Cosmopolitan
Vodka, Cointreau, cranberry and fresh lime. Dismissed for twenty years because of what it became, and genuinely good when it is made properly.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe or cocktail glass.
Add the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 12-15 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled glass and express an orange peel over the surface.
A thoughtful finish
- Unsweetened cranberry juice, not cranberry cocktail. The sweetened stuff is mostly sugar and apple juice and it is what made the drink's reputation.
- Fresh lime. This is the single biggest difference between a good Cosmopolitan and the version people remember disliking.
- The cranberry is there for colour and a tart backbone, not to be the main flavour. Three-quarters of an ounce is enough.
Common mistakes
- Cranberry juice cocktail instead of unsweetened juice.
- Bottled lime cordial or sweetened lime juice.
- Over-pouring the cranberry until the drink is opaque red. It should be a clear, pale pink-coral, not a fruit punch.
A few good questions.
Should it be pink or red?
Pale coral-pink and translucent. If it is opaque red you have used too much cranberry, or a sweetened cranberry drink.
Do I need citron vodka?
It is the documented original and it does add something. Plain vodka works — add another quarter-ounce of lime juice to make up the citrus.
Is the flamed orange peel necessary?
No. Expressing the peel over the drink gets you most of the aroma. Flaming is theatre, and it does caramelise the oils slightly, but it is not part of the balance.
Why does my Cosmopolitan taste like sweets?
Almost certainly sweetened cranberry juice, a sweet triple sec, or bottled lime. All three faults compound.
Variations
- Kamikaze — Vodka, triple sec and lime, no cranberry.
- Metropolitan — Currant vodka in place of citron.
- Cosmopolitan with gin — Gin in place of vodka, which the drink takes well.
- Lemon Drop Martini — Vodka, triple sec, lemon and a sugar rim.
Where it comes from
c. 1985-1988 · Miami, then New York City · Toby Cecchini / Cheryl Cook · The Odeon
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
Toby Cecchini, bartending at the Odeon in New York in 1988, has the best-documented claim: he was shown a crude version going around and rebuilt it with Absolut Citron, Cointreau, cranberry juice and fresh lime, which is the drink people now mean. Cheryl Cook, working in South Beach, Miami, around 1985-86, says she made an earlier version with Absolut Citron, triple sec, lime and a splash of cranberry for colour. Neither claim is conclusively documented and both are plausible. Sex and the City turned it into a phenomenon in the late 1990s, and the flood of bad, sweet, pre-mixed versions that followed is why the drink’s reputation took so long to recover.
Sources
- Toby Cecchini, Cosmopolitan: A Bartender's Life, 2003 (book)
- Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology, 2003 (book)
- IBA Official Cocktails list, current (standards body)
Strength. About 1.5 US standard drinks at an estimated 20.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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