Highballs and long drinks · Tequila
Swap the gin in a Tom Collins for blanco tequila and the whole drink shifts: peppery agave, bright lemon, a soft sweetness from agave syrup. It is one of the easiest ways to show off a good tequila without burying it.
1½ oz
blanco tequila 100 percent agavee.g. Olmeca Altos · Patrón · Don Julio · Espolòn · El Jimador
1 oz
lemon juice
½ oz
agave syrup cut 1:1 with water
3 oz
soda water well chilled
Garnish: Lemon wheel · Ice: Ice cubes
Juan Collins
Crisp and lemony with green, peppery agave notes and gentle sweetness. Light, fizzy and refreshing.
The Juan Collins is one of the many spirit swaps in the Collins family, which grew out of the 19th century gin Collins named after the London headwaiter John Collins. Once the template of spirit, citrus, sugar and soda was fixed, bartenders tried it with almost everything: the Vodka Collins, Whiskey Collins, Rum Collins and, with tequila, the Juan Collins.
The playful Spanish name tells you what changed, but there is no documented inventor or date. Agave syrup became a common partner in tequila drinks from the 1990s onwards, and it fits here naturally, echoing the plant the spirit is made from.
Tequila, lemon juice, agave syrup or sugar syrup and soda water, served over ice in a tall glass.
Yes, use the same amount. Agave syrup simply adds a softer, rounder sweetness.
No. A Paloma is built on grapefruit soda or juice with lime, while the Juan Collins sticks to lemon and plain soda.
The perfect sound
A breezy highball on a sunny patio in Mexico.
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