Explorations of a Stubborn Spirit: Beyond the Pimm's Cup

Certain spirits are inherently tied to a specific cocktail and lack a whole lot of ink on what else to do with them.  For instance, you aren't going to find a lot of recipes for pisco beyond the Pisco Sour.  Pimm's is kind of like that.  I like the spirit.  It has both sweet and savory elements and is more of a subtle than a powerful spirit.  I wanted to make something with it that was a bit boozier than the Pimm's Cup but maintained the sweet/herbal balance.  I've tried doing so before with very mixed results, including a cocktail that thanks to some celery bitters, ended up tasting like a Bloody Mary.

Pimm's Sipper

Ingredients
2 ounces of old Tom gin (Ransom)
0.5 ounce of Pimm's
0.5 ounce of dry vermouth (Nolly Prat)
0.75 ounce of lemon juice

Directions
Shake ingredients with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon peal.

Taste (flavor, balance, and clarity):  6.5
This drink hammers the savory notes with the Old Tom Gin being the dominant flavor but the vermouth adding some bitterness.  It does not feel as balanced as I might like but picks a direction and goes with it in a fairly coherent manner.  It's pretty strong as a general matter but the flavors seem to complement each other.  I actually enjoyed it a bit more as I drank it after a first swallow that was kind of startling.

Versatility (when and for whom the drink works):  6

I would classify this drink as "challenging" much as I would a Negroni so I'm not sure how many people would enjoy it.  On the plus side, I think it works in a lot of settings and is not strictly a patio drink like the Pimm's Cup.

Hassle (cost and time):  8

This drink is not a lot of trouble to make beyond squeezing some lemon juice.  The old tom gin, which I think is essential given its much more herbal flavor than London dry gin, is pretty pricey but the other ingredients are cheap.

Overall:  6.5

I'm not sure what to make of this drink.  It was pretty challenging but I like the intense and multifaceted herbal flavors.  I think the lemon was also important (I tried making it as a martini without the lemon but it tasted muddled).

Potential Improvements

I might try using sweet as opposed to dry vermouth which could make it more accessible.  Using lemon bitters might work as well.