The first time I had this drink was in good ‘olde’ England, however my best memories of this drink are actually from the south of France. My friends parents had just bought a cozy old farm house in the Aix-en-Provance district. For a wine enthusiast this place actually is spelled W-I-N-E as the only view from the house was vineyards.
As good boys we traveled from vineyard to vineyard to check out the neighborhood so to speak. Of course after enough testing we’d be pretty spent. It was not until after we’d had our coffee, and orange marmalade covered croissant in the morning and were just about ready to wish the new day welcome we’d take to the Pimm’s cup. We’d sit on some lounge chairs outside in the shade of an old Oak tree in 28C and just enjoy a cold Pimm’s cup with the view of the vineyards in the neighborhood and plan the rest of the day. A perfect start to a holiday-day.
The Pimm’s cup is a reasonably easy drink to make, however don’t fuzz about and put a lot of different fruits in it. It is all about the cucumber. Also if you find a recipe which say’s lemonade, they mean British lemonade, which is the same 7up or so in the US. You can alternatively use ginger ale, but I’d strongly recommend the classic Pimm’s cup first.
Wikipedia describes the Pimm’s as:Pimm’s No. 1 Cup is based on gin and can be served both on ice or in cocktails. It has a dark tea colour with a reddish tint, and tastes subtly of spice and citrus fruit. It is often taken with lemonade, as well as various fruits including apples, oranges and lemons. It is 25% alcohol by volume.
The original Pimm’s Cup, however, is made this way:
- 1 shot Pimm’s No. 1.
- 7-Up soda
- 1 slice cucumber
- 1 twist lemon peel (if you like)