There’s nothing like wasting away an afternoon over Pimm’s Cup at the Napoleon House in New Orlean’s French quarter. The house is a two hundred year old weather worn gem, so named, because it was offered to Napoleon as a place of exile in 1821. Alas, he chose the more temperate Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. It’s a shame, because no doubt he would have brought a culinary team, and we wouldn’t have had to suffer through a hundred and fifty years of mistakes like tuna casserole.
Even without the short statured egomaniac in residence, the name stuck, and an afternoon at the Napoleon House is still a great spot for temporary personal exile. Watching folks suck down Muffaletta and Po boys and drinking a few glasses of Pimm’s is the quintessence of summer.
Pimms #1 is a gin based liquor invented in the 1840’s by London oyster bar owner James Pimm. It’s was the first concoction brewed in James Pimm’s tankard #1. Pimm subsequently brewed five other varieties based on different spirits, but only Pimms’s #1 and Pimms #6 (vodka) are still brewed today. Pimm’s #1 has an ice tea like tint with spice and citrus flavors. This base serves as a refreshing summer drink, Pimms Cup, that’s so smooth you won’t realize how drunk you are until you try to get up from your barstool.
If you’re looking to brew something up for Memorial Day or any lazy day this summer, here’s a recipe:
Start with an ice filled pitcher, cut up a half cup each of cucumber, orange, and lemon slices and throw in the pitcher.
Fill the pitcher with:
6 parts high quality lemonade (Newman’s Own is great)
2 parts Pimm’s #1
1 part 7-UP
Take a pint glass or high ball, garnish with more cucumber, orange, and lemon slices, and fill to the brim with the mix.
Variations on this recipe include garnishing with mint, adding apple slices, or substituting ginger ale for 7-UP. This is a really flexible drink, and experimenting with any citrus additions should prove successful. Enjoy.
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Cynthia
As a member of the Napoleonic Alliance, it was requisite that I stop in at the Napoleon House and raise a cup of cheer to l’Empereur. However, interestingly, the first place I tried Pimm’s #1 Cup was in the liquor department of Marshall Field’s on State Street. I even got the special pitcher for mixing it with my first purchase.
Barry Strum
I’ve languished @ Napoleon House many times…………..ideally, either just after a rain shower, sitting at one of the streetside tables, with the louvered doors/shutters drawn back. The other is on a humid evening (in other words, every night) listening to the classical jukebox. Both times over a Pimm’s Cup or a series of Dixies.
I wonder if anyone has attempted to capitalize on the gin -based provenance, sent Pimms into a martini shaker with plenty of ice, added a cork passing amount of sweet vermouth or bitters, shaken to get it all cold, and then strained into a martini glass garnished with the cucumber slice. This needs to be lab-tested.
Barry Strum
Cincinnati, Ohio
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