Pimm’s Cup is a commercially produced bottled cup that bears the name of London oyster seller James Pimm (1798–1866). Customarily served as a tall drink, mixed with fizzy lemonade or soda water, it is traditionally served in Britain as a light, refreshing summer cooler. While there were six varieties marketed under the Pimm’s name (each featuring a different base spirit) the most popular has been the “No. 1 Cup,” which is essentially a bottled British Gin Sling, minus the citrus and the carbonation. See sling. Indeed, since being introduced to the United States during the late 1940s, the Pimm’s Cup has become a staple summer drink in parts of the United States as well, including New England and, surprisingly, New Orleans.
Married into a Kent-based fishmongering family, James Pimm opened his first oyster bar in 1823 near London’s Old Billingsgate Market. Success came quickly; he moved to 7 Lombard Street near the Bank of England, Lloyd’s of London, and the Stock Exchange by 1825 and then to a much larger premises by 1835, at 2 Poultry and later 3 Poultry. For a time, Pimm supplied the Royal Family, and his Poultry establishment was depicted in the iconic Tallis’s Street Views of 1840.
Oysters and other shellfish were frequently accompanied by stout or spirit-based punches and cups. To meet demand, in 1850, Pimm applied for a liquor license but was refused; the following year he was given approval. The establishment was a success, but by 1856 Pimm retreated to his wholesale fish business at Billingsgate, leasing or selling the oyster bar to S. D. Morey, who in turn sold it in 1865 to Frederick Sawyer. Horatio David Davies (1842–1912), the future lord mayor of London, took over the business in 1880, expanding it into a chain that he operated until 1912 when he died.
Capitalizing on gin’s popularity, at some point Pimm, one of his employees, or one of their successors blended gin, fruit extracts, liqueurs, bitter herbs, spices, and sugar to make a pre-bottled “cup” (as it was labeled) or “sling” (as it was also advertised), designed to be mixed with lemonade. Only the trademark date of 1912 and its commercial release that same year are confirmed. If there is any documentary evidence that Pimm himself compounded the cup, it has yet to be produced.
The No. 1 cup, a bright red concoction that bears a strong family resemblance to a Singapore Gin Sling, without the lime or soda, was immediately successful and sold widely. It was accompanied at first by a scotch-whisky-based No. 2 and a brandy-based No. 3. Davies’ heirs, who owned the brand, eventually added Nos. 4 (rum), 5 (rye whisky), and 6 (vodka) before selling the brand to the Distillers Company in the 1950s. Diageo purchased it in 1997 and has focused on the No. 1 Cup, sometimes adding a seasonal Summer Cup and Winter Cup. See Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) and Diageo.
“Adjourned Licensing Meetings.” London Era, March 30, 1851, 14.
Hamey, Baldwin. “James Pimm, London Fishmonger and Confectioner.” London Street Views, July 8, 2016. https://londonstreetviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/james-pimm-fishmonger-and-confectioner/ (accessed March 8, 2021).
Jones, Roger. What’s Who? A Dictionary of Things Named after People and the People They Are Named After. Leicester, UK: Troubador, 2009.
McConnell, Anita. “Pimm, James (1798-1866).” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Post Office London Directory, 1825, 1835, 1841, and 1856.
By: Anistatia R. Miller and Jared M. Brown