Pimm's

For 1 Pimm’s:

• 2 oz Pimm’s No. 1
• 3½ oz very cold seltzer
• ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz simple syrup
• 3–4 cucumber slices
• 1 orange slice
• 2 strawberries, halved or quartered
• 6–8 mint leaves
• Lots of ice

Do this:

1. Make the lemonade separately. Stir together:

   • ¾ oz lemon juice
   • ½ oz simple syrup
   • 3½ oz very cold seltzer

   Taste it. You want lemony and lightly sweet, not lemonade-stand sweet.

2. Fill a large highball/pint glass completely with ice.
3. Add:
   • cucumber
   • orange
   • strawberries
   • mint
4. Pour in 2 oz Pimm's.
5. Add your homemade lemonade.
6. Very gently stir once or twice.
7. Finish with a generous mint sprig and, if you're feeling properly Chiswick-pub about it, a long cucumber ribbon.

One important tweak

Don't use a ton of lemon juice. This is where homemade Pimm's often goes wrong. You're not making a lemon cocktail. The lemon should be there to recreate the tang of British lemonade, while the Pimm's remains the dominant flavor.

And don't muddle the mint or fruit. London pub Pimm's should taste fresh and aromatic, not like a fruit mojito.