A new reason to order your cheat meal from the beloved cult burger brand…

If you’ve been in Dubai longer than five minutes, you’re probably familiar with Pickl. The homegrown burger brand serves up one of the best chicken sando’s in the city (a bold claim we know), and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, recently added Pick ‘N’ Mix to its menu.

For Ramadan, they’ve unveiled a new limited edition fully-loaded shake and moreish sweet sando, this time a tribute to a British soft drink that’s become a Ramadan staple – Vimto.

Whether satisfying a sweet tooth, or the cool snack you need to counteract the ever-increasing UAE heat, the Pickl ice-cream sando is well worth the calorie splurge. To make this mouth-watering new sweet treat, a scoop of Vimto ice-cream is positioned within a fried slider bun then topped with a drizzle of Vimto syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. It’s Dhs30.

For those looking to slurp on a Vimto shake, the Pickl edition is topped with whipped cream, Vimto syrup and crushed Parma Violets and priced at Dhs35.

Both limited edition Vimto items are available at all seven Pickl locations across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and can also be ordered via Deliveroo. In Dubai, you’ll find Pickl in JLT, Motor City, City Walk and Al Safa and Mirdif, while the homegrown burger brand’s two Abu Dhabi locations are World Trade Center and Mamsha Al Saadiyat.

How did Vimto become the Ramadan beverage of choice?

Vimto was invented by a soap factory manager-turned-herbalist, John Noel Nichols, in Manchester, England in 1908. He created a health tonic that would supposedly give the imbiber “vim and vigour” – Vimtonic, later shortened to Vimto.

In the early 1920s, one of Nichols’ mates took some samples to India with him to give to the British troops. Vimto soon became a registered trademark in India, and its popularity spread to Myanmar (then Burma), Goa and Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). By 1928, the Middle East was awash with the drink.

The Vimto tide really turned when Saudi commodity trading firm Abdulla Aujan & Brothers acquired the exclusive rights to import and distribute the drink. All of a sudden, Vimto was being swigged in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Somewhere along the way – and undoubtedly thanks to some clever marketing –  the fruity drink became a symbol of Ramadan.

Why? Supposedly, the sugary drink provides the perfect energy boost after a long day of fasting. In fact, bottles of Vimto sold in the Middle East have an even higher sugar content than those sold in the UK – the recipe has been adapted to suit local tastes.