298013 Tue Aug 03 09:44:40 -0700 2004 14 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1646491 Can anyone tell me what this is and how to serve it? Tue Aug 03 09:44:40 -0700 2004 0 betty 1 1646502 See link Link: http://www.bevaccess.com/bb_pimms_cup.html Tue Aug 03 10:36:45 -0700 2004 1646491 0 WLA 1 1646504 It's what they drink (in large quantities) in England while watching the Henley Regatta. See link for more info. Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A832385 Tue Aug 03 10:39:07 -0700 2004 1646491 0 GretchenS 1 1646515 It's important to know (which neither link below is clear on) that the classic Pimm's recipe in England calls for "lemonade", but English lemonade is not at all like American lemonade, and the link below calling for "fresh lemonade" is absolutely wrong. The closest American appoximation is Sprite. To make a classic Pimm's (as opposed to the "royal Pimm's cup, given in the other link below}, mix: 1 part Pimm's 2-3 parts Sprite in a tall glass. Garnish with cucumber slice, orange slice, lemon slice, mint. May be served over ice, but usually not in England. True that it's the drink of choice at Henley, but also a very good garden party drink. Don't have too much, though. The various aromatics in Pimm's are similar to those in Campari (though the drink is very different) and will give you a giant headache taken in excess. Tue Aug 03 11:30:24 -0700 2004 1646491 0 lucia 2 1646519 "In England Pimms Cup is served with lemonade, that is, the British style of lemonade, comparable to our lemon-lime soda.".... From the body of the link I provided. Tue Aug 03 11:40:30 -0700 2004 1646515 0 WLA 3 1646526 My apologies, WLA. I missed that! Tue Aug 03 12:13:23 -0700 2004 1646519 0 lucia 4 1646528 The author went on to say that they liked to use lemonade and then add a splash of soda to the mix as they opined that since, in the days when the drink was first invented there was no lemon-lime soda, they thought that this came close to what the drink actually tasted like "way back when". I kind of like that type of thinking, where you analyze the original recipe from a hundred years ago and then see how close you can come to duplicating it. I thought that this was a pretty carefully reached article in terms of authenticity after reading it through. Tue Aug 03 12:20:41 -0700 2004 1646526 0 WLA 5 1646539 Though I did not see it credited that author of that is Dale DeGroff and it is included in his Craft of the Cocktail book. Interestingly his Pim's cup recipe in the book is slightly different using only 3oz of lemonade. Nathan Tue Aug 03 13:54:39 -0700 2004 1646528 0 Nathan P. 2 1646535 The giant headache part I can testify to from personal experience!! That's a very sneaky, albeit tasty, drink.... Tue Aug 03 13:00:00 -0700 2004 1646515 0 GretchenS 1 1646537 Garnish is key. Cucumber, mint, and strawberry are the minimum garnishes in our house. We use imported British lemonade if we can find it or one of the French sparkling lemondades or sprite with extra soda water if we are pinched. Tue Aug 03 13:12:45 -0700 2004 1646491 0 JudiAU 1 1646562 I generally use ginger ale instead of sprite/7up... cucumber slices, lemon wedge, and good sized piece of cucumber skin/rind as a garnish. Also have heard it referred to as a Pimm's Chukker... as in Polo. It is one of my wifes FAVORITE summer drinks. I believe, but cannot be certain, that Pimm's may be a gin derivative. Tue Aug 03 17:06:55 -0700 2004 1646491 0 woo! 1 1646639 We make ours with ginger ale and lemon juice, garnished with a cucumber slice floater. Sometimes one over the side to stay near the nose, as well. (Perfect summer drink; minor crisis this spring when there was a distributor issue....) Wed Aug 04 12:48:53 -0700 2004 1646491 0 Sallie 1 1646643 I keep it really simple - 1 part Pimm's to 3 parts soda water, garnished with cucumber. A huge hit at summer parties. Wed Aug 04 13:05:25 -0700 2004 1646491 0 fladd 1 1646738 It's such a wonderful drink. They have stands selling it at the Chelsea Flower show in London, and it certainly makes the crowds more bearable. Gotta love English gardeners! Thu Aug 05 11:59:37 -0700 2004 1646491 0 hattie 2 1646812 This reminds me of a book I saw the other day in an 'Anthropologie' store called 'Meet me in the bar', a pretty cool book that I'm thinking of picking up. It's got lots of good pictures of different hotel bars across the country with accompanying drink recipes unique to those hotel bars. Kind of cool. A Pimm's Cup was included. Also included was a drink or two from Boston's Oak Room, where Dax & I recently did some impressive damage to their booze inventory. It made me nostalgic while here in Philly. Buy it on Amazon through this link and give some money to the 'hound! Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1584792930/qid=1091752982/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2934932-0916718?v=glance&s=books Thu Aug 05 20:50:30 -0700 2004 1646738 0 joypirate