Pimm's Cup Sangria Recipe

While the Pimm's cup cocktail is quintessentially British, sangria is Spanish in origin, so how did the two come to meet up in this recipe? Developer Patterson Watkins, a long-time fan of the former, says of the drink, "In my opinion, it is the perfect summer sipper." She's not alone in this, as Meghan Markle's favorite summer cocktail is also a Pimm's cup variant. Watkins, however, was curious about how the drink would work when combined with sangria, which checks out since both drinks come with an entire fruit salad's worth of garnishes. It took her a little bit of experimenting to get there, but she finally arrived at the perfect mashup.

What makes this drink work so well? Watkins explains that picking the right bubbly component is key. "You definitely want to use a sweeter sparkling wine — a traditional sparkling wine won't balance out those bitter flavors." She also notes that the orange liqueur helps to bring the citrus and baking spice notes of the Pimm's to the forefront, while the ginger ties everything together by adding its aromatic bite.

The cocktail itself is made from Pimm's, orange liqueur, and sweet sparkling wine. For the garnishes, you'll need fresh ginger and mint, a cucumber, an orange, a lime, a lemon, and half a dozen strawberries.

Place the ginger and orange liqueur in a glass or shaker and muddle. Set aside.

Fill a pitcher ⅓-full with ice.

Add the cucumber, orange, lime, lemon, strawberries, and mint to the pitcher.

Add the ginger-muddled orange liqueur.

Add the Pimm's.

Add the sparkling wine, pouring slowly to prevent bubbling over.

Stir to combine the sangria.

To serve, fill Collins glasses with ice and pour in the sangria, making sure to include some of the fruity components in each glass. Garnish the glasses with extra sprigs of mint.

Pimm's — or Pimm's No. 1, to give the drink it's more formal title — is a British-made, gin-based liqueur with a super-secret recipe (supposedly only six people on earth know how to make it). Its alcohol content is on the low side, coming in at just 25% ABV. As a traditional Pimm's cup is mixed with nothing stronger than lemonade or soda, it's no wonder the drink is popular with spectators of sporting events (notably Wimbledon) who don't want to get too tipsy to follow the action.

Pimm's flavor balances the sweet and the bitter, and it also tastes fruity even before any mixers or garnishes are added. While the name of the liqueur is practically synonymous with the Pimm's cup cocktail, it can also be used as a lower-proof gin substitute in cocktails, such as a Pimm's and tonic, Pimm's Collins, Pimm's fizz, or Pimm's gimlet.

If you're unable to source any Pimm's for this recipe, you do have a few options open. A bitter digestif, such as Cynar, would work, as could a fortified wine aperitif or vermouth — try Dubonnet or Lillet. All of these beverages would be relatively low in alcohol and would provide some of the bitter flavor necessary to balance the sweetness of the sparkling wine and orange liqueur.

While you might think that this drink too complex to turn into a mocktail, that simply isn't so — just about anything can be made non-alcoholic with the proper ingredients. To replace the Pimm's in this recipe, opt for a bitter Italian soda, such as Crodino, Sanbitter, or San Pellegrino chinotto. Not only will such a substitute supply both bitter and sweet flavors, but it can also contribute similarly herbaceous and citrusy notes.

The sweet sparkling wine can be replaced with either sparkling cider or white grape juice, although ginger beer and sparkling lemonade would also work. As for the orange liqueur, zero proof triple sec is commercially produced, but you can easily make your own, as well. Simply combine two parts of orange juice with five parts each of sugar and water, bring the mixture to a boil, then let it cool. If you've squeezed the orange juice yourself, zest the oranges before you cut them in two and stir the zest into the mixture once you've turned off the stove.