Pimm's #1

[Carolyn Tillie]

Count me as a fan...

[moosnsqrl]

Some friends introduced me to Pimm's with CelRay last summer during a particularly hot spell and I found it quite refreshing. I've never ordered it at a bar (I can't think of anywhere around here that stocks CelRay) so I am happy to say I've never annoyed a barman with my apparent lack of taste. Now that you've mentioned it, if the thermometer climbs to 90 again today, I might have to indulge but I promise I will neither muddle nor shake.

[therese]

I like it. The flavor is nice, and the idea of it conveys summer. I'm pretty flexible about the mixer and the garnish both, and don't usually make suggestions along those lines. Here in the U.S. I often have to specify both, as even a bar that stocks it doesn't use it too frequently.

[thirtyoneknots]

I work at the bar in a restaraunt whose primary focus is wine, so I welcome the opportunity to hear people talk out their ass about liquor and cocktails instead of wine. With spirits and such I can at least turn it into a discussion, but wine is closer to religion for a lot of people and the ones who go on about it the most are often the least informed, wanting to sound sophisticated. Bring on the Pimms Snobs

And yes, I love the stuff. On of the best ways to waste an afternoon.

[angusw]

I feel you may being a bit harsh on the poor Pimms drinkers George... and the product itself.

Pimms is a lovely product with a simple history and, for many people including myself, has fond memories.

When well (or at least lovingly) made it is refreshing, easy to drink lots of without getting blotto and quite timeless... to me it tastes of the English summer as much as freshly cut grass and lineseed oil.

I would say the traditional serving would be with slices of seasonal fruit and herbs (orange, lemon, mint, strawberry, borage, cucumber) with lemonade (7up to our American brethren) but have seen and enjoyed it with ginger ale, ginger beer, champagne or soda.

Also one can boost its potency with a shot of gin to make it a Turbo Pimms.

One could associate it with the braying English Upper Class (if it still exists) b ut then again the same sling could be aimed at the Dry Martini in America.

One could say its adherents and devotees are oddly strident about the best way to drink it but again the Dry Martini must plead guilty too as must the Mint (Bourbon) Julep.

And one could say it only appears for a short period each year (the all too brief English summer) but again the Julep in USA has an even shorter lifespan.

And as for bartenders muddling it... pah! Typical bartenders trying to over complicate things as simplicity bothers them.

I like Pimms... it is unique and its drinkers are passionate about its taste and preparation and I like that.

aw

[cdh]

I love Pimms, but I'd never order it in a bar.

Pimms doesn't scale down to by-the-glass service well, and unless there was a punchbowl full behind the bar, it would be a mistake to ask some poor bartender who doesn't know what a well-made Pimms should taste like to try to get it right.

So, TB's attitude confirms my position that Pimms should only be made at home, and consumed on the lawn while playing croquet.

(And the necessary elements of the garnish are rounds of cucumber, and wheels of orange... anything else is extraneous, though can be pretty.)

[eje]

Well, I don't despise Pimm's Cups.

Being American, I haven't had too many, I think 2 total now.

A nice one on a hot afternoon in New Orleans and an awful one on a hot afternoon in San Francisco.

The Pimm's in New Orleans was lightly sweet, really more mixer than Pimm's. Seemed perfect for a hot afternoon beverage, if you weren't in the mood for beer.

A few of the newer bars have been featuring Pimm's Cups in San Francisco, it seems like they are sort of trendy right now.

The one I had recently, here, was just awful. It was in a short-ish, thin, 8-10 oz glass, ice, 2 oz of Pimm's, 2 oz of lemon-grass ginger syrup, and then a soda fill. It was so disgustingly sweet and medicinal, that it made me wonder if the bartender had really ever tried the drink he had made me, or even had a Pimm's Cup elsewhere. The only real benefit was I really could taste the Pimm's No. 1 full on, and get a better handle on the flavor of that substance (Liqueur? Amer? Not sure what you classify Pimm's No 1 as.)

