Sour · Party · Summer

Cosmopolitan

Citrus vodka with Cointreau and lime, cranberry for colour more than sweetness. Drier than people expect, and served up.

Base: Vodka
Glass: Martini glass
Method: Shake
Strength: 24% ABV

Ingredients

40 mlVodka Citron1 swap
Any neutral vodkahigh
Little change
15 mlCointreau1 swap
Triple sec or curaçaomedium
Slightly sweeter/less crisp
15 mlFresh Lime Juice1 swap
Fresh lemon juicemedium
Slightly less floral, more tart
30 mlCranberry Juice

How to make

Technique

Shake · 10–15s

Shaking chills the drink fast while adding dilution and a light texture.

Add all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake well and strain into large cocktail glass.

Serve

Glass

Martini glassAlso fine: Coupe glass, Nick & Nora glass

Garnish

Garnish with lemon twist.Twist it over the surface, then hang it on the rim.

Taste & nutrition

24%ABV

150kcal

2.37Drinks

StrengthBoozy

Sweet to dryBalanced

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

Use freshly squeezed juice — bottled tastes flat.

History

Year1980s

PlaceNew York, USA

Created byAttributed to Toby Cecchini

The Cosmo — vodka citron, triple sec, cranberry and lime — took shape in the 1980s, with Toby Cecchini in New York often credited for the modern version. Its blush-pink colour and Martini glass made it a symbol of the decade and, later, of Sex and the City. Tart and easy-drinking, it brought many newcomers to cocktails. It has outlasted the trend that made it famous.

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