When life gives you vegetables you should make a Pimm’s Cup! I’ve recently joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with several of my office mates. (We are blogging about the organic fruit and veggie experience at OneBoxaWeek.com but I don’t know if they would appreciate me posting about a cocktail over there!) The sometime result of the program is that I have a few organic odds and ends left over that don’t get sauted, baked, or otherwise put in salads during the week. Staring at a few of these items last night reminded me of one of my favorite summer ‘light cocktails’, The Pimm’s Cup. Its known for its distinctive abundance of garnish including cucumber which is one of the only uses for the regular cucumber I like. Its called a ‘No 1. Cup’ because back in the day (18 somthingoranother) it was served in a small bar tankard called a number one cup.
The Pimm’s Cup
It has the distinction of being the official drink of Wimbledon and its somewhat low alcohol content makes it the perfect drink for daytime imbibing as you can have two (or more?) and not get smashed. I remember as a kid I could always find a curious dusty bottle of Pimm’s in the liquor cabinet but it wasn’t until I became a devoted Anglophile in my teens that I learned the joys of this particular bottle. There seems to be as many varieties of the drink recipe as there are places that serve it. Most are just variants of the preferred mixer. I like it made with ginger ale but lemon soda or bitter lemon is good too and in a pinch 7-Up will get the job done (some even prefer it but but it seems inauthentic to me.) The “No. 1” on the bottle refers to the original recipe which is gin based. There used to be Nos. 2 through 6 which were based on other liquors like scotch and rum but they were not as good and have since been discontinued. I think I’ve seen a “Winter Cup” variety once in awhile but the original has alway been the best.
This is what you will need:
- 2 shots Pimms
- Ginger ale
- 1 orange slice
- Assorted garnishes
This is how you make it:
- Fill up your glass with ice and then fill 1/3 to 1/2 with Pimms. Top off with the ginger ale. Squeeze an orange slice into the cup and leave the rind in the glass, garnish with cucumber and a sprig of mint if you have it (or whatever you have in your crisper!) Strawberries, apples, anything that says 'cool'.
Notes
The finished Pimms Cup is best when it looks like a bouquet of flowers! Fill with slices of cucumber, sprigs of mint and anything else that says "cool" to you. Have fun!
Thanks for reminding me about these – I brought a bottle to a friend’s house – no one there had heard of it before, but everyone loved it…mixed it with Ginger Beer and enjoyed thoroughly!