What is a proper Pimm's No. 1 Cup? From George's post, it seems this seemingly simple cocktail inspires a certain amount of fervor among its fanciers.

According to the Cocktail Times website, this is the Napoleon House's (bar in N.O. where I tried them) recipe:

Pimm's Cup

- 1 1/4 oz Pimm's No. 1

- 3 oz Lemonade

- 7 up

- Garnish: Cucumber

(Optional: Mint leaves and an orange slice)

Fill a tall 12 oz glass with ice and add Pimm's #1 and lemonade. Top with 7up and garnish with a slice of cucumber. You can also use lemon soda to replace lemonade and 7 up.

[ThinkingBartender]

Pimms is a lovely product with a simple history and, for many people including myself, has fond memories.

I dare say that a skilled bartender with time on their hands could concoct better. But where would we find such a person. I am back in London on the 27th of May, so I will give it a go.

I would say the traditional serving would be with slices of seasonal fruit and herbs (orange, lemon, mint, strawberry, borage, cucumber) with lemonade (7up to our American brethren) but have seen and enjoyed it with ginger ale, ginger beer, champagne or soda.

Is it the ceremony and garnishs that are much loved, rather than the actual drink itself?

One could associate it with the braying English Upper Class (if it still exists) b ut then again the same sling could be aimed at the Dry Martini in America.

I despise the Dry Martini too, and Carling lager.

And as for bartenders muddling it... pah! Typical bartenders trying to over complicate things as simplicity bothers them.

My memory still remembers a bartender trying to tell me that the muddling of oily marinated olives made for a "proper" dirty martini.

I like Pimms... it is unique and its drinkers are passionate about its taste and preparation and I like that.

I thought that Plymouth Gin had jumped onto the bandwagon?

Cheers!

George

[KatieLoeb]

My memory still remembers a bartender trying to tell me that the muddling of oily marinated olives made for a "proper" dirty martini.

Not oily olives, but regular brined olives should most certainly be muddled for a dirty martini. Do you think just dumping in that dishwater brine from the olive jar makes for a dirty martini? My suspicion is that the dirty martini drinker likes the taste of olives, not salt water, so to me a proper dirty should be muddled then strained to make the drink more "olive-y" rather than simply saltier.

To get back on topic, I just had two customers this week that asked for Pimm's. One had it with a splash of fresh lemon, club soda and an orange twist, the other with a splash of fresh lime, ginger ale and an orange twist. Both seemed happy enough with their variants. Pimm's strikes me a a nice low alcohol alternative on a hot summer's day.

[cdh]

I prefer mine made in big bowlfuls...

1 cup Pimms

1 cup Gordon's Gin

1 orange reduced to wheels

1 cucumber reduced to rounds

1 ice ring from a bundt cake pan filled with water and frozen

Alternate orange and cucumber around the ice ring

Top with as much ginger ale as the bowl can handle.

That will keep a game of croquet fueled up properly.

Edited May 14, 2007 by cdh (log)

[William Higham]

Last year I mixed up Pimms with the usual garnish but with homemade still lemonade and soda water. A hugely more satisfying drink. Tonic water, instead of a purely sweet mixer, is also worth a try.

[Stephen_K]

I believe Pimms to be quite simply one of the finest drinks known to man. I don't go in for the all the palaver with with all the fruit and herbs. Simply sliced lemon, lemonade or ginger ale, some ice and sit back on a balmy summers day and enjoy. Wonderfully refreshing drink. Some of my fondest memories involve summer days spent quaffing copious amouts of Pimms No. 1 Cup with close friends.

[Alchemist]

I prefer mine made in big bowlfuls...

1 cup Pimms

1 cup Gordon's Gin

1 orange reduced to wheels

1 cucumber reduced to rounds

1 ice ring from a bundt cake pan filled with water and frozen

Alternate orange and cucumber around the ice ring

Top with as much ginger ale as the bowl can handle.

