Pimm's Cup: An English Cocktail with a French Quarter Address

An English Cocktail with a French Quarter Address

The Pimm's Cup started its life in England, invented by James Pimm in the nineteenth century as a gin-based digestif served at his London oyster bar. It crossed the Atlantic and landed at the Napoleon House in the French Quarter, where it was adopted with the enthusiasm that New Orleans reserves for anything that pairs well with warm weather and good conversation. The Pimm's Cup became a local favorite, a refreshing antidote to the subtropical heat that proved the city's cocktail culture could embrace imports as readily as it invented originals.

The drink is made with Pimm's No. 1 liqueur, lemonade, and a splash of soda, garnished with a cucumber slice, fresh mint, and sometimes fruit. It is served over ice in a tall glass, creating a drink that is light, refreshing, and deceptively easy to consume in quantity — a characteristic that has endeared it to generations of French Quarter afternoon drinkers.

The Napoleon House Connection

The Napoleon House, the bar that made the Pimm's Cup famous in New Orleans, is itself a landmark — a two-hundred-year-old building on Chartres Street that was allegedly offered as a refuge for Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile. Napoleon never made it to New Orleans, but the building that bears his name became one of the city's most beloved bars, and the Pimm's Cup became its signature drink. The combination of the crumbling, atmospheric interior, the classical music playing softly overhead, and the cool, cucumber-garnished cocktail in your hand creates an experience that feels like stepping into another century.

The Pimm's Cup may have been born in England, but it found its true home in the French Quarter, where its lightness and refreshment are perfectly suited to the climate and the pace of life. It is a drinking city's daytime drink — civilized enough for a Tuesday afternoon, refreshing enough for an August evening, and proof that New Orleans will welcome any good cocktail, regardless of where it came from.