Mix it up: Why you should forget about tomorrow’s election and give Pimms your vote instead
Tomorrow you’ll be able to decide who leads our great country. Of course, you won’t actually decide anything at all, with the chances of your vote mattering somewhere between zip, zilch and zero. There may be a better way of getting what you want – as Gandhi is (wrongly) thought to have said: “Be the change you want to see in this world.”
That’s exactly what Alistair Troughton of insurance firm Hampden Capital did. Last year, when Pimms (owned by Diageo) decided to wind up its vodka-based version, Troughton spoke truth to power, spearheading a campaign that eventually convinced mighty Diageo to change tack. It will return to shelves and bars at the end of this month.
The gin-based Pimms No.1 is by far the most popular base for a Pimms cocktail but it hasn’t always been the only option. The brand has undertaken a number of guises over the years: with a base of whisky (No.2), brandy (No.3), rum (No.4), rye (No.5) and vodka (No.6). And recently, we have seen a brandy-based Winter Warmer and a vodka-based Blackberry & Elderflower.
City stalwart Angus Campbell, who helped Troughton bring No. 6 back, suggests you serve it in a similar way to the usual Pimms. He recommends a healthy measure of Pimms No.6 over ice, fruit (sliced apple, strawberries, cucumber etc), a splash of Angostura Bitters, topped up with lemonade or ginger beer and garnished with mint. Many like the taste because it’s drier and less sweet than Pimms No.1.
Recent summers have been dominated by Campari and Aperol Spritz. Both are useful additions to the pantheon of warm-weather cocktails but we shouldn’t forget our heritage. This summer, make it a glass of Pimms – a bottle of No.6 should do the trick.