Tom Collins

The tale of the Tom Collins has some delightful twists. One of the more entertaining stories from the late 19th century was the “Tom Collins Hoax of 1874.” As part of the hoax, a person would tell another that a man named Tom Collins was spreading rumours about them at a nearby bar. When the unsuspecting person would rush to confront this Tom Collins, they would instead be met with the cocktail. This prank became so popular that it spread across the U.S., prompting newspapers to report on it and, inadvertently, promoting the drink even further.