Summer in England means Pimm’s Cups, earthy and delicious and perfect for sipping the heat away. I think it’s a tradition we should all take up here too. –Andrew
Pimm’s Cup
2 oz Pimm’s No. 1
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Lemon-Mint Shrub
Ginger Beer
Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, cut a very thin slice of cucumber lengthwise, then wrap it around the inside of the glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice to keep the cucumber in place, then add the Pimm’s, Sweet Vermouth, and lemon-mint shrub. Top with ginger beer and give it a stir. Then go wild with garnishes: fresh berries, lemon and lime wheels, mint, whatever you can find that’s ripe and verdant.
Verdant is really key here. You want your Pimm’s to feel like the world blooming from spring to summer in a glass. Pimm’s No.1 is essentially a bottled cocktail, gin-based and flavored with a secret blend of herbs that dates back to 1823. It is dark reddish-brown and it both looks and tastes like something primal. Combine it with ginger and citrus and more herbs and you have something that’s both a little mysterious and really perfect for a hot summer’s day.
This isn’t exactly the classic recipe. A traditional Pimm’s Cup is pretty simple, just Pimm’s No. 1 and some English lemonade (carbonated and citrusy) or ginger ale, a straightforward highball. And you won’t go wrong if you take the simpler route. I wanted to play with the framework of a Pimm’s Cup, rearranging the ginger and lemon and adding in a few extra layers of flavor while sticking to the spirit of the original. When you’re making your own Pimm’s Cup, don’t worry too much about the specifics, but do think about all these flavors and the ways you can combine them – maybe lemon juice instead of shrub, or ginger liqueur in place of ginger beer. It’s hard to go wrong here.
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Glassware by Liquorary
Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper
