The Classic Cosmopolitan Cocktail is beautiful, refreshing and delicious with vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice, and orange liqueur
One of the first references to the Classic Cosmopolitan Cocktail is a gin, Cointreau, lemon, and raspberry syrup mix that was published in 1934 in the Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars 1903-1933.
In the 1970's, the Cosmopolitan that we know today is credited to a South Beach bartender named Cheryl Cook although as is typical with cocktail creations, many have laid claim to creating the Classic Cosmopolitan Cocktail.
Considered a riff on the Kamikaze; the original cocktail utilized a citrus-flavored vodka combined with orange liqueur and a splash of cranberry juice.
The Classic Cosmopolitan Cocktail is a very simple drink and it quickly became very popular, peaking in the 1990's because of its multiple appearances in the HBO show, Sex and the City. Every young woman wanted to emulate Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.
Heck I have a daughter who was too young to watch the series when it first came out but we watched it together years later when she was in college and she named her first dog Charlotte! Beautiful sweet Charlotte with the long dark hair (she was a Springer Spaniel from the local rescue).
Both by reference to that show and it's girly pink color it's synonymous with being a girls drink but I think that's a shame.
Made correctly, the Cosmopolitan Cocktail has a great citrus taste and is not overly sweet. Guys...if you're eating quiche, you can SO do this too!
There are hundreds of variations on the Cosmopolitan (often simply called a Cosmo), some use more or less cranberry juice, some triple sec instead of Cointreau, and some include a citrus vodka like the original.
I like to keep truer to the original and since I had just made some of my own orange infused vodka, I was set and I thought this vodka was perfect.
Truth is, plain is fine too but if you're buying some in order to make this cocktail, try Ketel One's Oranje; they'e my favorite brand of vodka and I think the versions made with lemon and orange are the best...subtle flavors that enhance a cocktail, not overpower it.
The Classic Cosmopolitan Cocktail is a blush pink, not the bright red you so often get in bars and restaurants today.
I've indicated a range in the amount of cranberry juice to use; I so prefer the less is more approach but if you like more? Go for it.
So have to share this little story with you. I wanted to rim the glass with something but didn't want to bring out the 'thou shalt NEVER rim a Cosmopolitan Cocktail' trolls so I did a search to see if I was way off base; if it was being done by bartenders.
Big mistake; I just wanted to put something fun on the rim of a cocktail glass for crying out loud! In this instance Google thought I meant Cosmopolitan as in magazine and rimming as in something sexual. Ye-gads no! Don't be like Barb; trust me and use powdered sugar!
PIN IT! 'Classic Cosmopolitan Cocktail'
