The Iconic 80's COSMOPOLITAN Cocktail
UPDATE 2021The CosmopolitanLike Sex and The City, it's time to do it again . . .
Welcome back, ladies!!
Born in the late 1980's, the Cosmopolitan is an iconic cocktail in drink history which was inducted into mass happy hour culture by another icon, HBO's Sex and The City television series.
Recognized as an important part of cocktail history the Cosmopolitan, aka Cosmo, is sadly reviled by current cocktail folk. When mixed properly it is a delicious, soft pink (not red) drink that has been ruined by cheap ingredients, sour mixes and lazy bartending over the decades since its inception.
Classified as a sour, the Cosmopolitan is a modern descendant of The Daisy, a vintage cocktail made with gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and raspberry syrup.
Like most classic drinks, the Cosmopolitan's history has a murky background. During the late 70's to mid 80's versions of this modernized take on Ocean Spray's famous Harpoon cocktail, were scattered from San Francisco to New York to Miami with almost as many claims to its creation. Both Cheryl Cook and John Caine were serving Cosmos in the eighties, with Cook being the accepted originator of the name, but the currently accepted Cosmopolitan recipe is credited to Toby Cecchini who, after being introduced to a version by Melissa Huffsmith, added the Citron and first served his version at the Odeon in Manhattan in 1987. The citrus flavored vodka is the essential ingredient as that is what distinguishes this cranberry and vodka cocktail from other vodka cranberry drinks like the Cape Cod and the Ocean Spray label recipe of the Harpoon.
The Cosmopolitan. It's time to do it again, but do it right; with Citron Vodka, fresh lime juice, Ocean Spray cranberry juice and Cointreau.
The
COSMOPOLITAN
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz Vodka Citron
1/2 Oz Cointreau
1 Oz Cranberry Juice
1/4 Oz Fresh Lime Juice
Garnish: Lime Wedge
Tools: Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Martini (Cocktail)
DIRECTIONS
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and double strain into large, chilled cocktail glass. Garnish simply with a lime wedge.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS:
OR HOW ABOUT JUST
A SPOONFUL OF COSMO?
Try something new and give my molecular approach to this classic a try.
National Cosmopolitan Day is May 7th.
Updated 12-2021
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
