My favorite summer drink is a Pimm’s Cup (though champagne is my all-time favorite drink). Pimm’s is an English liqueur and there are six versions, each based on a different liquor. The Pimm’s No. 1 Cup is made with dry gin, liqueur, fruit juices and spices.
I was taught that the proper way to make a Pimm’s Cup is with a jigger of Pimm’s No. 1 poured over ice, with bitter lemon (a tart, carbonated lemon drink) filling the glass. The glass is then garnished with cucumber and a sprig of mint. I’ve seen garnishes of lemons, apples, oranges, and strawberries draped over the rim of a Pimm’s.
Until recently it has been hard to find bitter lemon. However, the bartender at the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans made my life easier and a bit happier as he made a wonderful Pimm’s Cup with ginger ale. If you want to get fancy and make a Pimm’s Royal Cup you can add your Pimm’s No. 1 to champagne…perfection.
When sailing in Grenada on a 42’ boat named Chinook, we could not find Pimm’s No.1 at the store where we provisioned our boat. Aaarrrggghhh, a treasure hunt was on! On the island of Carriacou, walking by a bar, we espied a half-filled bottle of Pimm’s. I asked if I could purchase the bottle but the bartender did not know how to charge us. My dear friend Debbie suggested we buy six shots, which the bartender did know how to price. Carefully the bartender poured each shot into an empty bottle for us to take. Lo and behold, it was just the amount of Pimm’s left in the bottle. We did a happy dance back to the boat – the dance in the dingy was rather cute.
As we prepared drinks at the 5 o’clock hour we found the mixed bag of herbs contained no mint – it was all the grocery store had – so we muddled lemon grass and basil creating the Chinook Pimm’s Cup. It is a wonderfully refreshing riff on an old standard.
Chinook Pimm’s Cup
In a 12oz glass, muddle two small basil leaves and a half inch of lemon grass.
Fill the glass with ice
Add “three fingers” of Pimm’s (put three fingers along the side of the glass at the bottom, parallel to the counter top, and pour in Pimm’s till it reaches the same height as your fingers. OK, for those of you who like to measure – 1.5 oz.)
Fill the glass with ginger ale or bitter lemon.
Add a slice of cucumber and lemon for garnish.
Enjoy!
