Starting the summer with Pimm's...


I love how summer brings with it nearly an entirely separate tome of que calor cooling cocktails.  When we were in Vienna, we held on for those sunshine days that brought in the Aperol Spritz season, but I love summer drinks of all kinds, and during the long weekend last week, we had one of the summer rites of passage: the Pimm's Cup.  Granted, this is more of a thing in the UK but I suspect you'll see a wee bit more of this concoction this side of the pond.

And not only was the drink something, we picked a pretty fine place to enjoy it.  We finally got a chance to check out the Highline park, and afterwords enjoyed the terraces of the Standard Grill.  A little recipe from Bon Appetit is below so that you can kick up your feet and enjoy the same this summer.

Ingredients

• 1 3-inch piece English cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch slices, plus 2 spears (for garnish)
• 3/4 cup Pimm's No. 1*
• 3 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Ice cubes
• 2 sprigs each fresh rosemary, thyme, and mint
• 2 lemon slices
• 2 fresh strawberries, halved
• Ginger beer, chilled
• 2 rhubarb stalks (for garnish)

Preparation

Place 1/2-inch-thick cucumber slices in cocktail shaker. Using muddler or handle of wooden spoon, mash well. Add Pimm's, lemon juice, and sugar. Fill 2 pilsner glasses with ice; set aside. Add ice to Pimm's mixture, cover, and shake vigorously 20 times. Strain into glasses. Push 1 rosemary sprig, 1 thyme sprig, 1 mint sprig, 1 lemon slice, and 2 strawberry halves down into each glass. Fill glasses with ginger beer. Garnish with cucumber spears and rhubarb stalks.