That will keep a game of croquet fueled up properly.

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This is pretty close to how I make mine, the combo of Pimms and Gin. Everyone else was talking about how it's a good low voltage choice. I just thought that it lent it's self to adding a good dose of dutch courage so the polo game is less boring.

[Simon_S]

Some of my fondest memories involve summer days spent quaffing copious amouts of Pimms No. 1 Cup with close friends.

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...and getting half a tan as the sun moves across the sky on one side and you sit in the same position all day long.

Count me in as a Pimms believer. I love the stuff, and relish that first taste of outdoor Pimms every summer. Croquet always seems far too active a pastime to accompany the drink.

Si

[alacarte]

On a recent trip to London, I noticed that Pimms & lemonade was on offer at most of the pubs, even written up on blackboards outside to entice drinkers inside. And then in the supermarket, I saw precious tiny pink cans of pre-mixed Pimms and lemonade, which I bought to sip back at the hotel.

[ThinkingBartender]

On a recent trip to London, I noticed that Pimms & lemonade was on offer at most of the pubs, even written up on blackboards outside to entice drinkers inside. And then in the supermarket, I saw precious tiny pink cans of pre-mixed Pimms and lemonade, which I bought to sip back at the hotel.

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I am an adherent of the British tradition of purchasing 6 precious cans of Stella Artois for £5 (reassuringly inexpensive ).

Edited May 15, 2007 by ThinkingBartender (log)

[bostonapothecary]

we just put pimms on the cocktail menu...

we needed a new sour....

i wanted pisco but the bar manager wanted pimms....

we compromised with a peruvian pisco & pimms sour.... aka the fitzcarraldo.... marrying europe and all liquid things bourgeois with jungle sensibility and sincerity....

make your own proportions to taste....

add an egg white or not....

strain up into a small canning jar....

serve on fresh rocks in a larger canning jar....

add orange bitters....

then sit back and listen to some caruso....

[JohnL]

Can I ask a really dumb question?

what exactly is Pimms and what is the number one or two cup designation?

(are there more cups?)

I am a novice to this world.

[angusw]

an old article I wrote many moons ago

The Pimms cocktail…

There are several things that are guaranteed to make me cringe in shame /embarrassment/ annoyance related to my industry. I hate the look of disappointment in the eyes of guests when you tell them you can't throw bottles around because I actually can't (and hate admitting to that!) and secondly because that’s how most people still seem to define as 'a good bartender' and it saddens me. Secondly I have a problem with bartenders in busy bars not working at top speed. It means it takes ages to get a drink and you tend to rush and order easy stuff. Also I like a bit of blood, sweat and tears in my drinks… Finally it is much to my chagrin that most, nay perhaps all, classic cocktails are American Inventions. Take any drink invented at least 50 years ago and still made today and there will be an American connection. Yes they may be a 'mixed culture' so need mixed drinks but why can't the Brits - surely the gate keepers of culture - compete with our American brethren?

With a flash of inspiration as fleeting as the rays of sunshine in a English summer it came to me… The Pimms Cocktail! As pukka as Ascot, Henley, Wimbledon and the like it reeks of Anglophilia… think Double Decker buses, village cricket and Panamas, think Oxbridge balls and Sloanes getting out of their sculls, think I'll have a Pimms Cocktail please bartender.

