Recipe: Creating a Pimm's Rangoon Cocktail

Anyone who's ever come over to our house knows that Sean is a bartender extraordinaire. Today, in honor of Wimbledon, I asked him to help me make one of my favorite drinks, the Pimm's Rangoon (a slightly modified version of the Pimm's Cup). This drink is so delicious, I had to share my experience making one!

The Pimm’s Cup is the official drink of Wimbledon. It’s a refreshing summer concoction that hits the spot whether you’re watching tennis, at a picnic, or lounging by the pool. The main ingredient is Pimm’s No. 1, a gin-based liqueur infused with spices and other botanicals. (There used to be Pimm’s Nos. 2-6 as well, but the original was the best, and today it’s is the only one still made year-round.)

I’ll leave it to Wimbledon to tell you the official recipe for the official Pimm’s Cup, but I want to show you a modified Pimm’s Cup called a Pimm’s Rangoon, developed by the talented bartenders at the Violet Hour bar in Chicago (if you haven't been, go just for the handcrafted cocktails!). The recipe is not complicated, and does not call for too many exotic ingredients, but presumes you have a basic bar already set up. You will need a shaker, a strainer, and a muddler at a minimum, though a soda siphon and a conical sieve help too.

Here’s the list of ingredients:

• 1 fl. oz. Pimm’s No. 1
• 1 fl. oz. London Dry Gin
• ¾ fl. oz. Simple Syrup* (or Ginger Syrup if you like a kick and can find it or make it)
• ¾ fl. oz. Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 Mint Sprig (save a leaf for a garnish)
• 3 Cucumber Slices (plus one more slice for a garnish)
• ½ Strawberry (and the other ½ for a garnish)
• Soda Water to top

And here’s how you make it:

1. Prep your produce by cutting the cucumber into slices and halving the strawberry (if you like more strawberry, go for it, but you run the risk of overwhelming the cooling flavor of the cuke), Pick a healthy sprig of mint, and pluck all the leaves. Save the prettiest mint leaf for a garnish.

2. Place the cucumber, strawberry and mint leaves into your shaker. Add the gin. Use the muddler to mash up the cucumber and the strawberry and bruise the mint.

3. Add the rest of the liquid ingredients to the shaker, add a handful of ice, and shake shake shake for at least 20 seconds.

4. Pop the top of your shaker and strain into a cocktail glass using the Hawthorne strainer. If you have one, double strain the cocktail with the conical sieve when you pour to catch all of the pulp from the produce. It’s okay if you don’t double strain, but it looks nicer if you do.

5. Add a spritz of soda to top your cocktail. How much to add is up to your tastes. I like just a little, but a friend of mine likes to make this drink in a Collins glass and fill it with soda to the top like a cooler. You decide!

6. Put slits in a slice of cucumber and a half a strawberry and perch them on the rim of the glass. Take that last pretty mint leaf and float it on the drink. Your end product should look something like the first photo in this post, and I'm hoping it tastes as good as that one did.

Enjoy!

x, Tam (and Sean)

*Note: simple syrup can be purchased, but it is easily made for pennies at home by boiling together sugar and water in a 1:1 ratio until dissolved. Ginger syrup is a little harder to get your hands on. The company Ginger People sells a nice product which can be picked up at larger Whole Foods Markets, or you can make your own by juicing fresh ginger, and then boiling it with sugar in a 1:1 ratio. FYI, ginger syrup is also great mixed with soda water over ice with a squeeze of lime.