Belly Up: Pimm’s Cup

A British Sipper By Way of Savannah

Balmy Southern summers call for thirst-quenching cocktails. Enter Pimm’s Cup, the eponymous tipple of a British gin-based liqueur concocted in 1823. With the addition of cucumber, mint, and soda—sometimes substituted with ginger ale—the drink took off in southern England (it’s the Wimbledon equivalent of the Kentucky Derby’s mint julep). Across the pond, Pimm’s Cup became a choice cocktail among New Orleans’ bon vivant set in the mid-twentieth century when French Quarter watering hole Napoleon House started serving them. To cut through the season’s signature heat and humidity, we asked Savannah, Georgia, bartenders Cal Momyer and Ian Kesson of Artillery to craft their take on the classic. The riff forgoes cucumber and mint in favor of watermelon, blood orange, and thyme.

Classic Pimm’s Cup

Hussar’s Calvary Pimm’s

Miyagi’s Pimm’s