Pimm’s has been a previous Sugar + Shake Current Obsession, and when I wrote about it back then I mentioned that there was a vodka-based blackberry and elderflower flavor of the “fruit cup” liqueur that I one day hoped to get my hands on. Well, last month we were browsing at Tamura’s Fine Wine & Liquors and I spotted two pretty bottles of Pimm’s Blackberrry & Elderflower on the shelf. One of them came home with me.
And yes, it’s exactly as delightfully yummy as you might imagine. The serving suggestion on the back of the bottle says to combine two ounces of Pimm’s and four of lemonade. I wanted to be properly Britishy, so I bought some Fentimans Victorian Lemonade.
The lemonade is extremely tart and very slightly fizzy (not nearly as fizzy as club soda or 7-Up, though) so it makes a great match for the sweet, fruity Pimm’s.
The whole thing is a quite refreshing drink. Shake likes it so much that every weekend he’s been suggesting we have a Pimm’s on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. (I was a little surprised—I thought he might feel it was too sweet, but he really likes the tartness of the lemonade and the dark fruit flavor of the Pimm’s.)
Pimm’s is rather low in alcohol; mixed with the lemonade it’s a good afternoon long drink. But maybe you might want to punch it up a bit. I had a couple of friends over for pre-dinner drinks and instead of serving the two-to-one lemonade-Pimm’s mix, I added two ounces of Pimm’s Blackberry & Elderflower and an ounce of vodka in a champagne flute, topped it with the Fentimans lemonade and gave it a brisk stir. It made for a nice celebratory drink, but not too boozy.
We still have more than half the bottle left, but I’ve already procured another bottle—just in case they stop carrying it! Yes, we’re that obsessed.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention—this stuff is such a beautiful rich shade of red…and it stains like a mother. In the time it takes to grab a sponge, it stained our kitchen counter. Mr. Clean Magic Sponge to the rescue.
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