One of my favorite summertime adult beverages is made with Pimm’s. I first experienced Pimm’s while living in England. It’s popular over there as a cocktail both in the summer and winter. Chilled in summer. Warmed in winter.
In the past, I’ve made it with a fizzy drink mixer (7-Up or Sprite). This time around, I’ve experimented with some other variations and I think I’ve landed on something you’ll enjoy, too!
Ingredients:
Pimm’s No. 1
Lemonade
Seltzer
Frozen blueberries and strawberries (or another berry pairing of your choosing!)
What you want to do is put a little bit of ice in a smaller glass. Measure out 1-2 shots of the Pimm’s No. 1 and pour it over the ice. Then, fill about half way with the seltzer and fill the rest of the way with lemonade. Add the frozen berries.
And that’s it!
Pimm’s is such a light and fresh alcoholic beverage. It’s a liqueur made from dry gin with notes of fruit juices and spices. That’s why it’s such a wonderful base for adding fruit to make a refreshing summertime cocktail or a warming, mulled drink for wintertime. Apparently the exact recipe is kept under lock and key and only six people know it!
It’s named after the man who came up with the original recipe. James Pimm was a fishmonger and had opened an Oyster house in London sometime between 1823 and 1840. He came up with the mixture as a digestion aid and served it in a tankard known as a No. 1 cup. And that, my friend, is how it got its name.
~
I remember being introduced to it at a little country pub when I lived in England. I wasn’t really sure about the fruit part, not being a huge sangria fan. But I found it to be so tasty! I loved the versatility of how it’s used in opposite seasons. And I also loved how quintessentially English it was. Being a proper Anglophile, there’s not much I don’t like about the British.
I’m so grateful I had that time in England and was able to get plugged into a community so quickly. I miss those friends who welcomed me in and were eager to show me the British customs and ways. You think that just because we all speak English, there’s no difference. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
For one thing, pub culture. The neighborhood pub is called, simply, the local. While I’m sure they could sometimes get rather rowdy, I found my experiences in them to be mostly pretty laid back. There was a kind of ease when I met with friends there. You knew you were there to linger and chat and have some laughs. And that made all the difference.
