Strange to relate – strange, that is, to anyone born and raised in the UK – the name “Pimm’s” means zilch to many Americans. But to Brits, Pimm’s is synonymous with the English summer. Its only rival as a favorite is strawberries and cream, which reaches its frenzied zenith of popularity at the Wimbledon tennis tournament in June.
What is Pimm’s? It is an alcohol-based fruit drink that keeps the English summer social season afloat. From the Royal Ascot races to Wimbledon, from Henley Royal Regatta to Cowes week, from the Chelsea Flower Show to the Glyndebourne opera, Pimm’s is always on tap, and always being downed by the bucketful. In 1823, James Pimm was a fishmonger who opened an oyster house in South London.
He conceived the idea of selling, alongside his oysters, a drink that might aid digestion. So he concocted a gin-based liqueur infused with various herbs, spices, and quinine, then bottled it and labeled it “Pimm’s No. 1 Cup.
” Using his liqueur as the base, he then devised a delicious beverage, topping it up with sparkling lemonade, and piling chopped summer fruits on top. That, in essence, is what Pimm’s No. 1 is today.
A mainstream current recipe specifies one part of Pimm’s to three parts of sparkling lemonade, topped with slices of orange, strawberry, and cucumber, together with a sprig of mint. Over the two centuries since it first saw the light of day, the original gin-based Pimm’s has seen the birth of six variants. Only two – Cup .
