Cosmopolitan
Citrus vodka, orange liqueur, lime and a splash of cranberry. Tart, pale pink and a defining drink of the 1990s.
- MethodShaken
- GlassCocktail (V-shaped) glass
- IceNone (served up)
- Strengthabout 15.0% ABV
- BaseVodka
- Tastesour, fruity
Recipe
| 45 ml 1½ oz | Vodka |
| 15 ml ½ oz | Orange liqueur (triple sec) |
| 15 ml ½ oz | Fresh lime juice |
| 30 ml 1 oz | Cranberry juice |
Garnish. A strip of orange peel squeezed over the drink, or flamed briefly with a match for a toasted orange scent.
Method
- Chill a cocktail glass.
- Shake the vodka, orange liqueur, lime and cranberry juice hard with ice for 12 to 15 seconds.
- Double strain into the glass.
- Express the orange peel over the drink and drop it in or discard it.
About the Cosmopolitan
The Cosmopolitan is a vodka sour built on the Kamikaze and the Margarita: vodka, orange liqueur and lime, with cranberry juice for colour and a slight tartness. Made well it is dry and bright, pale pink rather than red. A lemon-flavoured vodka is the usual choice.
History
Documented
The modern drink took shape in American bars in the second half of the 1980s. Toby Cecchini has described making his version, with citrus vodka, Cointreau, fresh lime and cranberry, at the Odeon in New York in the late 1980s, from a drink that was circulating in San Francisco. Dale DeGroff served and publicised it at the Rainbow Room in the 1990s, and its appearances in the television series Sex and the City made it world famous. An unrelated gin drink called the Cosmopolitan appears in a 1934 American cocktail book.
Legend and lore
Several bartenders and cities claim the first version, including Cheryl Cook in Miami in 1985, John Caine in San Francisco, and gay bars in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Cook's date is earlier than the launch of the citrus vodka she says she used, which makes the story hard to fit together.
Disputed or unclear: The year at the Odeon is given variously as 1987, 1988 or 1989, and who made the first version is disputed.
Variations
- Kamikaze. Vodka, orange liqueur and lime without cranberry; usually served as a shot.
- Margarita. The tequila template the Cosmopolitan follows.
- White Cosmopolitan. White cranberry juice and an elderflower liqueur in place of red cranberry.
Bartender's notes
- Use plain or citrus vodka, and a small measure of cranberry: the drink should be pink, not red.
- Fresh lime matters; bottled lime juice makes it taste flat and sweet.
