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 on Diageo’s UK shop, flavoured to a recipe Diageo calls a secret. Diageo’s The Bar says James Pimm served it as a gin cup at his oyster bars in London in the 1840s, while the Oxford Companion says only the 1912 trademark and that year’s commercial release are confirmed, and that no documentary evidence shows Pimm himself compounded it. One part to three is the ratio Diageo’s The Bar recommends, and in our version 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 on Diageo’s UK shop (LWC lists 22%), red-brown, with orange peel and spice. Diageo calls the recipe a secret.
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 in our experience 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
The Oxford Companion says James Pimm married into a Kent fishmongering family and opened his first oyster bar near Old Billingsgate Market in 1823, moving to Lombard Street near the Bank of England by 1825. Diageo’s The Bar puts him serving a gin cup from his oyster bars in the 1840s, as an aid to digesting the oysters.
The Oxford Companion says the No. 1 Cup was joined at first by a Scotch-based No. 2 and a brandy-based No. 3, and that the heirs of the Davies family, who owned the brand, added rum, rye and vodka cups before selling it to the Distillers Company in the 1950s. Diageo bought it in 1997, the Companion adds. Diageo’s The Bar says the second to fifth cups were discontinued in the 1970s and the sixth in 2021.
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; Diageo’s column follows the recipe on its The Bar site, and the units are our calculation at Pimm’s 25% on that site
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
- Not given on the page we read
- Ours
- One to three, as for a glass
UK units
- Diageo’s serve
- About 1.2 a serving, Diageo’s figure
- 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 | Not given on the page we read | One to three, as for a glass |
| UK units | About 1.2 a serving, Diageo’s figure | 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, and Diageo’s own UK shop, TheBar.com, lists the 70cl bottle at 25% ABV and calls it a gin-based spirit; LWC, a UK wholesaler, lists it at 22%. The Oxford Companion says James Pimm opened an oyster bar near Billingsgate in 1823, and that only the cup’s 1912 trademark and release are confirmed; it is built to be lengthened, and one part to three of lemonade is our 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?
Sources.
Correct as of 19 October 2026.
- The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Anistatia R. Miller and Jared M. Brown), “Pimm’s Cup” (secondary source: James Pimm (1798 to 1866), first oyster bar 1823, Lombard Street by 1825; only the 1912 trademark and release confirmed; Nos. 2 to 6; Distillers Company in the 1950s; Diageo 1997).
- Diageo (The Bar, UK), “Pimm’s No.1 Cup, 70cl” (Diageo’s own UK shop: ABV 25%, volume 70cl; flavours of herbal botanicals, caramelised oranges and warm spices).
- Diageo (The Bar, UK), “Pimm’s No. 1 and Lemonade” (Diageo’s recipe: 50ml Pimm’s, 150ml lemonade, orange, cucumber, strawberry, mint; 1.2 units of alcohol per serving).
- Diageo (The Bar, UK), “10 interesting Pimm’s facts” (Diageo’s article: the 1840s oyster bars; 3:1 ratio, 50ml to 150ml, the same ratio for a jug; the six cups; Nos. 2 to 5 discontinued in the 1970s and No. 6 in 2021; the recipe a secret).
- LWC, “Pimm’s No. 1 Cup 70cl” (UK wholesaler listing: Alcohol By Volume 22%).
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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. Difford’s Guide, a secondary source, reports one account that traces the name to the Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874, in which people in New York were told that a man called Tom Collins had been insulting them and could be found in a bar some distance away. It also gives accounts of a real Mr Collins. The drink the name attached to may be older: Difford’s credits John Collins, head waiter at Limmer’s Hotel on Conduit Street in London, with the Collins. 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. We suggest resting it for at least an hour, overnight if you can, and not 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 is the Spanish word for bloodletting, in its medical sense, by Cambridge’s Spanish-English dictionary. In our experience recipes vary, 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 19 October 2026