The Grapefruit Collins pours pale gold and bubbly, yet the first sip opens soft and fruity before snapping crisp at the finish. True to its name, it belongs to the Collins family, built on the same gin, lemon, sugar and soda formula as the Tom Collins, with pink grapefruit liqueur adding a gentle, rosy sweetness.
Dry gin brings the edge, generous lemon keeps it bright, and chilled soda lifts every sip. Light, refreshing and made for a hot afternoon, it is worth pouring tonight.
Recipe & How to Make It
Ingredients
Recipe no.173
- Dry gin — 1 oz (30ml)
- Pink grapefruit liqueur — 1 oz (30ml)
- Lemon juice — 1 oz (30ml)
- Simple syrup — 1/2 oz (15ml)
- Soda — Full
- Lemon slice — 1
※ Full = Fill to about 80–90% of the glass.
How to Make It
Chill the soda in advance, and have one lemon slice ready.
Add the dry gin, pink grapefruit liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup and ice to the shaker.
Shake firmly, pour into the glass, then add ice.
Slowly top with soda so it doesn’t foam, then stir gently.
When mixing carbonated drinks, just stir 1–2 times and lift the ice up and down once to blend.
Finally, press the lemon slice into the glass with a bar spoon, and it’s ready.
・Technique ｜ Shake & Stir
・Glass ｜ Collins Glass / Tumbler Glass
・ABV ｜ About 8%–9%
・Best Enjoyed ｜Daytime / Before Dinner
Grapefruit Collins Characteristics & Tips
Flavor & Characteristics
The Grapefruit Collins is a refreshing gin highball that brings fruitiness to the classic Collins formula of gin, lemon, sugar and soda. Pink grapefruit liqueur adds gentle sweetness on top of dry gin’s crisp edge.
The first sip opens with soft pink grapefruit, then lemon and soda tighten the finish. Gin’s botanicals and grapefruit’s slight bitterness echo each other, which keeps it bright rather than sweet.
It feels lighter than a Tom Collins, and I’d pour it first on a hot day as an aperitif.
Tips, Twists & Food Pairings
Tips
- Adjust the lemon to taste — This recipe uses a generous 1 oz (30ml) of lemon for a bright, tart edge. If you prefer it softer, drop to 2/3 oz (20ml), and the pink grapefruit’s sweetness comes forward.
- Common mistake: shaking the soda — Adding soda to the shaker builds pressure and knocks out the bubbles, leaving the drink flat. Shake everything else first, then top with chilled soda in the glass.
- Fill the glass with ice — Plenty of ice keeps the drink colder and slows melting, so it stays crisp to the last sip. I always fill a Collins glass to the top with ice for this one.
Twists
- Fresh Grapefruit Collins — Swap the liqueur for 1 oz (30ml) of fresh pink grapefruit juice. You get a lighter, more natural citrus taste with a pleasant bitterness. Add a little more syrup if needed.
- Rosemary Grapefruit Collins — Garnish with a fresh rosemary sprig instead of the lemon slice. Rosemary’s piney aroma is a classic match for grapefruit and links naturally with gin’s botanicals.
Food Pairings
- Shrimp cocktail or ceviche — The drink’s bright citrus works like a squeeze of lemon over seafood, lifting the shrimp’s sweetness and keeping each bite fresh.
- Avocado and grapefruit salad — Creamy avocado softens the drink’s tartness, while the grapefruit echoes its fruity aroma, a classic pairing that’s light and refreshing.
- Herb-roasted chicken — Gin’s botanicals tie into the herbs, and the citrus cuts through the juicy, savory meat, keeping every bite light.
Tom Collins Variations
- Tom Collins — The original. Born from Old Tom gin.
- Vodka Collins — Swaps the gin for vodka.
- Rum Collins — Swaps the gin for rum.
- Ruben Collins — Swaps the gin for tequila.
- John Collins — Swaps the gin for whiskey.
- Sandy Collins — Swaps the gin for Scotch whisky.
- Michael Collins — Swaps the gin for Irish whiskey.
- Colonel Collins — Swaps the gin for bourbon.
- Captain Collins — Swaps the gin for Canadian whisky.
- Pierre Collins — Swaps the gin for brandy.
