It's Pimm's o'clock!

Well, summer is more or less upon us, and that can mean only one thing: refreshing cocktails. For me, last summer was "the summer of gin", with many still, humid evenings passed with a gin and tonic in hand. This summer, it would appear that the household is branching even further into late nineteenth century colonial British territory and has purchased a bottle of Pimm's. No, not those delicious, jam-filled cookies, but a sort of tonic one drinks while watching one's cricket match. Or else while relaxing in one's pith helmet after a long day of big game hunting under the hot African sun.

Mixing up a Pimm's is just about as easy as it gets. And you can change it up to suit your mood, the weather, and the availability of ingredients (except of course the main ingredient, the Pimm's). It's not really worth a recipe, as the basic cocktail is given on the back of the bottle, but I wanted to post about it to get the Pimm's word out there. It's actually one of the best summer cocktails. Like, ever.

So herewith I present to you Pimm's, in all it's glory.

A perfectly Pimm's cocktail

(All ingredients, except the Pimm's, are more or less optional)

1 part Pimm's No. 1 Cup

2 parts tonic water, lemonade, sparkling lemonade or soda water

A shot of gin

A few slices each of cucumber, orange, lemon, strawberries, apple (or any combination of the above)

A few leaves of mint, torn into medium-sized pieces

A few borage flowers, if available

Ice

• Put all the fruit and veg in the bottom of your serving jug
• Add lots of ice
• Measure out 1/3 of the total remaining volume of your jug in Pimm's. Add to jug
• Add gin, if using
• Fill the jug the rest of the way with tonic water, lemonade or soda water
• Mix gently, but well
• Garnish with mint and borage
• Serve. As far as I can tell, appropriate Pimm's glasses include a highball glass, a Collins glass, a large wine glass (with or without stem), an iced tea glass or (and this may be pushing it) a champagne coupe. Make sure that each glass gets at least one of each kind of sliced fruit/veg and some ice.
• Put on your pith helmet, cricket whites and/or handlebar mustache, sit outside somewhere sunny and enjoy the drink that my dad calls "thoroughly civilised"