Let's Pretend It's Not Winter. Pimm's Cocktail!

This winter has been dragging on forever, though snow has given way to cold rain in basement-flooding amounts.  In an effort to make believe it is Spring, I purchased some Pimm's No. 1 and made Pimm's Cups.  For my wife, I made what I think is a pretty standard Pimm's Cup with 1.5 oz of Pimms, a squirt of lemon juice, a cucumber spear, and ginger ale, served in a large glass with ice cubes. For mine, I added a bit of gin, but the idea was similar.

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounce Pimm's No. 1
• .5 ounce of gin (Beefeater)
• squirt from lemon wedge (with remaining wedge in drink)
• cucumber spear
• 3-4 ounces of ginger ale

Directions:  Mix ingredients in large glass full of ice cubes and stir

Taste (flavor, balance, and clarity):  8
This drink taste as refreshing as any alcoholic beverage you will find.  The cucumber note gets stronger the longer you savor the drink.  If anything the gin is a distraction, and perhaps there is something to the original recipe.

Versatility (when and for who the drinks works):  6
This is clearly a warm weather beverage, my spring fantasy notwithstanding, and is best enjoyed outside.  I think a number of people would like this drink, though some dudes might blanch that it is pretty weak on the alcohol, even with the gin.

Hassle (cost and time):  7
The Pimm's Cup is pretty cheap to make, particularly if you end up not wasting the rest of the cucumber.  Although it doesn't take long to make, I don't tend to stay stocked in cucumbers, so some planning is necessary.

Overall: 7
This is an incredibly refreshing drink - one of the few alcoholic beverages of any kind that taste good enough that I'd have with no alcohol.  Although it's best and highest use might be to sip while reading on a hammock on an early summer day.  This drink is also a nice change of pace from some of the very boozy classic cocktails.

Potential Improvements:
I might play up the fresh tastes by adding a but of celery bitters and perhaps a dab of honey.  I've seen variants of this drink with grapefruit as well.