How did the drink Tom Collins get its name?

Kainantu

Some say that the Tom Collins was named after 'Old Tom' Gin which is a sweetened gin used rarely today. There are also accounts that it was named after the creator of the drink. England, Australia, and America have all laid claim. 'I met an elderly gentleman last night at a dinner party. His last name was Collins. He told me a very charming story about his grandfather who was born in 1850 and at the age of 23, worked in the garment district of NYC. To supliment his income he took a second job bartending at a tavern across the street from where he worked during the day. A place called the Whitehouse. His friends wanting something with less of a bite than strait whiskey asked him to make them something quenching. There he started pouring a 'thirst quencher' made with gin that he had concocted. What started out as a gin and tonic evolved into a drink with lemon juice. His name was Tom Collins, supposedly this was where the Tom Collins drink originated.' Another American account puts it in the early 19th century from an Irish immigrant, Tom Collins, one of eight children. He worked as a bartender in the New Jersey and New York area, and to beat the heat, made this drink for himself to sip without 'getting tight'. Friends wanted to try it, liked it, and it became his signature drink. The most popular English account tells of the Head Waiter from a hotel bar called Limmer's in England being the inventor late in the 19th century. (site wouldnt let me have access) http://cocktails.about.com/library/weekly/aa072399.htm Could do with one now....... Oct 16 02, 4:42 AM