FEATURE - British Airways High Life Shop

PIMM’S
CLOCK O
SPIRITS
There’s no better match for the Great British
Summer, says GQ drinks editor Jonathan Ray
An ice-cold glass of Pimm’s is as
English as strawberries and cream,
village cricket, Royal Ascot, Henley,
Wimbledon, and Glastonbury. Its very
name is synonymous with summer and
whether we have a scorcher or a washout
this year, I reckon the only way to pass the
time in any semblance of comfort is with a
brimming jug of Pimm’s ‘No.1 Cup’.
I’ve drunk buckets
of the stuff over the
years, from pint
tankards in draughty,
rain-sodden wedding
marquees; from
cut-glass Champagne
flutes on the lawn at Glyndebourne; from
chipped supermarket glasses on Brighton
beach and even neat from filthy sherry
glasses in a fly-blown, Fawlty Towers-like
country hotel (it was the barman’s first day
and — as I later discovered — his last).
Everyone has their own favourite
way of mixing and serving Pimm’s, with
measurements, quantities and additions
guarded as tightly as we do those for our
own particular Bloody Mary. The recipe for
what’s in the bottle itself is as secret now
as when it was created in 1840 by James
Pimm, a shellfish-monger and oyster barowner
in London.
In those days, vile-tasting, rough-as-canbe
gin was the Londoner’s drink of choice,
but Pimm felt his customers deserved
something better. He thus came up with
a gin-based ‘No.1 Cup’, blending it to his
own recipe and selling it in pint tankards.
Pimm’s potion soon became as
celebrated as his oyster bars, which had
become a small chain in the city. By the
1860s, Pimm’s ‘No.1 Cup’ was being sold
throughout London for three shillings a
bottle, and by the 1890s, it was exported
as far afield as India and Ceylon and even
sent to slake the thirst of the troops at
Omdurman and Khartoum. Since then,
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THE RECIPE IS AS
SECRET NOW AS WHEN IT
WAS CREATED IN 1840
BY JAMES PIMM
the brand has passed through many hands
and is now owned by drinks giant Diageo.
Pimm’s is still made in the same way
and to the same secret recipe, known only
to six people. So precious is this formula
that the six aren’t even allowed to journey
together in case something happens and
it is lost forever. All that Diageo will admit
to is that Pimm’s ‘No.1 Cup’ is a blend
of herbs and spices with
a base of Gordon’s Gin
(which Diageo also owns).
In the 1930s, Pimm’s
created a number of other
fruit cups — a Scotch
whisky-based one (‘No.2
Cup’); a brandy one (‘No.3 Cup’); a rum
one (‘No.4 Cup’); a rye whisky one (‘No.5
Cup’) and a vodka one (‘No.6 Cup’).
Apart from the main ‘No.1 Cup’ (of
which more than 300,000 cases are sold
a year), only the vodka-based ‘No.6 Cup’
remains (because the then-chairman’s
wife liked it) along with ‘No.3 Cup’ which,
having been discontinued, was resurrected
a few years back as ‘Pimm’s Winter’.
The classic serve is one part Pimm’s to
three parts lemonade with plenty of ice
and sliced strawberries, cucumber, orange,
lemon, apple and mint.
I have to say that I don’t care for all this
vegetation, which invariably leads to me
spilling it all down my shirt as I try to take
a gulp without choking on a strawberry or
getting mint stuck between my teeth. In
my view, it’s better served with plenty of ice
and a couple of slices of lemon.
Neat Pimm’s is 25 per cent alcohol
by volume (ABV), but the classic serve
comes in at about 5.4 per cent ABV, which
is more or less the same as a premium
lager. You can also use Prosecco instead
of lemonade and, if you like it drier, use
ginger ale.
But whichever way it comes, enjoy!
Summer just ain’t summer without it.
Pimm’s No.1, £12, page 113
WHAT
TO MAKE
PIMM’S
CLASSIC SERVE
SPIRITS
In a highball or half-pint glass:
1 PART PIMM’S NO.1
3 PARTS LEMONADE
ICE
GARNISH WITH ORANGE,
STRAWBERRY, MINT AND CUCUMBER
PIMM’S DEUCE
In a highball or half-pint glass:
1 PART PIMM’S NO.1
1.5 PARTS ORANGE JUICE
1.5 PARTS CRANBERRY JUICE
ICE
GARNISH WITH ORANGE AND
STRAWBERRY
PIMM’S ROYALE
In a Champagne flute:
25ML PIMM’S NO.1
TOP UP WITH SPARKLING WINE OR
CHAMPAGNE
GARNISH WITH A STRAWBERRY
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PHOTOGRAPHY: LUKE KIRWAN, SET BUILD: ROB BROWN