The Meghan Markle Way To Do Pimms O'Clock

Summer time is the time of year when outdoor drinking is most socially acceptable. What says British summer time more than a classic Pimm's cocktail? Heavy on the fruit and even some veg, it's basically one of your five-a-day. Although I stand by the maxim that you can't improve on perfection, sometimes there's no harm in shaking it up — that's how you make a cocktail, am I right? So out with the old and in with the new, because Meghan Markle's favourite cocktail might make you a total convert.

The recipe for Markle's much loved tipple comes straight from her now defunct lifestyle website The Tig. On the site she shared all sorts of posts about food, fashion, female empowerment, and general musings. What began as a blog ended up gaining a serious following, but sadly, The Tig shut up shop in April 2017 shortly before Markle announce her engagement to Prince Harry.

According to Vogue, The Tig was named after Markle's favourite red wine, a full-bodied Tiganello but when she wasn't quaffing a fine wine, her drink of choice was a Signature Tig Cup.

"Sun kissed afternoons, cocktail in hand, surrounded by nothing but the laughter of your closest mates, an Otis Redding playlist, and the whistling breeze of the wind. I’m talking about perfection, people," Markle wrote. "The perfection that comes with summertime. Picnics and barbecues, laying out by the pool with friends, and toasting to the season are high on my list. And while I generally opt to whet my whistle with a glass of rosé or crisp Sauvignon Blanc, sometimes the day calls for a cocktail. Cue The TIG Cup."

Like the classic Pimm's, Meghan's favourite tipple is a fruit cup. Per drinks website Difford's Guide, a fruit cup is a fancy term for a long, summery punch-style drink. Aside from its usual base of gin, a fruit cup's typical ingredients can include fruit, spices, and lemonade or ginger ale. Meghan's recipe doesn't specify how much alcohol you should or shouldn't add, so you can tailor it to suit your gin needs.

Grab a chopping board, veggie peeler, and maybe even a mandolin if you have one to hand, because you want this to look elegant AF. The website isn't specific about measurements so you can take creative license on this. "Any or all of the listed ingredients are great, but the key pieces are citrus and herbs," she notes. "If you don’t have grapefruit, lemon works. No radish, no problem."

Ingredients

• Cucumber ribbons
• Grapefruit Rind
• Thinly sliced radish
• Thin stalks of celery
• Limes
• Fresh mint
• Gin
• Maraschino cherry liqueur
• Tonic water
• Soda water
• Ice

Step One

Stack a sprinkling of the cucumber, mint, celery, radish, and lime into the glass. Fill glass with ice.

Step Two

In a cocktail shaker, add "a couple ounces of gin" and "a splash" of the maraschino cherry liqueur. "Don’t be scared on the name of the latter," notes Markle, "I personally loathe syrupy sweet drinks but this has just enough of a subtle sweetness that it really acts as more of a back note in the drink. Plus the maraschino cherry of it all reminds me of drinking Shirley temples as a little girl. My, have we grown up." My indeed.

Step Three

Give that shaker a good mix.

Step Four

The TIG suggests that you pour a, "two count of tonic and a three count of soda water," to your glass. "I don’t gravitate to the taste of tonic so I always go heavier on the soda, but feel free to reverse the measurements of these two, or play around with it to taste," advises Markle.

Step Five

Then you simply strain the alcohol from the shaker into your glass and pop a twist of grapefruit peel on it to finish. Cheers!