COSMOPOLITAN (COCKTAIL)

A 'Cosmopolitan' is a cocktail made with vodka, Cointreau or Triple Sec, cranberry juice, and fresh-squeezed lime juice or sweetened lime juice. Informally, it is referred to as a 'Cosmo'.

Contents

History

Preparation and serving

Variations

Popular culture

See also

References

External links

History

This origins of the Cosmopolitan are somewhat disputed. According to the International Bartenders Association the original recipe is based on Absolut Citron.
Most sources credit South Beach, Florida bartender Cheryl Cook with the original creation.^[1] In an online interview,^[2] Cheryl Cook states she created the drink in 1985 or 1986:

Her original recipes called for "Absolut Citron, a splash of Triple Sec, a drop of roses lime and just enough cranberry to make it oh so pretty in pink."²
The next person involved in the creation of the drink was Toby Cecchini^2[3] of Manhattan. While working at The Odeon in 1987/1988, Cecchini worked from a poorly described version of Cook's original drink, and developed a slightly different version using Cointreau and fresh-squeezed lime juice. Cecchini's version has become the common standard method for preparing the drink.^[4]
An alternate account names the creator as Neal Murray of the Cork & Cleaver steakhouse in Minneapolis in 1975.^[5]
The Cosmopolitan gained popularity fairly quickly, traveling from Miami to San Francisco, to New York.² It really gained in popularity in the 1990s, and was further popularized among young women by its frequent mention on the the television program ''Sex and the City''.

Preparation and serving

The Cosmopolitan is usually served in a large cocktail glass, also called a ''martini glass''. For this reason, the drink is sometimes mistakenly categorized as a type of martini.
Using high-quality vodka, Cointreau (or any other Triple Sec liquer) mixed with cranberry juice will result in a clean-tasting drink.
A wedge of lemon or lime, or a twist of orange or lemon peel, are commonly used to garnish.

Variations

★ One variation is to squeeze a lime wedge into the chilled cocktail glass instead of including it with the ingredients to be shaken.

★ The original version calls for Rose's lime juice instead of fresh lime juice, and Triple Sec instead of Cointreau.

★ Sour mix may be substituted for either type of lime juice.

★ A blue cosmopolitan may be made by using white cranberry juice instead of standard red juice, and blue curaçao in place of the triple sec or Cointreau.

Popular culture

★ Demeter Fragrance Library has created a cologne intended to smell like the Cosmopolitan cocktail.

★ Sarah Jessica Parker's ''Sex and the City'' character, Carrie Bradshaw, commonly orders the drink when out with her girlfriends. In the episode "Sex and the Country", Carrie goes to a drive-through diner and jokingly orders, "A cheese burger, large fries and a cosmopolitan please?".

See also

★ List of cocktails

★ Martini

References

1. Schwartz, Arthur. "The Frustrated Bartender" (June 30, 1999). ''The Food Maven Diary''. Retrieved December 31, 2006
2. Regan, Gary and Mardee Haidin Regan. The Birth of the Cosmopolitan: A Tale of Two Bartenders (October 2006) ''Ardent Spirits e-letter'' Vol. 7, Issue 6. Retrieved December 31, 2006
3. Cecchini, Toby. "Cosmopolitan: A Bartender's Life". New York: Broadway, 2003.
4. International Bartenders Association Official Cocktail recipe. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
5. ''Best of the Twin Cities 2006''. "Best Locally Created Cocktail". CityPages.com. Retrieved December 31, 2006

External links

★ Absolut Cosmopolitan - A higher proof version of the recipe.

★ Cosmopolitan preparation(in Spanish)

★ "Art of the Drink: Cosmopolitan" - A video tutorial on how to make a Cosmopolitan. (Hosted at AOTDBlog.com)