Pimm’s No. 1

This week’s spirit of the week revolves around a cocktail that is perfect for the summer heat. The Pimm’s Cup is one of my favorite drinks; it combines my love for gin (which is the base spirit for Pimm’s No. 1) with a refreshing cocktail. Other drinks such as the classic gin and tonic and the Gin Gin Mule accomplish a perfect for a sweltering day, but the choosing a Pimm’s cocktail instead is a welcome change from my standard gin cocktail repertoire.

Pimm’s was invented by James Pimm, who was the owner of an oyster bar in London where he created Pimm’s No. 1. Pimm’s takes a gin base and expands on it with spiced, citrus, and herbal tones. These qualities are present in most gins so the difference may seem initially nonexistent; however, Pimm’s almost has a sweet vermouth and tea component to it which is absent from traditional gins. James Pimm also created several other Pimm’s using different base spirits:

Pimm’s No. 2 (Whisky)
Pimm’s No. 3 (Brandy)
Pimm’s No. 4 (Rum)
Pimm’s No. 5 (Rye)
Pimm’s No. 6 (Vodka)

Of these original products, the only Pimm’s still produced is the No. 6, though it is only produced in smaller batches and usually only distributed in England and some parts of Europe. Man, I would really have liked to try the Rye Pimm’s; unfortunately, since Pimm’s has been purchases by Diageo I don’t see many adventurous recreations in the future. Fortunately, Pimm’s No. 1 will do just fine!

The Pimm’s Cup has been getting some coverage recently; specifically, you should check out Camper English’s article which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle (Camper also has a great blog which you should look into). Camper’s coverage of the Pimm’s Cup publishes a recipe from Town Hall restaurant in San Francisco:

2oz. Pimm’s No. 1
1oz. Gin
Ginger Ale
Soda Water
Cucumber Slice for Garnsih

Camper’s Instructions: Add the gin and Pimm’s to a highball glass full of ice. Fill remainder of glass with a 2-to-1 ratio of ginger ale to soda water. Stir and place cucumber slice in the drink (rather than as garnish).

The Pimm’s Cup seems to take shape in different ways everywhere; another blog I really love, The Bottle Gang, also wrote about the Pimm’s Cup recently and described the recipe as 1 parts Pimm’s and 3 parts lemonade. The lemonade conceptualized in this Pimm’s Cup is generally described as more of lemon soda. The major addition pointed out by the Bottle Gang however is the use of fresh fruit and mint. Different types of fruit may be muddled, but they specifically note the effectiveness of using green apple slices. Their post on the Pimm’s Cup is really awesome and you should check it out.

Personally, I really like to use ginger ale in my Pimm’s Cup (yes, I have a bias towards ginger), but I also like to muddle different fruits in my Pimm’s Cup to change the flavors occasionally. I know that this may seem unordinary for someone who really likes to stress using original recipes, but I haven’t seen a definitive original Pimm’s Cup recipe, so I am taking some degree of license here. My experimenting with Pimm’s recently led me to fall in love with this recipe recently which just twists other’s interpretations of the Pimm’s Cup; I even found one that threw out my obsession with ginger ale. I find this recipe to be particularly refreshing (even if it isn’t really a Pimm’s Cup):

My Cup

1 ¼ oz. Pimm’s No. 1
½ oz. Plymouth Gin
½ oz. Simple Syrup
2 Lime Wedges
1 Orange Slice
1 Lemon Wedge
10 Mint Leaves
1 Cucumber Spear
Tonic Water

Muddle the lime and lemon wedges, orange slice, mint and simple syrup in the base of a tall glass. Fill the glass with ice and add the Pimm’s and gin; shake and strain into a tall glass. Fill the glass with tonic and garnish with a cucumber spear.

Explore the mixing properties of Pimm’s over the next few months. It is an awesome spirit that can add some diversity to your summer cocktail arsenal. Specifically, if you are a gin fan and don’t switch to Pimm’s from time to time, you are doing a great yourself disservice.