Food Industry Legends – James Pimm (1798-1866)
James Pimm was born in Newnham, Kent, the fifth son of a tenant farmer.
In his early 20’s, James moved to London to find work, initially setting up as a shellfish monger. In 1823 he opened Pimm's Oyster Bar in the City, supplying food, drink, oysters and lobsters to customers drawn largely from the surrounding business community, including the employees of Lloyds of London, the Stock Exchange and the Bank of England.
Around this time he invented Pimm's No. 1 Cup. It was made with gin, quinine and a secret mixture of herbs and fruit. The recipe is allegedly known only to six people to this day. He sold it as a health tonic ("an aid to digestion") and served it in pewter cups to patrons from all over the city.
By 1851 (when he is shown on the national Census as a ‘Confectioner and Fish Factor’) Pimm had expanded his range to include No. 2 (based on Scotch) and No. 3 (based on brandy). With the popularity of the drink growing, Pimm began large-scale production, providing the drink to other bars. He set up a production line where the drink was mixed by perforated paddles in wooden barrels, then distributed to bars and clubs across London by hawkers on bicycle. This method of production and distribution was, remarkably, only abandoned in 1946, when the traditional cork seal was also replaced with a screwcap.
In 1865, Pimm sold the business and the right to use his name to Frederick Sawyer. In 1880, the business was acquired by Sir Horatio Davies MP (and Lord Mayor of London from 1897-1898).
In 1887 Davies franchised a chain of five Pimm's Oyster Bars across the City of London, which helped to make the drink into a London institution.
At the same time, Pimm's was spreading through high society across the globe to outposts of the British Empire, with Sri Lanka claiming to have received the first exported case.
This period also saw the beginning of advertising for Pimm's, a typically memorable slogan being: "By my gaff and ghillie, I could do with a Pimm's No 1".
The First World War saw the army and navy placing large orders to take abroad, Lipton's beginning to stock it to feed demand at home, and a new kind of customer with the influx of American servicemen, who arrived with a fondness for cocktails.
By the 1930s, Pimm's had started to develop its typically humorous advertising slant, with phrases such as: "We had to let the west wing go, but thank heavens we can still afford our Pimm's."
After the war, Pimm's No. 4, based on rum, was introduced, and this was followed in the 1960s by No. 5 (rye) and No. 6 (vodka).
By the 1970s, however, the brand had fallen on hard times. The oyster bars were sold off, and No's 2 to 5 were gradually phased out during the 1980s. A succession of new owners took over the company and attempted to modernise it.
In the early 1990s, pre-mixed Pimm's in a can was launched, and, unsurprisingly, turned out to be disappointingly low in quality and flavour. The same goes for the subsequent introduction of Pimm's on tap.
In 2006, however, a more encouraging development was the reintroduction of Pimm's No. 3 as Pimm's Winter Cup, although in reality this is not quite the same as the original No. 3, being additionally infused with spices and orange peel.
The brand has most recently been bought by Diageo, who have marketed it successfully with a good old-fashioned humorous advertising campaign: "I make that Pimm's o'clock".
James Pimm was married to Mary who bore him 5 children. James died on the 16th of August, 1866 aged 67 and is buried at Holy Trinity Church, East Peckham, Kent.
If you want to celebrate his memory, set aside this late summer date each year and drink a pitcher or two to his name.
