The Cosmopolitan
Chances are you never had a really good Cosmo.
You were probably at an Outback, or a “lounge” with one of your girlfriends, or maybe you kicked your husband out of the house for a girls’ night. Someone said, “Let’s get what the girls on Sex in the City got!” and then squealed when they arrived. [At least that’s what I do.] But then you took your first sip and it was just kinda…okay.
Not these.
These are fantastic Cosmos. These are perfectly balanced Cosmos. A bit of sweetness from the cranberry juice cocktail and the Cointreau, a bit of tart from the lime juice. And a weeeeee bit of warmth from the vodka.
Make sure to get regular ol’ cranberry juice cocktail, the kind with sugar listed as the second ingredient. Straight cranberry juice can be quite bitter and tart [like me], and we need the extra sugar to smooth things out.
Also, I specifically call for Cointreau. If you use regular triple sec, or any other orange liqueur, your results will differ. Not saying they’ll be bad—I’ve used every triple sec under the sun in Cosmos—but just know it won’t turn out the way I intended. Triple sec has more sugar than Cointreau, so you may want to try one of the hippie-dippie cranberry juice brands to compensate.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 1 oz cranberry juice cocktail
- 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
Recipe
Add ice to a cocktail glass. Fill with water. Set aside.
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice. Shake until your hands freeze to the shaker, a good 30-45 seconds ought to do it.
Dump the water and ice from the cocktail glass. Double strain the shaker’s contents into the cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lime peel. (Note: When peeling a lime, it’s easier peeling from top to bottom, not around it.)
Put a Pin in It
