It’s been a brutally hot summer on the East Coast. In DC we
had 57 days (so far) of temps at 90F or above. The long-ish range predictions for next week show that we may have more.
So, even though meteorological summer has passed and astrological summer ends
in a few days, and the temp at our house in the Catskills today never crested
70F, it doesn’t yet feel autumnal. Which means we can still make Pimm’s Cups!
If you’re unfamiliar with this treat, prepare to jolly up your summer. For you
old hands, mix up your own batch and settle in.
Pimm’s is technically what is known as a fruit cup, meaning
that it is a mix of fruit and herbs with alcohol. Historically, the liquor mix
might have been gin (Pimm’s No 1), scotch (No 2), brandy (No 3), rum (No 4),
rye (No 5), or vodka (No 6). Today, Pimm’s No 1 is about all you can find, and
it’s all you’ll need. The distillation is said (on the Pimm’s website) to be, “lots of lovely gin
with herbal botanicals, caramelised orange and delicate spices.” I frankly
stink at picking out distinct flavors in drinks or food, so I’ll have to leave
it at that. The bottled mix is 25% gin.
So now let's make a
Pimm’s Cup. There are a few hundred different recipes for these drinks and everyone swears theirs is the best, me included. The "official" recipe on the Pimm's website calls for mint, orange, and strawberries--plus cucumber as a garnish. Victoria Moore, wine critic at The Telegraph in London says you only need cucumber, orange, and mint for flavors (beyond the lemonade or ginger ale). Some people add apple and lemon and other things. But let's keep it simple at first, so here’s what you need:
Pimm’s
An orange
A cucumber
Some ice
Some mint
Quality ginger ale or in the UK high quality lemonade
A pitcher
Mint from Ms. F's garden, mind.
So, let’s
go:
We’ll start
with knife work: Slice the orange into thin slices. Slice the cuke
using a mandolin if you have one into thin strips or lengthwise with your best
knife into eight wedges if you don’t. Tear the mint or at least roll it in your hands to break open the leaves for more flavor.
Now, with
the dangerous work behind us: Pour a couple of cups of Pimm’s into the pitcher,
add the orange slices and mint. Put this into the fridge for
15 minutes.
Take two
cucumber wedges and stand them in each of four glasses (if you’ve done the
mandolin slice, fold a couple of slices into each glass with the ice). Add half
a glass worth of ice cubes.
Get your
Pimm’s mix pitcher out of the fridge and add ginger ale or UK lemonade. Again, there are differences of opinion on the ratio. The official recipe calls for three parts ginger ale to one part Pimm's. That seems parsimonious to me and leads to a somewhat too sweet drink. I use a 50-50 ratio. I heartily recommend you try the different versions repeatedly among close friends until you've found your proper ratio. Anyway decide the proper (for you) ratio, add the ginger ale to the pitcher
and stir once or twice.
Pour this
mix over the ice in the glasses, distribute the fruit among the glasses, and serve.
Absent proper glassware at the cottage, we're forced to drink from pint glasses.
If you’re watching the polo, you’re all set. If you’re not, you’re still all set. Get out your croquet or boules, and have a go.
