A Crimson Collins combines gin, blood orange, and sparkling water in a bright, tart and easy-drinking spiked lemonade. Make one with the recipe below; when you need a full service rather than a single glass, the keg build scales the same idea without scaling the prep.
How to make a Crimson Collins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Gin
- 1/4 oz Blood Orange Syrup
- 1/4 oz Sparkling Water
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
Method
- Add the measured still ingredients and lemon juice to a shaker with ice.
- Shake for 10 seconds, then strain over fresh ice in a highball glass.
- Top with cold water or club soda, stir once and garnish.
- Taste
- bright, tart and easy-drinking
- Glassware
- Highball or Collins glass
- Garnish
- Lemon wheel
Conventional recipe adapted from the Draftology keg specification by Craft Standard.
Substitutions
- No blood orange syrup? Replace it with another fruit syrup at the same measure, or make a quick syrup from the matching fresh fruit.
- Use club soda for a lighter, sparkling finish, or cold water for a classic still lemonade.
Make a pitcher
- 12 oz Gin
- 2 oz Blood Orange Syrup
- 2 oz Sparkling Water
- 8 oz (1 cup) fresh lemon juice
For a pitcher of eight, multiply every still ingredient by eight and chill the mix before service. Add soda, ginger beer or any other sparkling ingredient to each glass just before serving; batching carbonation early makes the drink go flat.
Want to make it at scale?
Making one Crimson Collins is straightforward. Making a full service means measuring, chilling and repeating that spec all night. The Craft Standard Lemonade keg keeps the same flavor direction, but moves the prep into one keg build so every serve comes from the tap.
See the Lemonade keg →The Craft Standard keg build
Start with one Pink Lemonade 30L Keg, then add the ingredients below through the Keg Spiker and shake well before connecting the keg.
Recipe styles
Put the Crimson Collins on tap.
See the Lemonade keg behind this build, including formats, setup and ordering details.
See the Lemonade keg →Frequently asked
What is in a Crimson Collins?
1 1/2 oz Gin, 1/4 oz Blood Orange Syrup, 1/4 oz Sparkling Water, 1 oz fresh lemon juice.
Can I make a batch of Crimson Collins?
For a pitcher of eight, multiply every still ingredient by eight and chill the mix before service. Add soda, ginger beer or any other sparkling ingredient to each glass just before serving; batching carbonation early makes the drink go flat.
How do I serve Crimson Collins on tap?
Use the Craft Standard Lemonade base, add the measured keg ingredients, shake the keg after filling, then connect it to a standard Sankey D coupler.