As a super-fan of Downton Abbey, I was excited for the kickoff of Julian Fellowes’ new series Belgravia, set in 1840s London. As a result it has much more epic sets than Downton, but just as wonderful story and characters. And of course, there was a great historical culinary reference in the second episode, which just aired last night.
Mr. James Pimm and his delightful summer cocktail, the Pimm’s cup No. 1.
Lady Brockenhurst’s nephew and presuming heir, the philandering John Bellasis, walks into a pub in London called Mr. Pimm’s Chophouse to meet his father for luncheon. And the reference was not lost of this food historian. Of course Mr. Pimm, is the historical James Pimm, the man who introduced the lovely British summer cocktail known as Pimm’s cup # 1 in 1832, a gin based citrusy floral cocktail that Brits still enjoy. The liqueur concoction is typically mixed with lemonade or ginger ale and garnished with an assortment of sliced fruits and herbs. It’s sort of a cousin to our mint julep – a satisfying light summer cocktail that like the julep’s appearance at the Kentucky Derby, and polo matches, Pimm’s appears at the likes of Wimbleton and the Chelsea Flower Show.
But Fellowes took some liberty with the Pimm’s story. It was actually an Oyster House, not a Chop House where James Pimm introduced his secret mix of herbs and liqueurs to patrons with their plates of bivalves. The real Pimm’s Oyster House was near the Bank of England in London’s Financial District, where in the Belgravia story, James Trenchard set up Lady Brockenhurst’s illegitimate grandson and real heir in his thriving cotton business. Fellowes’ using the Pimm’s Chophouse as the meeting place puts it in a working class industrial neighborhood, rather than the hoi polloi financial district. Chophouses were devised in the Industrial era as a quick place for the working class factory men, who didn’t bring their own food, to have their luncheon to fuel up for their long second shift at the factories.
Pimm was born to tenant farmers in Kent – or Yeomen as they are called in the UK – but had moved to London to seek his fortune in the restaurant biz. He soon introduced a Pimm’s Cup 2 and 3 – Scotch and Brandy based drinks – at his London Oyster bar that are no longer available. Pimm started commercial production of his cocktails in 1851 to keep up demand to other bars in London, and then sold the name and license rights in 1866.
The brand went through hard times in the 70s and 80s, and was sold several times. Sincce 1997 it has been owned by Diageo, the company that also owns Guinness. It has revived a Pimm’s Winter Cup of a brandy based cocktail, and various flavored versions of the No. 1 cup, like strawberry, and blackberry with elderflower.
I was first introduced to the Pimm’s cup in college by a group of friends studying at Exeter University in England. It was actually in Brussels, at the house of our friend Birdy, whose father was the English ambassador to Belgium at the time. I had been backpacking through Europe and we all met at Birdy’s parents’ house for a night of frivolity in downtown Brussels. Before going out that night we had a civilized happy hour with Pimm’s cups, which were garnished with sliced cucumber, orange, lime and mint leaves. I’m not really a fan of drinks with large pieces of things immersed in the drink. I’d much rather have something speared and easily removable. But, the drink was so good and refreshing that I fell in love with it. I found it for sale locally and made it my goto the rest of that summer when returning stateside. Recently I found it at the bar at Street City Pub on 6th Street in Downtown Cincy, and it brought back memories of that fantastic summer traipsing across Europe.
dannwoellertthefoodetymologist 