Anyone for Pimm's?

It hardly seems possible that we are almost half way through the year. The onset of summer will herald those typically British activities, Chelsea Flower Show, horse racing at Ascot, Henley Regatta. Glyndebourne, and of course Wimbledon, none of which would be complete without the cry of ‘Anyone for Pimm’s?’ ringing in our ears.

Pimm's is also the standard cocktail at polo matches as well as being a very popular choice for garden parties.

First produced in 1823 by James Pimm, a farmer’s son from Kent who became the owner of an oyster bar in the City of London. To aid the digestion of his customers he began to offer a gin based tonic containing a secret mixture of herbs and liqueurs. It was served in a small tankardknown as a No. 1 Cup, hence its name.

Such was the demand that large scale production began in 1851 and the distillery began selling it commercially in 1859, at thirty shillings a bottle, with hawkers peddling it, literally, on bicycles.

Pimm eventually sold on the business, and the right use his name to Frederick Sawyer in 1880, with the future Lord Mayor of London, Horatio Davies, taking it over in 1887, and franchising the Oyster Houses.

Pimm’s has a dark brown colour with a reddish hue, and tastes both citrusy and spicy.

Traditionally served as a long summer drink, topped up with fizzy lemonade and a garnish of cucumber and borage added; although nowadays pubs often throw the whole fruit bowl into the mix, with a sprig of mint to top it off.

Ginger ale is commonly used a substitute for the lemonade.

Given my penchant for bubbly, I am rather partial to a ‘Pimm’s Royal Cup’. Personally, I think it would be sacrilegious to use Champagne; am inclined to use Prosecco or Cava instead.

1½ oz Pimm's No. 1
Sparkling wine

Lemon peel
Cucumber peel

Simply pour the Pimm's over ice in a tall glass. Top up with champagne, garnish with lemon and cucumber peel.

Pimm’s can also be used to make a lovely refreshing jelly for a posh summer dessert, and when frozen, alcoholic ice lollies.

Ideal for picnics, pre-mixed Pimm’s can be bought in 250ml. cans at 5.4%abv, for around £1.90, when compared with the original Pimm’s No. 1 strength of 25%abv., at £15 for a 1 litre bottle.

In addition to the ever popular No 1 cup, with its gin base, the range has been extended to include six others, based on a variety of alcoholic bases, most of which have since been withdrawn from sale.

Other attempts to retain its place in the drinks market include the introduction of Pimm's Winter Cup, based on No.3, with a brandy base, and which is generally mixed with warm apple juice, No. 6, which has a vodka base, and also a Blackberry & Elderflower Pimm’s.

I have sampled them all but still think the original takes a lot of beating.

In 2015 The American Bar at the Savoy hotel in London launched a vintage Pimm’s menu to coincide with the first day of Wimbledon, using rare 1940s bottles. A mere snip at £45 per cocktail.

I was interested while carrying out research on the history of Pimm’s, to find out a bit more about tankards.

Around the time that Pimm’s was invented metal tankards with glass bottoms were popular. One legend has it that it was developed as a way of refusing the King’s Shilling, conscription into the British army or navy. The glass bottom enabled the drinker to see whether or not a shilling had been placed in the tankard, and the drink could be refused, thereby avoiding conscription.

Another story is that a bar fight would be started when the first punch was thrown while the recipient had the tankard raised to his mouth; the glass bottom was implemented so that he could see the attack coming.

Finally, on April Fool’s Day in 2016 Pimm’s fooled us all, even managing to get BBC’s Peter Sissons on board, with their spoof announcement of their sponsorship of Big Ben’s restoration, including plans to update the dial of Elizabeth Tower.