Sunday Drinking: 30 April

A cava fit for a king and Jane MacQuitty’s cheat Pimm’s

No, you’re not going insane, it is Monday today but for various reasons mainly about attempting to toilet train our youngest daughter, Sunday Drinking has been delayed. But at least for readers in Britain, it’s a public holiday today so it feels like a Sunday even if it’s technically a Monday.

Right, I’m glad we got that one out of the way. Today’s drinking is, inevitably, coronation-themed ahead of next Saturday’s event. It’s an event you can’t ignore, our local supermarket has a special aisle devoted to it with all kinds of celebratory drinks and snacks including Tyrrell’s Coronation Chicken crisps - which taste uncannily like actual coronation chicken. What a fascinating modern age we live in

Makes the heart soar, doesn’t it? (Image courtesy of KP Snacks)

.On the day itself we’re visiting an old friend in Lewisham who loves entertaining. He hosted a similar party for the wedding of Harry and Meghan, and look how well that turned out. Usually the wine of choice would be Aldi’s Cremant du Jura but I had a panicked email from mein host saying it was sold out, what did I suggest? Well as luck would have it I had just completed a tasting article on cava for BBC Good Food magazine. A few years ago, this would have been a dispiriting exercise but I was pleasantly surprised by just how nice some of them were. The Mas Miralda Brut from ASDA is only £7 and you get a lot of sophistication for your money. So while you should really be drinking something fancy and English, this is what I’ll be actually drinking. 

I imagine I’ll be drinking a lot of this over the summer. The other thing I’ll be putting away is Jane MacQuitty’s Pimms substitute which is so much tastier than the insipid-tasting real thing. Pimm’s dates back to the mid-19th century and was originally served at an oyster bar in the City of London owned by a certain James Pimm. It was a mixture of gin with a secret blend of liqueurs and spices. A bit like KFC. This gin-based one was known as Pimm’s No.1 Cup and it was joined over the years by lots of other numbers based on other spirits, like No.2 which was made with Scotch whisky and No.6 with vodka.

James Pimm died in 1866 and the brand had various owners before it was acquired by the Distillers Company (which became Diageo) in 1986, by which time it was decidedly unfashionable. At some point in the ‘80s, its new owners did away with everything apart from No.1 cup and lowered its alcohol content to 25% ABV. Many customers have never got over it. I had an uncle who would always insist on an extra shot of gin in his Pimm’s, which vastly improved it. He’d also ask for ginger ale rather than lemonade. 

1:2:2 - the perfect ratio

The problem with Pimm’s is that with its moderate alcohol and the way it’s often served in pubs, drowning in fruit and lemonade, that it doesn’t taste of very much beyond a vaguely fruity sort of taste. For those who prefer a bit more fire in their Summer Cup, there are now all kinds of Pimm’s substitutes available or you can make your own at home, thanks to some fearless detective work by Jane MacQuitty from The Times. She writes: “Working out the secret recipe ‘known only to six people’ was easy-peasy. You do not have to have a super-palate to deduce that gin, along with the rich, dark, seductive orangey spice of orange Curaçao, is the principal ingredient of Pimm’s No 1. Way back when I was a baby wine writer, I visited Booth’s Gin distillery and innocently inquired about the drums of orange Curaçao propped up against the blending room wall. I was told that they were the basis for Pimm’s. Since then it has merely been a matter of fine-tuning my recipe, including red vermouth, along with the orange Curaçao, to enhance the herby, slightly bitter element of this elegant gin sling”.

She came up with her own version as a reaction against the lower alcohol Pimm’s: “Ever since Pimm’s did the dirty in the 1980s and again in the 1990s, raising the price and reducing the alcohol content of what it erroneously describes as ‘the original No.1 Cup’ to a measly 25% and thus ruining a great classic English summer drink, I have fought back.” You tell ‘em!

The ratio she came up with was 2:2:1 of gin, sweet vermouth, and orange Curaçao. In the days before the internet, MacQuitty publishing her ‘cheat’s Pimm’s’ was an annual event meaning that summer had officially begun. I’ve been reading her recipe for years but only last summer got round to making it. And the result? Well, it’s delicious, tasting like Pimm’s but with everything, alcohol, juniper and bitter orange, all amped up. Much better. It’s even better served with a good ginger beer like Fentimans, a slice of orange, a strawberry, and a sprig of mint. But don’t go mad with the fruit, you don’t want it going all soggy. If you’re going for lemonade, make sure you buy one that is made with real sugar rather than disgusting artificial sweetener. Or you can make an instant natural lemonade with the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoon of sugar and fizzy water. 

The best thing about the DIY fruit cup is you can make your own versions. I’m particularly keen on a decadent version where I’ve swapped the gin for cognac. It’s so good that I’m just drinking with a splash of fizzy water, ice and a orange twist.

Cin cin!