July 9, 1877 Wimbledon Starts
Summer, maybe more than any other season, goes really fast. One day you’re grilling burgers and toasting American (and maybe fleeting) Independence, the next it’s Labor Day and you can’t wear white anymore. Do you need a drink? If so, (and we both know that you do) you need this:
Pimm’s No. 1 Cup.
Why, you might correctly ask, would I drink something that sounds like an Alexander McCall Smith novel only somehow more boring? Good question. Pimm's No. 1 Cup is gin-based, it’s fruity, it’s ubiquitous in the sidelines and stand of Britain’s sporting events. Pimm’s No. 1 Cup is the official drink of the Henley Regatta and of Wimbledon. (The other official drink of Wimbledon is champagne, but unless your sister got married today drinking champagne would make you look like a putz.) It is the perfect drink to guzzle while watching athletes exert themselves or play tennis.
Pimm’s was invented by James Pimm in 1823. James Pimm was a bartender at an oyster bar and was well-known for his cocktails and his originality in naming things. As oysters were a plentiful, cheap, nutritious food that could kill you, Pimm’s was created as a digestif for oysters. So at the very least Pimm’s guided one to the next world with ginny breath and a happy glaze over vibriosed eyes. Later in the 19th century, Pimm’s No. 1 Cup was marketed as a health drink, which puts it among heroin and cocaine as things used by our forebearers to manage headaches, pulled muscles, and the night shakes.
Now, if you’re American and have a little too much residual fight in you after the Fourth to enjoy a British drink of all things, keep in mind that Pimm’s is also massively popular in parts of the US. This is particularly true in Louisiana, where it showed up in 1940 and became the official drink of the Napoleon House Bar.
But today we celebrate Pimm’s as a Wimbledon drink. This year more than 300,000 Pimm’s were drunk by people at Wimbledon while they processed thoughts such as ‘holy crap, I’m watching tennis – give me another Pimm’s!’
But no judgement today, well as long as you don’t consider tennis a spectator sport. At least it’s not soccer. Anyway, tis midsummer and you must enjoy yourself and Pimm’s is the way to do it. It’s refreshing, tasty, and not extremely alcoholic. So you can drink lots of them.
Pimm’s No. 1 Cup.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Pimm's No. 1
- 6 ounces lemonade (or a lemon-lime soda like Sprite)
- Fresh mint leaves
- Cucumber slices
- Orange slices
- Sliced strawberries
- Ice cubes
Instructions:
Wash your fruit and tear off mint leaves. Fill a glass or a jug with ice. Jugs are better because they hold more and you get to say the word ‘jugs’ which is just a great word. Pour 2 ounces of Pimm's No. 1 into the glass. For a jug, pour 4–5 ounces. Add about 6 ounces of lemonade into the glass (or 2.5 that into a jug). The ratio should be around 1 part Pimm's to 3 parts lemonade, so you can adjust according to your taste, serving size, or the intensity of your bad mood. Now comes the garnish, so add slices of cucumber, orange, strawberries, and mint leaves to the glass. Stir. Drink to Wimbledon, to tradition, to the extraordinary fact that people go watch tennis on purpose, and to Pimm’s, keeping the British shitfaced at sporting events for decades.