Rum Collins

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (33 ratings)

Photographed in an Urban Bar Fluet Highball 1910 45cl

Ingredients:
2 oz Caribbean blended rum aged 6-10 years
34 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
12 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
1 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 oz Thomas Henry Soda Water
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Collins glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of skewered lemon slice wheel and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry (sail).
  3. SHAKE first 4 ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
  5. TOP with soda.
  6. Garnish with skewered lemon slice and cherry (sail).

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10

Review:

It's more common to find rum mixed with lime juice, but the Rum Collins calls for lemon, and this combines brilliantly with the aged rum in this long refreshing cocktail.

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Variant:

In his 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks David A. Embury says, "Originally there were two brothers only in the Collins family - Tom and John. During recent years, however, numerous cousins have appeared on the scene - Pedro, Pierre, Sandy, Mike, Jack, the Colonel and several others whose first names have not yet been officially recorded in the baptismal registry."
Captain Collins - with Canadian whisky
Colonel Collins - with bourbon whiskey
Dutch Collins or Genever Collins (aka Phil Collins) - with genever/jenever/Hollands
Jack Collins - with calvados
Jock Collins or Sandy Collins - with Scotch whisky
Joe Collins or Vodka Collins - with vodka
John Collins - with London dry gin
Jose Collins or Pepito Collins - with tequila
Mike Collins or Ronan Collins - with Irish whiskey
Pedro Collins - with light white rum
Pierre Collins - with cognac/brandy
Pisco Collins - with pisco
Rum Collins - with aged rum
Tom Collins - with old tom gin
Whiskey Collins - with bourbon/rye whiskey

History:

Adapted from a recipe featured in the 1932 menu of Sloppy Joe's Bar in Havana, Cuba.

RUM COLLINS
The juice of a Lemon
1 Part of Rum.
Seltzer water.
Serve in a 10 ounce glass with cracked ice.

Sloppy Joe's menu, 1932

See the history of the Collins cocktail on our Tom Collins page.

Nutrition:

One serving of Rum Collins contains 222 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.3 standard drinks
  • 11.25% alc./vol. (11.25° proof)
  • 17.7 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Arjun Ravikumar’s Avatar Arjun Ravikumar
14th February at 01:39
Harmless harvest (available in the US at least) makes a sparkling coconut water that is brilliant in this when used instead of the soda water.