Weekend Cooking...The Pimm's Cup

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Perhaps we need just one more toast to the future King George!
So today we are going to make a Pimm's Cup, the most English of all summer drinks. Since he is a summer baby, it seems only fitting.
We are going to take a look at the Pimm's Cup.
It is made with Pimm's No.1...
So what is Pimm's?
From their web site..

"London's dandiest city gents loved to partake in oysters and gin. But with its bitter tang, gin was knocked back, not savoured. Enter shellfish-monger James Pimm and his famous central London 'Oyster Bar' in 1823. Patrons soon swallowed oysters with the PIMM'S 'house cup'. Flavoured with liqueurs and fruit extract, this more palatable long drink 'gin-sling' kick-started the great British PIMM'S story."

If you are lounging by the side of the Thames with a picnic, watching the rowers go by, or looking for some refreshment between matches at Wimbledon, you may very well be drinking a Pimm's Cup.

Let us gather our ingredients...

Since it is a gin based drink, you can drink it as is, mixing it with lemonade, lemon-lime soda or ginger ale. But for a little stronger drink, you can add a shot of gin as well.
And then there is the matter of garnishes, a very important aspect it seems. According to an article in the New York Times...

"The proper garnish has long been a point of contention in Pimm’s mythology. In 1949, Jim Moran, a wily New York marketing man prone to stunts, was enlisted to raise the liqueur’s profile. He hired two actresses to stage a fight at a Manhattan nightclub over the correct garnish for a Pimm’s Cup: cucumber or mint. It made the papers.

That dispute continues in earnest today. Cucumber is commonly in the mix, though some bartenders muddle it and others don’t. Mint is often seen. But any ingredient in your average fruit salad may turn up."

So first, the basic...

My favorite version, made with the very gingery zip of Ginger Beer

PIMM'S CUP

Ingredients:

• 1 shot Pimm's No. 1 
• Fill with 7-Up 
• 1 slice Cucumber 
• Twist of Lemon peel
• mint

In a highball glass add Pimm's No. 1 and twist of lemon. Fill with 7-up. Garnish with cucumber slice and mint.

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Just to let you know, I muddled my mint!

But now that you bought that bottle of Pimm's, are there other drinks you can make with it? Of course!!
Replace the 7 Up with Champagne and you have a Royal Pimm's Cup. Replace it with ginger ale, or even better, spicy ginger beer, and you have a Pimm's Ragoon.
But there are bartenders out there coming up with all sort of other ideas. For fans of tequila, there is the...

EL DIABLO

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces blanco tequila 
• 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice from 1 lime 
• 1/2 ounce high quality triple sec 
• 1/2 ounce Pimm's No. 1 
• Ginger ale

Combine tequila, lime juice, triple sec, and Pimm’s in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain contents into a Collins glass filled with ice and top with ginger ale.

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And for a drink that can extend the Pimm season past the summer, how about a cocktail with whiskey?

PIMM DADDY

"This rye-based Pimm's cocktail was created by Taylor Bense of The Post Office in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We added a touch more lemon to our taste. Muddled cucumber adds a lovely freshness to the drink."

Ingredients:

• 2 half-inch slices peeled fresh cucumber 
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup 
• 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1 lemon 
• 3/4 ounce Pimm's No. 1 
• 2 ounces Rye  whiskey
• cucumber ribbon

In a cocktail shaker, muddle cucumber rounds in simple syrup until mixture is an even paste. Add lemon, Pimm's, and rye, and fill shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain into ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with cucumber ribbon if desired. 

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Or for something quite tropical...

The Kameleon 

Ingredients: 

• 1 oz 151 proof rum 
• 1/2 oz Blue Curacao 
• 3 oz Pineapple juice 
•  2 oz Orange juice 
• 1/3 oz Pimm's No. 1 

Mixing instructions: Firstly, build ingredients in the order given in a collins glass over ice. Layer the Pimms on top. It will look sort of like a traffic light. When served, stir in front of customer and it turns lime green. 

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I need to get some Blue Curacao.
Whichever version you try, Pimm's is a tasty liqueur and makes a light, refreshing summer drink!!

My, that goods good!

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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