Pimm’s Cup: a cocktail recipe from across the water

It’s summer in the UK, and Pimm’s Cup has been showing up a lot on Twitter recently. On my TweetDeck there’s a search that shows me almost every Tweet that mentions the word “cocktail,” and several Tweeters have mentioned having a Pimm’s Cup. The name “Pimm’s Cup” reminded me of a fun afternoon in London several years ago with a mixed group of American and British friends. We had walked along the Thames near the London Eye (across from St. Paul’s), lunched near the restored Globe Theater, and had ended up at a pub drinking several pitcher’s of Pimm’s Cup garnished with cucumber slices and fresh fruit. The afternoon was a blast, and at the airport on the way home we checked out the price of a bottle of Pimm’s No. 1 at the duty-free shop (there are several numbered varieties of Pimm’s (some of which are no longer made), but No. 1, a mixture of Gin and fruit juices, is the most common). It was pretty expensive, so we passed it by. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that not only was it available in Utah, but at a much lower price. We bought a bottle, drank about half, and left the rest to languish at the bottom of the pantry for a few years until the Tweets reminded me it was there.

Spying a cucumber fresh from the grocery the other evening shortly after reading one of these Tweets planted the seed of a thought of Pimm’s Cup in fertile ground. Rooting around under a shelf soon turned up the half empty bottle of Pimm’s. Most web recipes call for a simple mixture of Pimm’s No. 1 and lemonade, but I recommend that you use freshly squeezed juices in your cocktails whenever possible, so that’s how I’ve written my recipe. On the other hand, if you have an ice-cold pitcher of delicious lemonade sitting near your bottle of Pimm’s (or if you’re just feeling lazy), go for it.

Pimm’s Cup

2 oz Pimm’s No. 1

fresh squeezed juice of ½ Lemon (½ to ¾ oz)

4-5 oz Seltzer water

1 tsp simple syrup or sugar or equivalent sweetener

Pour the Pimm's into a mixing glass half full of ice cubes. Add the lemon juice and sweetener. Shake or stir until well mixed (i.e. sugar is dissolved) and let it rest. Fill a chilled Collins glass ¾ full of ice. Strain the Pimm’s mixture into the Collins glass and fill it with seltzer water. Stir lightly and garnish with either a lemon twist or a slice of cucumber (or both if you’re feeling frisky). Add a straw, and serve. If you have lemonade available, you can make this drink with just Pimm’s and lemonade and top it with a squirt of seltzer.