The fruit cup is a peculiarly British invention: a gin based liqueur, darkened with sweet vermouth and spiced with orange, served long over ice with sparkling lemonade and enough fruit and cucumber to qualify, very loosely, as a salad. A London oyster bar owner created the style in the 1820s, his brand made it famous, and it is now the signature drink of Wimbledon fortnight, regattas on the Thames and garden parties everywhere. The British Grand Prix falls in exactly the same high summer weeks, and the hospitality lawns at Silverstone pour it by the jug.

Making your own base takes five minutes and an overnight steep, and lets you tune the sweetness and bitterness to your taste. The zero proof version, built on cold tea and apple, is so good that it is often the first jug to empty.

The fruit cup base

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) London dry gin
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) sweet vermouth
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) orange liqueur
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) red Italian bitter aperitif
• 2 strips orange peel
• 1 strip lemon peel
• 1 small sprig of mint

The jug

Ingredients

• 1 small cucumber
• 8 strawberries
• 1 orange
• 1 small handful fresh mint sprigs
• plenty ice cubes
• 4 1/2 cups (1 liter) chilled British style sparkling lemonade

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