Summer is in full swing, and we all know what that means. It’s hot and only going to get hotter. This makes it the perfect time to begin creating your list of cool and refreshing libations for the warm months ahead. I want to start with the Pimm’s Cup. It’s a New Orleans staple and like bread pudding, this tasty drink travelled all the way from London to be received by New Orleans with open arms. The Pimm’s Cup dates back to the 1840’s when the proprietor of an oyster bar in London, James Pimm, invented the drink using gin and a secret mixture of herbs. He promoted it as being a medicinal tonic that improved one’s digestion. It was served in a tankard referred to as a No. 1 cup, thus the name. According to Jessica Bride in her article for “Food Politic” titled ‘The Real History of Summer’s Favorite Drink- Pimm’s Cup’, Pimm’s No. 1 once had six different, numbered variations using Scotch Whiskey, Brandy, rum, rye whisky or vodka as its base. Most of these did not stand the test of time, but the one that began it all is still very popular in London and in New Orleans. The rest of the world, not so much.
No one knows exactly how the Pimm’s Cup came to our fair city, but it’s widely accepted that 100 years after it was created, in the 1940’s, the Napoleon House in the French Quarter began serving it and made it one of New Orleans’ signature drinks. Just as it is with cooking, there are many different ways to approach making this concoction. The Napoleon House uses lemonade and a splash of 7up to give it extra kick. I stopped by the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone last night to sample their version which incorporates simple syrup with strawberries, cucumber and lemon juice. It was perfect after walking there from the Orpheum Theater on a hot and humid night. Some add lime and mint to all the other fruit. The ratio is usually 1 part Pimm’s No. 1 to 3 parts simple syrup, soda water, lemonade or whatever you choose to mix with it. Whether you start with a glass or a pitcher, first add the fruit and ice. The fruit can be sliced or muddled. No matter what combination of ingredients you use, this drink is always a thirst quencher.
One of my favorite mixologists, Brandon Dawson of Express Catering, shared his recipe. It’s delightful, and I absolutely love it. I hope you will too!
BRANDON DAWSON’S PIMM’S CUP RECIPE
Ingredients:
1. 2 ounces of Pimm’s No 1 (a gin-based liqueur)
2. 3 ounces of Sprite, 7up or ginger ale
3. 2 cucumber slices
4. 2 strawberry slices
5. 2 orange slices
6. 2 lemon slices
7. Mint
Directions:
Combine the produce in a highball glass. Fill the glass with ice. Add 2 ounces of Pimm’s No. 1. Top with 3 ounces of sprite, 7up, or ginger ale. Garnish with a lemon and orange wheel.
To kick it up a notch, muddle the produce, add an ounce of gin and top it off with champagne instead of the sprite, 7up or ginger ale.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Sounds Great. I went to my neighborhood bar, but the bartender did not know what I was talking about. I whipped out my phone and she made me one. It was pretty good. Thanks for the great idea.
Glad you tried it and thanks for the feedback!