Pimm’s Cup

Pimm's Cup from www.whatsgabycooking.com (@whatsgabycookin)

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5 from 1 vote

A traditional English summer time cocktail with Pimm's No 1, lemon, ginger beer and PLENTY of garnishes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time0

Total Time5

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: English

Servings: drinks

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Ingredients

1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
½ cup strawberries, thinly sliced or quartered
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 ounces Pimm’s No. 1
6 ounces Ginger Beer
Fresh mint and thyme to garnish

Instructions

In a tall glass combine the sliced lemons, cucumber and strawberries.
Fill a cocktail shaker with about 1 cup of ice. Add the lemon juice and Pimm's No. 1 over the ice and secure the lid of the shaker. Shake for 20 seconds until chilled.
Add a few fresh ice cubes to the glass and then strain the mixture over the ice. Fill the remaining part of the glass with ginger beer. Garnish with the fresh mint and thyme and serve immediately.

Notes

Use Pimm's No. 1, not No. 6 or No. 7. The number on the bottle matters. No. 1 is the gin-based canonical version; No. 6 is vodka-based (lighter, less herbal); No. 3 is brandy-based (winter variant). For a classic Pimm's Cup, No. 1 is the only correct answer.
Ginger beer, not ginger ale. Ginger beer is spicier, less sweet, and brewed with real ginger root. Ginger ale is essentially flavored soda. The difference is the difference between a Pimm's Cup and a glass of fruit punch.
Build the drink in the glass, not a shaker. Pimm's Cup is a built drink; shaking destroys the fruit and bruises the herbs. Layer ingredients in the glass over ice; stir gently.
Slap the mint, don't muddle. Press the mint between your palms with a quick clap to release the oils. Muddling shreds the leaves and adds chlorophyll bitterness. You want aroma, not green pulp.
Slice fruit thin enough to fit the glass. Cucumber spears (not coins); strawberries sliced in ⅛-inch pieces; lemon in wheels not wedges. Chunks of fruit clog the glass and don't release flavor.
The ratio is 1:2 (Pimm's to ginger beer). 3 ounces Pimm's to 6 ounces ginger beer is the canonical pour. Stronger is too boozy and stops being sessionable; weaker is grape juice with bubbles.
Ice in the glass, not the pitcher. For pitcher service, mix the Pimm's, fruit, lemon juice, and herbs in the pitcher; pour over ice in individual glasses and top each with ginger beer. Ice in the pitcher dilutes everyone equally as it melts.
For pitcher mode, hold the ginger beer until the moment of serve. The bubbles go flat within 30 minutes; adding ginger beer to a pitcher means everyone past glass two gets flat Pimm's. Top each glass individually right before handing it over.
Add a splash of fresh lemon juice. Two teaspoons in the glass before the ginger beer brightens everything and balances the Pimm's sweetness. The recipe calls for it; do not skip.
If you can find borage, use it. The traditional British garnish is borage flowers, small edible blue flowers with cucumber flavor. Hard to source in the U.S. but worth checking farmers markets in summer. A single flower floating on top is the most authentic finishing touch you can do.

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