PIMMS CUP VARIATION #7

PIMMS CUP VARIATION #7
Pimms #1
Lime
Cocchi Americano
Raspberry Syrup
Cucumber & Mint for garnish

While out on the town in Chicago, my step-daughter Robin took me to a cocktail lovers' heaven. It was called the Violet Hour and it was a real swanky place that is made to look and feel like a speakeasy from the Prohibition Years- when cocktails were born. If not for the line, you would have never known the place even existed. The entrance is hidden along a wall with a mural. They don't let you in until there are enough open seats to accommodate your party, so it can feel like you need to know a secret password as they skip your party up for another one down the line with the right number of people.

Once allowed in, you are taken to a dark room lite with candles and cloaked in green curtains. The menu is a list of rare, exotic cocktails, the majority of which had ingredients that I'd only heard of.
The cocktails had names like Enormous Rolling Maul, Stag Party, She'll Never Settle, and Never Surrender. I "borrowed" the menu for future reference and ordered a PIMMS CUP VARIATION #7.

The cocktail uses Pimms #1, which is a combination of dry gin, fruit juices, spices and liqueur. The Pimms liqueurs have been around since 1823, when James Pimm began the brand that takes an alcohol base and adds various secrets herbs, fruits and spices to make a unique tasting liqueur. There are Pimms #1-#6, but the Pimms #1 used in my speakeasy-era cocktail is the most popular. After tasting the PIMMS CUP VARIATION #7, I could see why. It was the best gin cocktail I've had so far this year. Oh, the mint, the raspberry, the atmosphere! I was indeed in cocktail heaven, though a little in fear of a raid at any moment. I also loved the big ice chunk served with  the PIMMS CUP VARIATION #7. If it had been a strong cocktail, I would have wanted some melt and the big ice chunk would have been unwise, but for this, it was perfect and allowed me to taste every ingredient.

Goodness knows I don't want a re-surgence of the Prohibition Era. But more speakeasys, where cocktails are an art, would make me one happy Cocktail Connie- Drink Up^!