DIY Pimm's Recipe

By
Updated Sep. 11, 2020
Photograph: Liam Boylan

If the urge for a Pimm's strikes you, it is ridiculously easy to make a DIY version with ingredients you probably already have at home. If you want to play with the flavor profile, add a little sherry to give it a sweeter touch or a little Campari to accentuate the bitterness. Add a little simple syrup and fresh herbs to play up the sweet, summery flavor or increase the amount of gin to up the alcohol content and juniper intensity.

Notes: Dry bitter orange peel is cheap and many homebrew supply and natural foods stores carry it. While it does make the homemade concoction more closely match a commercial Pimm's, it can easily be left out for the sake of convenience. If you plan to use all of your DIY Pimm's within a week or two, you can simply strain it through a fine-mesh sieve without the additional filtering, since any citrus debris won't be steeping long enough to noticeably affect the flavor. Cheesecloth-filtered homemade Pimm's will keep at room temperature for up to a year.

Recipe Facts

5

(1)

Active: 5 mins
Total: 24 hrs
Makes: 1 3/4 cups

Rate & Comment

Ingredients

  • 1 navel orange
  • 1 teaspoon dried bitter orange peel (optional)
  • 3/4 cup London dry gin
  • 1 cup sweet vermouth

Directions

  1. Wash and slice the navel orange and place it in a sealable glass jar. Do not remove peel. Add bitter orange peel, then pour in the gin and vermouth. Seal and shake the jar, then steep at room temperature for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 72 hours.

  2. Strain the orange out with a sieve and then filter through cheesecloth or a coffee filter into glass bottle or jar. Store sealed at room temperature.

Special equipment

fine-mesh strainer, cheesecloth or coffee filter

This Recipe Appears In

More Serious Eats Recipes