A West Coast Update To The Pimm's Cup

TrickDog.June
Brian Quinn•

Seasonality isn't what it used to be. While colder weather lends itself to darker spirits and warmer drinks, many recognize that an easy-sipping cooler, such as the Pimm's Cup, is an instant crowd-pleaser at any time of year. At Trick Dog in San Francisco's Mission district, the Pimm's variation on offer is just as refreshing as the classic, but with a few subtle, fruit-driven twists using fresh, local ingredients.

Run by the Bon Vivants, the current menu at Trick Dog — updated every six months — is a dog-of-the-month calendar, with June featuring a Pride-minded Corgi named Waffles. This playfulness extends to the drink, which uses Junipero gin, pot-distilled a short distance away in Potrero Hill, as a base instead of Pimm's No.1. The bartenders make their own fruit cup concoction, steeping a blend of tea, herbs, flowers and fruits and incorporating cucumber water to soften and hint at the expected Pimm's flavors.

Though not as bitter as the original Pimm's, this fruit-forward cocktail is just as delightful. A potpourri of hibiscus, apple, figs, mint and raspberry aromatics (as seasonal garnish) all balance the bright botanicals of the Junipero gin. For me, it's a cocktail I'd happily sip any time of year and hope to try again before new innovations hit the Trick Dog menu in early 2016. Enjoy.

Pimm's Cup

Servings: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

2 ounces Pimm's No. 1

4 ounces lemon/lime soda

Directions:

  • In a shaker tin, muddle Pimm's with strawberry, cucumber, mint, orange wedge and blackberries.
  • Dump into a chilled Collins glass and top with soda.

    • June Cocktail

    Servings: 1 cocktail

    Ingredients

    1 1/2 ounces Junipero gin

    1/2 ounce Dolin Rouge

    3 ounces TD Cup syrup*

    1/2 ounce lime juice

    1 1/2 ounces Fever Tree bitter lemon soda

    *TD Cup syrup directions:

  • Take 1 1/2 ounces English breakfast loose tea (not in water), 1 ounce dried rose hips and 4 ounces mashed dried figs and steep in 3 pints hot water for 30 minutes.
  • Strain, then add 4 cups brewed English Breakfast tea, 3 cups apple juice, 1 cup cucumber juice, 10 grams hibiscus powder, and 2 cups sugar.
  • Strain until all solids are removed and store for later use. Makes 4 cups of syrup.

    • Directions:

  • Build ingredients in a 12-ounce Collins glass.
  • Add several cubes of ice and stir in the glass until drink is cold.
  • Garnish with seasonal fruit, cucumber wheel, lime wheel and mint sprig.

    • Prep Time: 3 minutes (not including syrup)

    Difficulty: Easy

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