Cosmopolitan Recipe
A Cosmopolitan is the drink that made pink cool again: citrus vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry and fresh lime shaken hard into a crisp, ruby-pink coupe. Balanced right, it is tart first, sweet second, and dangerously easy to finish.
Ingredients
- 1.5 ozcitrus vodka
- 1 oztriple sec or orange liqueur
- 0.5 ozfresh lime juice
- 0.5 ozcranberry juice
- 1 cupice, for shaking
Garnish
- Orange twist
- Optional lime wheel
Equipment: Shaker, jigger, strainer, chilled coupe, channel knife or peeler for the twist
Method
- Chill a coupe in the freezer for a few minutes, or fill it with ice water while you work.
- Add the citrus vodka, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice to a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds, until the tin is frosty and cold to the touch.
- Double strain into the chilled coupe to catch ice shards and pulp.
- Express an orange twist over the surface, rub it around the rim, and drop it in. Serve immediately.
About the Cosmopolitan
The Cosmopolitan emerged in the 1970s and 1980s from the American cocktail revival, with South Beach and New York bar scenes trading early versions before the drink went global in the 1990s. Its formula is simple: citrus vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry juice and fresh lime. What separates a great one from a mediocre one is proportion. Too much cranberry and it turns syrupy; too little lime and it goes flat.
Nail it by treating the lime as the backbone, not a garnish. Squeeze it to order, keep the cranberry to a half ounce, and shake longer than feels necessary so the drink dilutes just enough. Use a quality triple sec or orange liqueur rather than a bottom-shelf substitute, and chill the glass. The finished cocktail should be bright pink, opaque but not cloudy, and served cold enough that the first sip snaps.
- Squeeze the lime fresh; bottled juice tastes dull and flat in a drink this lean.
- Shake with hard ice and double strain so no shards water down the coupe.
- If you prefer it drier, drop the cranberry to 0.25 oz and add a touch more lime.
- Chill the glass first; a warm coupe softens the drink within a minute.
Get the bottles delivered
Order online for same-day or next-day Long Island delivery, free curbside pickup in Commack, or wine shipping where it is legal (spirits are local delivery and in-store pickup only). You must be 21 or older.
