

If that’s true this recipe has changed and morphed over the years (as many cocktail recipes do). It may have started as early as the 1930s with a gin rather than vodka base. The Cosmopolitan cocktail origins have been claimed by many. I enjoy digging around for the history of cocktails.
#Cosmopolitan cocktail how to
Here's a little video that takes you through the steps of how to make a citrus twist for a cocktail. (Learn more about the history of the Cosmo here.) How to make a citrus twist They left the simplicity and accessibility of the Cosmo behind, in favor of more artisanal, nuanced, rarified ingredients and techniques. The same impetus for change that brought the Cosmo from drinking subculture into the mainstream ultimately produced bartenders who were so over its easy, ubiquitous popularity. Many people credit it with the very existence of craft cocktail culture today. To me, the most interesting part is the Cosmo's influence on what came next. The Odeon was an ultimate hot spot during the 1980s, and the drink became more widely popular.įor the rest of us plebes - including those of us who were 11 years old and living in a ranch house in suburban NJ in 1987 - Sex and the City made it impossible not to know about the Cosmo. Then, in 1987, the Cosmo as we know it today was created by Toby Cecchini at Manhattan's famous Odeon, who swapped in fresh lime juice and Cointreau after hearing about the San Francisco drink. He moved to San Francisco and brought the drink with him, where it became popular in the gay community. FourĪt the same time, a bartender named John Caine in Provincetown, MA was shaking up a similar drink using good old rail vodka, Rose's lime juice, and what in some accounts is cranberry juice and in some is grenadine. Cheryl Cook, a bartender at Strand Restaurant in Miami's South Beach, combined lemon vodka, triple sec, Rose's lime juice and cranberry juice to serve customers who wanted a sophisticated-looking cocktail that was smooth and easy to drink. Then, during the 1970s, a couple of drinks that closely resemble the Cosmo seem to have cropped up simultaneously. In 1968, Ocean Spray created the Harpoon - equal parts vodka and cranberry juice cocktail with a squeeze of lime - to try to sell more cranberry juice for adult consumption. The recipe included gin instead of vodka and raspberry syrup instead of cranberry juice. In 1934, a reference to the Cosmopolitan Daisy appeared in a cocktail book. The Cosmo relies on that basic structure, though vodka was not one of the spirits usually treated this way. In the late 1800s, the Daisy - the combination of a spirit, a citrus, and a sweetener that we now think of as the basic formula for a sour cocktail - emerged as a way to make the strong tastes of spirits more accessible. Long before the 1970s, a couple of similar cocktails with different names probably provided the basic structure that became the Cosmo. Some popular ideas about its origins include: One The Cosmopolitan cocktail recipe has quite an interesting history, in terms of both the murkiness of its origin story and the effect it's had on cocktail culture over the past decades. Strain into the chilled cocktail glass and garnish with orange twist or lime wedge.Shake well, until the outside of the shaker is very cold.Pour in vodka, Cointreau, lime juice, and cranberry juice cocktail.Pop a cocktail glass into the freezer for a few minutes.You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll do to make a pink Cosmo. You can choose between a lime wheel and an orange twist. This drink has two official garnishes.If you've got unsweetened cranberry juice, add an equal amount of simple syrup. This is the run-of-the-mill stuff from the grocery store with plenty of added sugar. Cranberry juice cocktail gives the cosmo its pink hue and adds delicious flavor.There's no substitute for freshly squeezed lime juice, which adds brightness and balance to this cocktail.It's a component of many well-known cocktails and is also popular by itself as both aperitif and digestif. It has been produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, France since 1875.

Cointreau is a 40% ABV orange liqueur made from a secret formula containing sugar beet and dried orange peel.I'm not really on the Tito's bandwagon, but if you are, that would be a fine option, too. I'm using Grey Goose, which has a lovely, toasty vibe and creamy finish.
