CLASSICS
Pip-pip for Pimm’s THE TRADITIONAL BRITISH COCKTAIL TO SERVE AT YOUR NEXT GARDEN PART Y OR ROYAL WEDDING DO by Joanne Sasvari The first time I had Pimm’s Cup, I was in the Costwolds, visiting friends of friends, and I was baffled. Why, I wondered, were these nice strangers handing me what appeared to be a glass filled with fruit salad and cola?
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Little did I know that Pimm’s is a grand British tradition like double decker buses, cream teas and cricket whites. And as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle head to the altar on May 19 for the first of this year’s two royal weddings (the other is Princess Eugenie’s nuptials on Oct. 12),
it seemed like a good time to revisit this classic English cocktail. A “cup” is essentially a punch, though typically lower in alcohol than most punches and based on wine or cider rather than spirits. Cups were once all the rage, especially for drinks enjoyed early in the day when, say, riding to the hounds. But today, the most famous, if not the only, cup we know of is the Pimm’s Cup. It is typically a mix of Pimm’s No. 1 and fizzy lemonade garnished with slices of
