Cosmopolitan
Pink, citrusy, effortlessly urban.
Citrus vodka, Cointreau, fresh lime and cranberry juice, shaken and served up. Crisp and slightly tart, with an unmistakable pink hue, it became the emblem of 1990s New York cocktail culture.
- IBA · Contemporary Classics
- Aperitif
- Shaken
- Glass
- Cocktail glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Strength
- Medium
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Citrus vodka
40 ml
-
Triple sec
15 ml
-
Lime juice
15 ml
-
Cranberry juice
30 ml
Garnish
- Lemon twist
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a large cocktail glass.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Pour the citrus vodka.
- Add the Cointreau.
- Add the lime juice.
- Add the cranberry juice.
- Shake well.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist.
The story
Origins
LegendA story passed down, not confirmed by the sources.
The name Cosmopolitan already appears in recipe books from 1927 and 1934, but for drinks very different from today's. The modern Cosmo emerged in the 1970s and 1980s through several parallel developments: a vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry drink circulated in gay bars in Provincetown and San Francisco, and researcher Cheryl Charming points to Neal Murray in Minnesota in 1975. In Miami, Cheryl Cook claims a citrus-vodka version from 1988-89, while in New York Toby Cecchini, at The Odeon, reworked it around 1988 with Absolut Citron, Cointreau and fresh lime. Dale DeGroff made it famous at the Rainbow Room, and Sex and the City enshrined it in the late 1990s.
Taste profile
- Citrus
- 4 out of 5
- Sour
- 3 out of 5
- Fruity
- 3 out of 5
- Sweet
- 2 out of 5