Tom Collins with Dehydrated Lemon Garnish

The Tom Collins is one of the best cocktails for batch serving — the ratios scale cleanly and the drink holds well over ice. For a group, pre-batch the gin, lemon, and syrup in a jug, then add individual portions to iced highball glasses and top with fresh club soda to order. Fresh soda is important: a Tom Collins made with flat or half-flat soda loses most of its appeal. Use small bottles of club soda opened to order, or a fresh SodaStream charge, rather than the last third of a large bottle. Shake the base ingredients with ice for 8 to 10 seconds before straining into the highball — this dilutes and chills the drink properly so the added soda is not doing all the temperature work. Fill the glass with ice first, all the way to the rim. More ice means slower dilution and a colder drink for longer. The garnish: drop a Citrus House Dehydrated Lemon slice directly onto the surface of the drink. Unlike a fresh lemon wedge or wheel, which sinks to the bottom of a tall glass within minutes, the dried slice floats at the surface for the entire drink. It catches the light, releases lemon aroma with every sip, and marks the drink as something more considered than lemonade with gin.