Pimm’s No 1 to be exact. Pimm’s isn’t big over here, across the pond. In fact, you are hard pushed to find it anywhere. Some liquor stores carry it, and I don’t often see it in bars over here. So what is it you ask.. Well, it is a gin based alcohol, which tastes slightly of fruit and spice. The traditional way of drinking it is mixed with ice, ginger ale, some mint and a slice of lemon. That is the Pimm’s cup. Absolutely bloody perfect for a hot summers day. It is really hard to describe how it tastes to be honest, a little spice, slightly sweet, and not too alcoholic tasting. You will have to get a bottle and try some! If anything is a typical English beverage, it would be a Pimm’s cup.
Almost all pubs in the south of England will be dolling out this stuff all day long in the summer. It is a great drink to sit in a pub garden on a sunny day, and chat with friends. Ahhh, the English pub. A lot has been written about these I am sure, and for good reason. They are simply fantastic. I miss them. I miss them a great deal. I just haven’t found anything close here in Seattle. Sure, you have some English and Irish “pubs” over here, but they just aren’t the same. The best pubs are in old buildings. Not 80 year old buildings. Five hundred year old buildings! These places have obviously seen a lot of life, a lot of face lifts, and most likely a lot of trades (often a pub would have been something completely different way back when..). All the history just adds a huge amount of character to an English pub. Each and every one is unique, and they all have history. Huge amounts of history.
Pubs are a huge part of English culture, and history. You navigate by pubs (seriously). You ask someone for directions, and you will most likely get “yeah, go down the high street, do a let at the Kings Head, then a right at the Old Vic, if you reach the Horse and Bull then you have gone too far mate”
Whether it is the fact that the ceilings are low, the space is often cramped (compared to American bars), or it feels like you are walking back in time, pubs are just a relaxing place to spend a few hours (until you and your mates have a few drinks down!). Intimate, cozy and an all round good laugh. City pubs are generaly more rambunctious than the small little country ones. Many an entertaining hour can be spent in a pub on the side of the river Thames in London, chatting to people and of course drinking a Pimms cup!
There is something pretty incredible with these old pubs too. Where else could you have a leisurely stroll beside a river, and stop in at a place that has been around for hundreds of years, and sit in the same spot that William Shakespeare drank with his friends many moons ago. Even though the British are considered to have a “stiff upper lip”, that doesn’t matter in the pub.. everyone chats with everyone, drinks flow, and a good time is had by all.
The country pub is something of a completely different breed too. More relaxed. Most are family orientated (yep.. most pubs have a restaurant too, so you can take kids into the pub, just not at the bar), and have large gardens in the back, where you can sit outside, have a drink in the sun, and let your kids run around and make new friends. A perfect Sunday for me was a decent breakfast, and planning a walk through the countryside with a friend, marking a pub half way (pubs in England are actually marked on some maps!) round the walk to stop at for lunch. Of course, it would be rude not to try some of the local ales, and indulge in a decent pie. Then, after an hour or so in the pub, the walk back home is never that tough!
We are lucky in England to have a network of walking paths that are all over the country. These go through farmland, forrests, hills etc, most having been around since the dark ages. They are marked on OS maps, and take you through some breathtaking countryside. Living in the country, you have endless possibilities for a decent stroll.
So, if you want to try a typical English drink, and don’t want to have at some English Ales, go down the local “offy” (liquor stores in England are called “off licenses”, or offy’s for short) and grab some Pimm’s. Not forgetting of course to get some soda or ginger ale, a lemon or two, and some mint.
