45 ml Gin, 15 ml Maraschino liqueur, 15 ml Lemon juice, 7.5 ml Crème de violette, 1 Maraschino cherry
Dr Pimpers
Pimm's and Dr Pepper, one to three. Trust us, and then trust us again.
Ingredients
- 50 ml Jigger The large side of a standard jigger, filled to the top: 50 ml, with 25 ml on the other side. Pimm's No. 1 - One part - Pimm's No. 1, straight from the fridge
- 150 ml Jigger Three large sides (3 x 50 ml) of a standard jigger. Dr Pepper - Three parts - cold, and poured gently to keep the fizz
- 5 ml Spoons A teaspoon. Lime juice - A small squeeze, which keeps the sweetness in its place
- 1 ribbon Cucumber ribbon
- 1 slice Orange slice (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- 50 ml Pimm's over ice, 150 ml cold Dr Pepper, a squeeze of lime, cucumber in.
Method
- Fill a highball glass with ice and let it chill for a minute.
- Pour in the Pimm's, then the squeeze of lime juice.
- Top with the cold Dr Pepper, pouring down the inside of the glass so the bubbles survive.
- Stir once - once - and coil a ribbon of cucumber against the glass.
- Add a slice of orange on the rim if you like, and drink it while it is still fizzy.
Serve it
Dr Pimpers
This is the cabin's own drink, made the way a good idea usually happens: two things in the fridge that had no business being near each other, and one curious evening. Pimm's is bittersweet, herbal and full of orange and cucumber; Dr Pepper is sweet, spiced and tastes faintly of cherry and almond. Put together, they do something neither does alone - the spice of the soda meets the herbs in the cup, the cucumber keeps it fresh, and the whole thing ends up tasting like a long, cheerful, faintly medicinal summer drink.
Getting it right
The proportion is the recipe, so here it is plainly: one part Pimm's to three parts Dr Pepper - 50 ml of Pimm's, 150 ml of fizzy pop, in a glass full of ice. At one to two it is too sweet and the Dr Pepper runs over the top of the Pimm's; at one to four the fruit cup disappears and you have paid for a soft drink. One to three is the sweet spot.
Two small things matter. Squeeze in a little lime - about 5 ml - which lifts the sweetness just enough to keep the drink from being a dessert. And cool both bottles properly before you start: this is a fizzy drink, and warm Pimm's with cold soda is a flat drink by the second sip. Cucumber is not decoration here either; it is the same cucumber that makes a Pimm's Cup taste like a Pimm's Cup, and it is doing the same job.
Tasting notes
Cherry and cola first, then the orange-and-herb bitterness of the Pimm's arriving underneath, then cool cucumber and a long, spicy, gently sweet finish. There is nothing else quite like it, which is rather the point.
Serve it in a tall glass, with plenty of ice, to somebody who says they do not like Pimm's.
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