Pimms Cup, for when you’re in Blighty, its summer, and its actually not raining!

Pimm’s Cup is one of the two iconic drinks at Wimbledon, Henley Regatta, and Glynebourne (the other being Champagne according to Wikipedia, though I would have ventured on Gin and Tonic, at least for Wimbledon).  If you’re invited to a polo match or garden party,  and wondering what you’ll be drinking, think Pimm’s. This high alcohol mixture (usually based on gin, though many of the different “cups” have been based on whisky, brandy, even absinthe) is poured into a glass with fresh things: cucumber and orange or lemon slices, strawberries, grapes, lots of fresh mint or borage, then the whole thing is topped up with lemon-lime soda or ginger ale. It is the essence of British summertime refreshment.

First of all, you’ll notice in the picture that its not Pimms at all, but another brand, an equally delicious and potent brand, a cheaper brand. So in reality this is an Austin’s cup cocktails (named after Austin Powers I wonder?) (always possible).

But a little history: mainly because I have  been curious about Pimm’s Cups since one fateful day in Athens at the British Embassy:  the temperature soared, and I was an honoured guest to the party. Pimms was being served from great vats–so cooling! I drank and drank, and drank some more. I still don’t know how I ended up in the Embassy fountain, but I can tell you that I was dancing! and really, thankful that I still had my clothes on. Let this be a lesson: Pimms is delicious and refreshing, but far more potent than you would think, as you swallow that cool, fruity, slightly bitter glass of refreshment.

So here is how the original, Pimm’s not Austin’s, got started: a farmers son, Master Pimm left the farm and became owner of an oyster restaurant in London, near the Bank of England so you get a picture of what his clientele were like. Veddy veddy. He offered a gin-based drink of bitter herbs and liqueurs as an aid to digestion, much like the digestives throughout the rest of Europe. The vat he served it from was known as “No. 1 cup” hence the name. He began producing the mixture commercially, the salesmen riding bicycles to deliver. Later he sold it to the Lord Mayor of London who opened a chain of Pimm’s Oyster Houses.  Are you still with me?

Over the years, Pimm’s added new “cups” using different alcohols and liquers. In 1851, Pimm’s No. 2 Cup and Pimm’s No. 3 Cup were introduced; after “The War” (number two) Pimm’s No. 4 Cup was invented, then No. 5 Cup and finally No.6 Cup arrived in the 1960s.

By the 1970s and 1980s, however, Pimm’s languished a bit in the stylishness factor. The Oyster House chain was sold, Pimm’s Cup Nos. 2 to 5 were phased out and to be honest, there were so many more, newer, and trendier drinks, especially since suddenly the EU was right on our doorstep and one could buy so many interesting alcholic drinks without paying duty/tax. Still, things percolated along for Pimm’s, and finally Guinness took control; Guiness already so famous for traditional deliciousness of alcohol that doesn’t go out of style.

In 2005, Pimm’s Winter Cup joined the drinks cabinet/bar, infusing its No. 3 Cup with spices and orange peel. But its not a warming winter drink that I think of when I think of Pimm’s Cup: its that glorious afternoon of cooling bitter-sweet refreshment on ice, a salad in a glass awash with so much alcohol that I ended up dancing in the Embassy fountain. Now THAT is what I call a summer drink.

Only no’s 1, 3, and 6 are available now, but bartenders have been putting artisanal spins on their own unique “Pimm’s Cups”  by mixing liquers and other alcohols such as tequila, whisky, etc.

Now back to our classic Pimm’s Cup, No. 1 Cup (see our Austin bottle above) is based on gin; it has an brown-red-purple colour and pleasingly bitter fruitiness. Its about 25 percent alcohol, and it therefore mixed thusly: fill your glasses (or vat) with sliced cucumbers, sliced oranges, grapes, mint, and other fruits of the season such as strawberries. Pour in about 1 measure of Pimms, then fill up the glass with sparkling lemon soda which the British call Lemonade and an American might call lemon-lime soda (or 7-up). Take a sip, now sit back and say: Aaaaaahhhhhhhh. You might not even intend to, the moan of refreshing pleasure will just escape from your lips! (Pimms and fresh-thing mixture could be mixed instead, with ginger ale or even with Champagne but personally: waste of good Champagne, and also: how strong would that be? I’d end up in the fountain even sooner!

Thanks to Wikipedia for Pimm’s info and history. And to Austin’s for “just being there for me”.