Pimm's: A Short History of Britain's Summer Drink
Born in a Victorian oyster bar and now the taste of every English summer — the gentle, fruity story of Pimm's No. 1 Cup.
The first warm day of an English summer arrives with a familiar cry: “Pimm’s o’clock!” Few drinks are as bound up with a season — with strawberries, striped deckchairs and the slow afternoons of Ascot and Wimbledon. But where did this fruity, gin-based institution come from?
Born in an oyster bar
Pimm’s owes its existence to James Pimm, a farmer’s son from Kent who ran an oyster bar in the City of London in the 1840s. He served his customers a gin-based “cup” flavoured with a secret blend of herbs and liqueurs, offered as a digestive aid and served in a small tankard known as a “No. 1 Cup”. The name stuck, and a British classic was born.
The secret recipe
The exact recipe remains, to this day, a closely guarded secret — a gin base infused with herbs and a hint of spice and citrus. It proved so popular that Pimm began bottling it for other bars, and over time a small family of “cups” followed. But it is the original Pimm’s No. 1 that endures as the summer drink.
How to mix the perfect jug
The classic serve could not be simpler. Fill a jug with ice, add one part Pimm’s to roughly three parts chilled lemonade, and pile in the garnishes: sliced strawberries, cucumber, orange and a generous handful of mint. The cucumber is not optional — it is the secret to that cool, garden-party freshness.
The taste of summer
More than a drink, Pimm’s is a signal: that the sun is out, there is nowhere to be, and someone has brought the strawberries. Long may the cry of “Pimm’s o’clock” ring out across British lawns.
Please enjoy responsibly. Serving suggestions are a matter of happy personal taste.