Pimms, or Pimms #1 Cup to give it its proper term is classified as both an aperitif and as a Sling. Its history is relatively well documented and the creator of this gin based infusion of herbs and bitter and sweet spices was one James Pimms. Sometime between 1823 and 1841 he set up an Oyster Bar in Lombard Street in the City of London. In those days it was traditional to serve a house 'cup' and soon the reputation of James Pimms' cup spread to force him to bottle and sell it locally in 1859… a pint for 3s - surely the first Ready-To-Drink. However he sold it in 1865 and it began to be commercialised and promoted by various City figures such as Lord Horatio (Lord Mayor) who cemented its Imperialistic, upmarket feel by sending its first export to Ceylon and fortifying Lord Kitchener and Empire at the Battle of Omdurman. (Empire 1 : Turkey 0)

It was during this time that the range expanded : new cups based on other spirits became voguish and so #2 was brandy, #3 rum, #4 whisky, #5 rye and #6 vodka.. Although it is common to see both 1 and 6… the others have fallen by the wayside, tho' there is always talk among the bartending community that they'll bring the others back in limited quantities… a sort of Holy Grail of Mixology.

The recipe of the classic Pimms cocktail is however far less clear. Reading the back of the bottle (always a good place to start) it plainly says 1 measure of Pimms, 3 measures of lemonade, ginger ale or tonic water (huh?), ice (thanks for that) and slices of lemon, cucumber, apple, orange and a sprig of mint. In my time as a bartender and in the books I have, I've been told that it should have pieces of strawberry in it, cucumber skin not flesh and flesh not skin, that a really authentic one has to have Borage flowers in it. What about the humble lime? Why does it get missed out in this veritable fruit bowl? Was this cocktail falling into the Mai-Tai-Trap of transmogrifying from a dressed up daiquiri into today's multi-juice, multi purees, badly garnished monstrosity? Or is it a Bloody-Mary-Drink whereby every bartender has pride in the way they make their Pimms Cocktail? I ventured forth with a series of trusty companions to find some good Pimms and some good Pimms recipes.

aw

[Lordof7]

I am a big fan of brown herbal liquors. Think Jagermeister, but not sicky sweet and syrupy, I enjoy Jagertee, Echt Stondorfer, Schierker Feuerstein, etc. I saw this dusty bottle of Pimms at the liquor store, and had to try it. I think I like it, although not as much as the German variants. It seems to have a more molasses-like taste than those, but I agree that it doesn't have as much fire. Definitely tasty though, and I've grown to like it. I will have to apologize to those Brits (or anyone really) who like the whole setup of the punch/cocktail/etc. As this poor Yank didn't grow up with those traditions, I tend to sip it neat from a shot glass. I will have to make a proper cup one of these days.

[Joerg.Meyer]

"I am English, and true Englishmen drink beer on a summer's day, while watching some sort of sporting event (or travesty, if it is an England Football match)."

I think a real Englishmen also goes for a Pimm's Cup - Beer and Sports is fine (no sports at all - is even more british) - but did you ever saw a hooligan having a pimm's cup? :-)

My recommendation: Pimms Cup with fresh lemon juice, gomme and soda - aka homemade lemonade - don't use sprite or seven up. You need a good soda siphon for this homemade lemonade. I like this extra shot of Gin in it as well.

Great articel angus !

Regards

Jörg

[johnder]

There is a great cocktail using Pimms currently on the menu at Death and Co. It was invented by Joaquin Simo -- called the Simo Cup. It has muddled cucumber and strawberry, simple syrup, lemon, pimms and plymouth. Served poured over crushed ice.

It is really tasty.

[cdh]

There is a great cocktail using Pimms currently on the menu at Death and Co.  It was invented by Joaquin Simo -- called the Simo Cup.  It has muddled cucumber and strawberry, simple syrup, lemon, pimms and plymouth.  Served poured over crushed ice.

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Would that make it a Pimms julep?

[cax77uk]

Ahhhh! Ther´s nothing like a jug of Pimm´s when you want to pretend you´re not drinking. Especially with a generous slug of juniper vodka !

RM

[Snowy is dead]

Pimms with a little lemon juice and ginger ale for me. Perfect summer "warm up" drink.

I can't recall the name, but there is another pimms I saw at a duty free in Gatwick airport. Holiday pimms or something? Was not 1-6. Has anyone tried this one yet?

Just looked it up, Pimms Winter No. 1 is the name. Looked festive, but I passed.

Sean