Pimms 70cl £6.24

sprogs

jbro wrote: »

Let us know what price they are charging this year.

Ha ha - found some in the back of the drinks cabinet in the end :j but when I went to the store yesterday SEL said £5.49

sablade

Cheat's Pimms

Mixing a good Cheat's Pimms is easy: just use 40 per cent gin, orange curaao and red vermouth






div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;}

• WINE is all very well, but summer, as many of you have reminded me, is not the same without a long, cool, thirst-quenching glass of the original English gin sling: my Cheat’s Pimm’s recipe. Ever since Pimm’s did the dirty in the 1980s and again in the 1990s, raising the price and reducing the alcohol content of what it erroneously describes as “the original No 1 Cup” to a measly 25 per cent and thus ruining a great classic English summer drink, I have fought back. Working out the secret recipe “known only to six people” was easy-peasy. You do not have to have a super-palate to deduce that gin, along with the rich, dark, seductive orangey spice of orange curaçao, is the principal ingredient of Pimm’s No 1. Way back when I was a baby wine writer, I visited Booths gin distillery and innocently inquired about the drums of orange curaçao propped up against the blending room wall. I was told that they were the basis for Pimm’s. Since then it has merely been a matter of fine-tuning my recipe, including red vermouth, along with the orange curaçao, to enhance the herby, slightly bitter element of this elegant gin sling.
  In recent years finding a decent sparkling lemonade to top up with has been a trial, as R. White’s now tastes way too sweet and saccharine-stashed for my liking. Instead, the clear, sparkling lemonade to go for is the new Schweppes Lemonade Made With Real Lemons (£1.10 for 2 litres), whose 2 per cent lemon juice content does lessen the saccharin effect. Alternatively, try Waitrose Sparkling Lemonade with Spanish Lemon Juice (69p for 2 litres), again the tiny 2 per cent lemon juice content creates a cleaner, less cloyingly frothy drink.
  As the popularity of making Cheat’s Pimm’s has grown, buying orange curaçao has become increasingly difficult, unless you buy it direct from a bar. Bols is the best orange curaçao producer I have found, and although one reader, John Hunt, has successfully used Cointreau and Bols Triple Sec instead, I feel that both lack the essential dark, spicy Pimm’s punch of orange curaçao. So far this summer the only outlets I have found stocking Bols orange curaçao, 50cl, are both in Soho, London W1: Vintage House, 020-7437 2592, £10.90, and Gerry’s 020-7734 4215, £10.95, or you might get lucky and find the last bottle on sale in Unwins for £9.99. If any reader discovers other stockists, please let me know.
  
  Then there is the question of the right gin. Whatever you do, don’t fall for the wishy-washy sub-strength 37.5 per cent gins on sale everywhere. Shame on you, Waitrose, for stocking these: 37.5 per cent gins lack the kick required. Instead, return to the old era of full-throttle, full-flavour 40 per cent gins that your Cheat’s Pimm’s deserves. Sadly my favourite, Matthew Gloag’s gorgeous spicy, 40 per cent London Dry Gin, is now available in only 13 Sainsbury’s stores in Scotland (£11.99), but the Co-op’s junipery and Asda’s orangey 40 per cent versions are creditable substitutes and good value priced at £9.99 and £8.97 respectively.
  
  Given the popularity of Pimm’s, it was only a matter of time before another spirit company launched its own version. And what a disappointment Plymouth Gin’s Classic Fruit Cup is (Waitrose, £12.99). Made from a blend of Bols Dry Orange Curaçao, surprise, surprise, plus Cherry Heering cherry liqueur and Punt e Mes red vermouth along with “pure citrus fruit extracts”, the end result is a strange, smoky, liquorice and almond-scented gin sling with too many bitter, herby notes. It is not what I would expect from a gin sling modelled, like Pimm’s, on the classic early l9th- century English fruit cups.
  Mixing a Cheat’s Pimm’s is easy. All you need is to take a measure of a good strong 40 per cent gin, and for every measure of gin you pour into a tall glass or large jug, add a measure of red vermouth (French or Italian will do), plus a half measure of Bols Orange Curaçao. I like to add a slice each per person of fresh orange, lemon and cucumber and occasionally, if there is a glut of them, a sliced strawberry too. Resist the temptation of gilding the lily and emptying the entire contents of your fruit bowl into your jug. Make certain too that the fruit you use is really fresh and without blemish, as the alcohol will leach out any rotten bits in the fruit and a muddy-tasting mix will be the result. A sprig each of borage and mint is optional but adds some pleasing herby, bosky overtones.
  At large parties I find it helps to make up the base an hour or so before required, so that the flavours can mingle and marry. Then all you have to do just before serving is top up the jug with ice-cold fizzy lemonade, or ginger ale. Here’s to summer.
  jane.macquitty@thetimes.co.uk

cmax41

Thanks for the tip need to buy some

Kellfire

Pitchers is highly recommended, it's very nice. Loads of ice, lemonade and some fruit. I think it might just be nicer than Pimms!

buckrogers

now half price Austins in Aldi's
£2.69

babyx1uk3

Ross_Patzelt wrote: »

Tescos do there own version of JD and tastes the same and its half the price!

do you mean jack daniels by JD? if so what is the tescos own version called as i love jack daniels!

DrFluffy

I love Pimms, and will probably try "pitchers" - so thanks there, but the title of this thread is misleading.

Hannah_H

caitybabes wrote: »

I saw a Pimms substitute at Tesco last night called "Jeeves"... does anyone know if it's any good? It's on offer atm for £4.70 for 70cl so is pretty tempting, but I noticed that the alcohol content was 17.5% abv compared to Pimms 25% abv and wondered if this would make it noticably less tasty or mean that you'd have to use more?

Yep I think Jeeves is pretty good as a copy as well, although didn't notice the difference in alcohol content. I don't think it's any less tasty once you make up a jug and add some fruit. Definitely worth a go for £4.70!

Doc_N

For anyone tempted to try Austin's (the Aldi own-brand copycat) it's half-price at £2.69 at the moment:

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/product_range/2744_10324.htm