Cosmopolitan
Citron vodka, Cointreau, lime, cranberry. The drink that defined late-1990s nightlife and still earns its place.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz citron vodka (Absolut Citron is the canonical choice)
- 1 oz Cointreau
- 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz fresh cranberry juice (not sweetened cocktail blend)
- Cubed ice, for shaking
- Flamed orange peel or lime wheel, for garnish
Method
- Add all liquid ingredients to a shaker filled two-thirds with cubed ice.
- Shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe through a fine-mesh strainer.
- For the flame-peel: hold a wide orange peel over the surface, briefly pass a lit match between the peel and the drink, then squeeze. The expressed oils ignite for a half-second and leave a caramelized citrus aroma. Drop the peel in.
Flavor
Tart, slightly sweet, distinctly pink. Citron vodka and Cointreau give it the orange-citrus depth; the cranberry is mostly color and a faint tartness. Fresh lime is what keeps it from going saccharine.
History
Modern Cosmopolitan was popularized at New York's Rainbow Room in the early 1990s by Dale DeGroff, who refined and flame-peeled an earlier 1980s Miami version by Cheryl Cook. The Sex and the City era starting in 1998 made it the most-ordered cocktail in America for half a decade.
Sweetened cranberry cocktail mix from a bottle is what gave the Cosmo a bad reputation. Use the real juice, get the real drink.
Pairs With
- Sushi
- Goat cheese tartlets
- Salted nuts
Photograph your liquor cabinet. Cabinet Cocktails identifies every bottle and tells you every cocktail you can craft right now — no missing ingredients, no fake fridge raids.
🍸 Scan My Cabinet