Cosmopolitan Cocktail Recipe

Before you start

The Cosmopolitan is a vodka sour with orange liqueur and a splash of cranberry, served up in a cocktail glass. When it is made well, it is tart and bright, a pale pink rather than deep red, with cranberry adding color and a light fruit edge instead of dominating.

The common mistake is too much cranberry juice, which makes the drink sweet and heavy. The widely used modern spec is 1½ parts citrus vodka, ½ part orange liqueur, ½ part lime and 1 part cranberry juice cocktail. A flamed or expressed orange peel adds aroma that ties it together. Use fresh lime and shake hard.

Ingredients

• 45 ml (1½ oz) citrus vodka — or plain vodka
• 15 ml (½ oz) orange liqueur — such as Cointreau
• 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lime juice
• 30 ml (1 oz) cranberry juice cocktail
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 1 strip orange peel

Method

1. Freeze the cocktail glass for at least 10 minutes.
2. Pour the vodka, orange liqueur, lime juice and cranberry juice into the shaker.
3. Fill the shaker with ice, seal it, and shake vigorously for 10 to 12 seconds.
4. Double-strain into the chilled glass. The color should be a light, bright pink.
5. Hold the orange peel skin-side toward the drink and squeeze it to spray the oils over the surface. For a flamed peel, hold a lit match between peel and glass as you squeeze, keeping hands and hair clear.
6. Drop the peel in or discard it, and serve right away.

Tips for success

• Cranberry juice cocktail is sweetened, which the recipe counts on. Pure unsweetened cranberry juice is very tart; if you use it, add 7.5 ml simple syrup.
• Citrus vodka adds lemon notes without extra acid, but plain vodka with a lemon peel works too.
• Shake hard; the light foam on top is part of the drink's texture.

Substitutions

Citrus vodka

Plain vodka is fine; express a lemon peel over the drink to add citrus aroma.

Cranberry juice cocktail

Unsweetened cranberry juice plus 7.5 ml simple syrup gives a tarter, more natural flavor.

Orange liqueur

Any good triple sec works. Sweeter, lower-proof triple secs need a little less.

Variations

White Cosmopolitan

Swap the cranberry for white cranberry juice and garnish with a few frozen cranberries.

Cosmo royale

Serve in a flute and top with 30 ml chilled dry sparkling wine.

Troubleshooting

It is dark red and sweet

Too much cranberry. Keep it to 30 ml so it accents the drink.

It tastes too sharp

Add 5 ml simple syrup, or check that you used sweetened cranberry juice cocktail.

It has no aroma

Express the orange peel over the drink just before serving.

Storage

Serve immediately. Keep cranberry juice cocktail refrigerated after opening and use it within the time on the label.

Safety notes

Contains 45 ml of vodka and 15 ml of orange liqueur, about 1.4 U.S. standard drinks (one standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol). Serve only to adults of legal drinking age; do not drink and drive. Take care with flame and keep it away from bottles of spirits.