Pimm's

History

Pimm, a farmer's son from Kent, became the owner of an oyster bar in the City of London, near the Bank of England. He offered the tonic (a gin-based drink containing a secret mixture of herbs and liqueurs) as an aid to digestion, serving it in a small tankard known as a "No. 1 Cup", hence its subsequent name. Pimm's began large-scale production in 1851 to keep up with sales to other bars. The distillery began selling it commercially in 1859 using hawkers on bicycles. In 1865, Pimm sold the business and the right to use his name to Frederick Sawyer. In 1880, the business was acquired by future Lord Mayor of London Horatio Davies, and a chain of Pimm's Oyster Houses was franchised in 1887.

Over the years, Pimm's extended their range, using other spirits as bases for new "cups". In 1851, Pimm's No. 2 Cup and Pimm's No. 3 Cup were introduced. After World War II, Pimm's No. 4 Cup was invented, followed by Pimm's No. 5 Cup and Pimm's No. 6 Cup in the 1960s.

The brand fell on hard times in the 1970s and 1980s. The Oyster House chain was sold and Pimm's Cup products Nos. 2 to 5 were phased out due to reduced demand in 1970 after new owners The Distillers Company had taken control. The Distillers Company was subsequently purchased by Guinness PLC in 1986 and Pimm's became part of Diageo when Guinness and Grand Metropolitan merged in 1997. In 2005, Pimm's introduced Pimm's Winter Cup, which consists of Pimm's No. 3 Cup (the brandy-based variant) infused with spices and orange peel.

Serving

It has a dark-brown colour with a reddish tint, and tastes subtly of spice and citrus fruit. As a summer long drink, it is also commonly served with "English-style" (clear and carbonated) lemonade, as well as various chopped garnishes, particularly apples, cucumber, oranges, lemons, strawberry, and mint or borage, though nowadays most substitute mint. Ginger ale is a common substitute for lemonade. Pimm's can also be mixed with Champagne (or a sparkling white wine), called a "Pimm's Royal Cup". Pimm's Winter Cup is generally mixed with warm apple juice.

Pimm's is most popular in England, particularly southern England. It is one of the two staple drinks at the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the Chelsea Flower Show, the Henley Royal Regatta and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera – the other being Champagne. A Pimm's is also the standard cocktail at British and American polo matches. It is also extremely popular at the summer garden parties of British universities.

The brand experienced a revival following a 2003 advertising campaign featuring a humorous classic upper-class Hooray Henry called Harry Fitzgibbon-Sims (portrayed by Alexander Armstrong) with the catchphrase It's Pimm's O'clock!, somewhat mocking their own traditional advertising and appeal. Diageo's 2010 campaign features a more diverse range of characters representing different elements of the Pimm's cocktail (Pimm's No.1 being an Englishman in red and white blazer, lemonade being three young women in yellow, ice represented by a mature man), coming together to the theme tune of 1970s British television show The New Avengers.

Products

Seven Pimm's products have been produced, all fruit cups, differing only in their base alcohol: Only Nos. 1, 6, and a 'Winter Cup' based on No. 3 remain.

Pimm's No. 1 has also been sold with additional strawberry or blackberry and elderflower flavouring.

Imitators

Some retailers have marketed "Pimms style" drinks under other names. In the UK, these have included Aldi's "Austin's", Lidl's "Jeeves", and Sainsbury's "Pitchers".

Amateur reconstructions

While Pimm's only officially made fruit cups numbering 1-6, in recent years various bartenders have started to experiment with their own Pimm's-style drinks using different bases. A popular spirit to use as "Pimm's No. 7" is tequila although cups based on bourbon, absinthe and Islay whisky also exist.