Pimm's: The Glorious History of Britain's Summer Drink

The first properly warm afternoon of an English summer carries its own happy announcement: someone, somewhere, declares that it is “Pimm’s o’clock”, and a jug appears as if by magic. Few drinks are so completely bound up with a season. Pimm’s belongs to strawberries and striped deckchairs, to the soft thunk of tennis balls drifting over a hedge, to the unhurried glamour of Ascot and the riverbank picnics of Henley. It is less a cocktail than a national mood, poured over ice.

That ruby-amber colour, the cucumber bobbing among the mint, the gentle warmth of gin softened by fruit and spice: this is summer in a glass, and it has been for well over a century and a half. Yet behind the garden-party ease lies a genuinely charming origin story, one that begins not on a sunlit lawn but in the bustle of Victorian London.

What follows is the story of how a digestive tonic served in an oyster bar became the most quintessentially British drink of all, and how to raise a glass to it yourself.

A tonic born in a City oyster bar

The drink owes its existence to James Pimm, an English caterer and farmer’s son from Kent who made his name in the City of London. In his early twenties he came to the capital and established himself as a shellfish monger, eventually presiding over a celebrated oyster bar near the Bank of England, in the heart of the Square Mile. Records place him at addresses including Poultry and Cheapside, where City gentlemen gathered to slurp oysters and talk business.

It was in the 1840s, amid the clatter of that bar, that Pimm first mixed the drink that would carry his name. He offered his customers a gin-based “cup”, flavoured with a secret blend of herbs and liqueurs, as an aid to digestion after their seafood. The tonic was served in a small tankard known as a “No. 1 Cup”, and the name stuck so firmly that it became the drink’s own. A Victorian after-dinner remedy had, almost by accident, become the cornerstone of a great British institution.

From a single bar to a household name

Such was the demand that Pimm could not keep his creation to himself for long. By 1851 he had begun commercial production to supply other bars across London, bottling the recipe so that the magic of his oyster house could be poured elsewhere. The drink’s reputation grew steadily, carried on the approval of a discerning City clientele.

Pimm sold the name and the licensing rights in 1866, and the brand passed into capable hands. In 1880 the business was acquired by Horatio Davies, a future Lord Mayor of London, and before the decade was out a chain of Pimm’s Oyster Houses had been franchised across the capital. What had started as one man’s house tonic was becoming a marque with civic stature, ready to step out of the dining room and onto the lawn where it truly belonged.

The family of cups, and the one that endures

Over the years a whole family of numbered cups followed the original, each built on a different spirit to suit a different palate. Seven Pimm’s varieties have been produced across the brand’s history. The No. 2 Cup was based on Scotch whisky; the No. 3 on brandy; later editions drew on rum, rye, vodka and tequila, an adventurous spread of options for the curious drinker.

Most have since slipped quietly into history. Today it is the gin-based Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, the very first of the line, that reigns as the survivor and the standard-bearer. The brandy-based No. 3 lives on in spirit too, reborn as the spiced, orange-scented Pimm’s Winter Cup for colder evenings by the fire. But when anyone says simply “Pimm’s”, they mean the No. 1: amber, herbal, and unmistakably the taste of June.

The secret recipe

Part of the romance lies in what nobody is told. The exact formula for Pimm’s No. 1 remains, to this day, a closely guarded secret, a gin base infused with a confidential blend of herbs, fruit and a whisper of spice and citrus. The precise proportions have travelled down the generations of the brand without ever being printed on a label.

That mystery is half the pleasure. Every host who pours a jug is, in a small way, taking part in a recipe they will never quite be able to copy at home, which is rather the point. The drink offers gentle complexity without ever being demanding: warm and aromatic, fruity but not sweet, sophisticated yet entirely unstuffy. It is a flavour built for sipping slowly while the afternoon stretches out, and one that has never needed reinventing.

The taste of the British season

If Pimm’s has a natural habitat, it is the great calendar of the English summer “season”, that glorious procession of sporting and social occasions where the lawns are immaculate and the dress code firm. Pimm’s stands alongside champagne as one of the two staple drinks of the Wimbledon Championships, the Henley Royal Regatta, the Chelsea Flower Show and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and it flows freely at Royal Ascot too.

