Name: Pimm's Cups for a Crowd
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 20 ounces Pimm’s No.1; 8 ounces recipe; 5 lemons (1 sliced thin, 4 juiced to yield 6 ounces), plus lemon slices for garnishing; 1 English cucumber , sliced thin, divided; ½ cup fresh mint leaves , chopped, plus mint sprigs for garnishing; 32 ounces seltzer , chilled; Strawberries

Why This Recipe Works

A Pimm's cup is made by combining Pimm's No.1 with English-style lemonade (which is clear and sparkling, with a well-judged sweet-sour balance). It should always be lavishly garnished with fruit. The closest substitute for the lemonade we could find in the United States was lemon-lime soda or ginger ale, but neither passed muster, as both distracted from the spiced, caramelized orange flavor of the Pimm's. Making our own lemonade from Simple Syrup, fresh lemon juice, and seltzer gave us much better results—clean, balanced, and bright. We infused our Pimm's mixture in a pitcher with some fresh lemon slices, cucumber, and mint, garnishing each drink with more of the same. In order to keep the drink sparkling, we gently stirred in the seltzer just before serving. The strawberry is a traditional (and properly British) garnish.

Instructions

Combine Pimm’s, simple syrup, lemon slices and juice, half of cucumber, and mint in serving pitcher or large container. Cover and refrigerate until flavors meld and mixture is well chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

Gently stir seltzer into Pimm’s mixture. Serve in chilled collins glasses filled with ice, garnishing individual portions with extra lemon slice, remaining cucumber slices, mint sprig, and strawberry.