an orange wheel and maraschino cherry.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 11mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 24gProtein: 1g
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