At Wimbledon, where it has been poured since the 1970s and is now the tournament’s official drink, the scale of devotion is remarkable: estimates commonly suggest that somewhere in the region of 275,000 to 300,000 glasses are enjoyed across the fortnight. The figures vary by year and source, but the spirit of the thing is constant. To hold a cool glass of Pimm’s at a great British occasion is to feel entirely, contentedly part of the day.

How to mix the perfect jug

The classic serve could hardly be simpler, which is exactly why it has lasted. Fill a large jug generously with ice, pour in one part Pimm’s No. 1 to roughly two or three parts chilled lemonade, and stir. The ratio is forgiving; a little more lemonade makes a longer, gentler drink for a hot afternoon.

Then comes the garnish, and here generosity is everything. In go sliced strawberries, ribbons of cucumber, wedges of orange and a handsome handful of fresh mint. The cucumber is the quiet hero of the whole affair, lending that unmistakable cool, garden-fresh note that lifts the drink from pleasant to perfect. Traditionalists add a sprig of borage where they can find it, its faint cucumber flavour a nod to the original. Serve at once, while everything is icy and the mint is still fragrant, and let everyone help themselves.

A glass raised to summer itself

More than a recipe, Pimm’s is a kind of signal. When the jug comes out, it means the sun has decided to stay, there is nowhere in particular to be, and someone has thoughtfully brought the strawberries. It turns an ordinary garden into an occasion and a handful of friends into a party, all without the slightest effort. That is its quiet genius.

From a digestive tonic poured in a City oyster bar to the official toast of Wimbledon, Pimm’s has spent the best part of two centuries doing one thing beautifully: making British summer feel like a celebration. Long may the cry of “Pimm’s o’clock” ring out across the lawns. Browse our British Living stories to discover more of the rituals and tastes that make British life so quietly wonderful.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pimm’s?

Pimm’s is a gin-based fruit cup, first created in 1840s London by James Pimm. The original and best-known version, Pimm’s No. 1, is built on a gin base infused with a secret blend of herbs, fruit and spice, and is traditionally served long with lemonade and plenty of fresh garnish.

Who invented Pimm’s and when?

James Pimm, an English caterer and farmer’s son from Kent, invented it in the 1840s. He ran a celebrated oyster bar in the City of London and served the drink as a gin-based digestive tonic in a small tankard called a “No. 1 Cup”, which gave the drink its name.

Why is it called Pimm’s No. 1?

The “No. 1” comes from the small tankard, or cup, in which James Pimm originally served his tonic. Later he and the brand’s owners produced a numbered family of cups built on different spirits, but the gin-based No. 1 was the first and is the one that endures today.

How do you make a classic Pimm’s?

Fill a jug with ice, add one part Pimm’s No. 1 to two or three parts chilled lemonade, and stir. Garnish generously with sliced strawberries, cucumber, orange and a handful of fresh mint, then serve straight away while the drink is cold and the mint is fragrant.

What fruit goes in Pimm’s?

The classic garnish is strawberries, cucumber, orange and mint. Cucumber is the signature ingredient that gives Pimm’s its cool, garden-fresh character, and some traditionalists add a sprig of borage, whose subtle cucumber flavour echoes the original serve.

Why is Pimm’s drunk at Wimbledon?

Pimm’s has been served at Wimbledon since the 1970s and is now the tournament’s official drink, sitting alongside champagne as a staple of the British summer season. Estimates suggest somewhere in the region of 275,000 to 300,000 glasses are enjoyed across the fortnight each year.

Is Pimm’s only a summer drink?

Pimm’s No. 1 is celebrated as a summer drink, but the brand also offers a Winter Cup, a spiced, orange-scented version based on the old brandy-led No. 3 Cup, designed to be served warm. So while summer is its natural home, there is a Pimm’s for the cooler months too.

Source note: historical and serving details drawn from reputable references including Wikipedia’s entry on Pimm’s and James Pimm, the Royal Warrant Holders Association, and Wimbledon tradition coverage. Consumption figures vary by year and source and are given as approximate. Please enjoy responsibly.