Pimm’s Cup
A Pimm’s Cup is 50ml of Pimm’s No. 1 and 150ml of cold, clear, fizzy lemonade, built over ice in a highball glass with cucumber, strawberry and orange, and a sprig of mint on top. One part to three. About 1.3 UK units. In Britain, lemonade means the clear, sparkling kind sold in bottles, not the still, cloudy lemon drink an American recipe means by the word. That is what this drink takes. Still lemonade makes a flat, sour cup. Pimm’s No. 1 is a gin-based fruit cup at 25% ABV, flavoured to a recipe the brand does not publish. James Pimm served it at his oyster bar in the City of London, and bottled production began in 1851. One part to three is the serve Pimm’s owner, Diageo, publishes, and the fruit goes in the glass, not on the rim.
Glassware: Highball Glass
Garnish: Cucumber ribbons or rounds built into the glass with the ice, Strawberries hulled and halved, dropped in with the ice, Orange slice in the glass with the ice, not perched on the rim and Mint sprig slapped and seated in the top of the glass
Ingredients
50ml
A gin-based fruit cup at 25% ABV (some UK bottles are 22%), red-brown, with orange peel and spice. The brand keeps the recipe to itself.
150ml
British lemonade: clear, fizzy and cold, freshly opened. Not still or cloudy lemonade, which makes a flat, sour drink.
Instructions
Fill a highball glass with cubed ice, adding slices of cucumber, halved strawberries and an orange slice as you go.
Pour in the Pimm’s No. 1.
Top with the lemonade and stir once, gently.
Slap a sprig of mint between your palms and seat it in the top of the glass.
Source: the producer's own published serve (Pimm’s (Diageo)). Last checked 10 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Use clear, sparkling British lemonade, opened fresh. Fizz is the only thing in the glass that goes off, and a bottle that has stood open in the fridge makes a flat cup. Keep to one part Pimm’s to three of lemonade. Longer and it tastes of squash; shorter and the herbal bitterness takes over. Put the fruit in with the ice, not on the rim. Under the surface it scents the drink; piled on top it blocks the pour and leaves the last third a fruit salad.
Behind the Pimm’s Cup
Flavour Profile
James Pimm’s Oyster Bar
James Pimm, a farmer’s son from Kent, kept an oyster bar in the City of London, near the Bank of England, in the first half of the nineteenth century. He served a gin drink of his own there as an aid to digestion, in a small tankard known as a No. 1 Cup.
Large-scale production began in 1851. Later cups were numbered by base: No. 2 on Scotch, No. 3 on brandy, No. 4 on rum, No. 5 on rye and No. 6 on vodka. The gin cup is the one still sold everywhere.
British Lemonade
In Britain, lemonade is a clear, sparkling soft drink. In the United States the word means a still drink of lemon juice, sugar and water. The Pimm’s Cup is built for the British kind: the fizz lifts the fruit and herbs, and the sweetness meets the bitter orange in the Pimm’s.
Ginger ale is the usual alternative, drier and spicier. A mix of half lemonade and half soda water gives a less sweet cup with the same lift.
What the Fruit Does
Cucumber cools the herbal edge of the Pimm’s and is the oldest pairing in the glass. Orange matches the peel already in the bottle. Strawberry adds scent more than flavour. Mint, slapped to release its oil, sits where every sip passes it.
Keep the pieces large and the list short. A glass packed with fruit slows the pour and soaks up the lemonade.
The Brand’s Serve and Ours
Diageo’s published Pimm’s No. 1 and Lemonade beside ours
Pimm’s No. 1
- Diageo’s serve
- 50ml
- Ours
- 50ml
Lemonade
- Diageo’s serve
- 150ml
- Ours
- 150ml, clear and sparkling
Glass
- Diageo’s serve
- Tall glass of ice cubes
- Ours
- Highball of ice cubes
Fruit
- Diageo’s serve
- Strawberry, cucumber and orange, added after stirring
- Ours
- Cucumber, strawberry and orange, layered in with the ice
Garnish
- Diageo’s serve
- Mint sprig
- Ours
- Mint sprig, slapped
Jug
- Diageo’s serve
- 250ml Pimm’s to 500ml lemonade
- Ours
- One to three, as for a glass
UK units
- Diageo’s serve
- About 1.3 a glass
- Ours
- About 1.3
| Element | Diageo’s serve | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Pimm’s No. 1 | 50ml | 50ml |
| Lemonade | 150ml | 150ml, clear and sparkling |
| Glass | Tall glass of ice cubes | Highball of ice cubes |
| Fruit | Strawberry, cucumber and orange, added after stirring | Cucumber, strawberry and orange, layered in with the ice |
| Garnish | Mint sprig | Mint sprig, slapped |
| Jug | 250ml Pimm’s to 500ml lemonade | One to three, as for a glass |
| UK units | About 1.3 a glass | About 1.3 |
How to Serve It
Cold at every step: a chilled glass, plenty of ice and lemonade from a fresh bottle. A jug suits a table, with the lemonade added just before pouring. At about 1.3 units a glass it is gentler than most cocktails, but it still counts.
For gin and lemon lengthened with soda, make a Tom Collins; for a wine-based jug, a Sangria.
Make it at home
The Spirit
Pimm’s No. 1Pimm’s No. 1 Cup is a gin-based fruit cup flavoured with orange, herbs and spice, at 25% ABV, though some UK bottles are now 22%. UK listings call it a spirit drink, not a liqueur. James Pimm made it for his London oyster bar, the brand dates it to 1840, and it is built to be lengthened: one part to three of lemonade is the Pimm’s Cup.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ratio for a Pimm’s Cup?
What kind of lemonade goes in a Pimm’s?
What is in Pimm’s No. 1?
Where does the Pimm’s Cup come from?
Can I make Pimm’s in a jug?
Can I use ginger ale instead of lemonade?
How strong is a Pimm’s Cup?
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Tom Collins
A Tom Collins is 60ml London Dry gin, 30ml fresh lemon juice and 15ml sugar syrup built over ice in a collins glass, topped with 90ml of cold soda and stirred once, with a lemon slice and a cherry. It is a collins in the plainest sense: spirit, citrus and sugar, topped with soda. The name comes from the Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874, when people in New York and Pennsylvania were told that a man called Tom Collins was nearby, saying things about them. There was no Tom Collins. The drink the name attached to was older: London tradition credits John Collins, head waiter at Limmer’s on Conduit Street, with a gin drink of the same shape. Early recipes used Dutch genever, and Old Tom gin came into them later; the IBA still specifies Old Tom for a Tom Collins. This version uses London Dry for a drier, sharper drink, and the Old Tom version follows as a variation.
Sangria
Sangria, by the glass, is 120ml of young red wine, 25ml of brandy, 30ml of fresh orange juice, 15ml of fresh lemon juice and 15ml of simple syrup, rested in the fridge with sliced orange and apple, then poured over ice in a wine glass. About 2.6 UK units a glass. A 750ml bottle makes about six. Rest it for at least an hour, overnight if you can, and never past a day. The fruit gives up sugar and oil to the wine and takes up wine and brandy in return; after a day it starts to break down and the citrus dulls. The name comes from sangre, blood, for the colour. Every household in Spain and Portugal fills the recipe differently, with cava in some and peaches in others, and these measures claim only the proportions. Ours has no soda or lemonade: it is wine, brandy, citrus and time.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026