The creation of the original Cosmopolitan is credited to bartender Cheryl Cook in 1985. She has said that “It’s merely a Kamikaze, but with Absolut Citron and a splash of cranberry juice.”
Although this may be an historical recipe, the best Cosmo’s are made with a smooth, neutral vodka. Not only do infused (flavored) liquors have less alcohol content, they can also offset the balance between the lime juice and orange liqueur. Below is the recipe that I’ve created that makes the ladies shiver n’ grin…
The Perfect Cosmo
3 oz – Skyy®
1 oz – Cointreau® Triple Sec
1.5 oz – Ocean Spray® Cranberry Juice
Juice of 1/2 fresh lime
Lime garnish
Preparation:
Fill shaker half full of ice, pour in alcohol, cran, then squeeze in lime juice. Drop lime half into shaker. Shake vigorously until shaker is ice cold or until the mixture has a frothy consistency. (15 – 20 sec.) Strain into Martini glass.
If you’ve done it correctly, you will have a beautiful pink cocktail with a thin layer of lime pulp floating on top.
Each step is crucial when making this cocktail. Skyy is a quadruple distilled, triple-filtered extremely smooth vodka with fewer impurities than any other vodka. This ultimately leads to fewer hangovers and headaches.
Triple sec is an orange flavored liqueur that should not be taken lightly. Other cheap, liquor store brands will leave you wondering what the hell is wrong with your Cosmo’s. Cointreau is more expensive so you’re gonna have to suck it up and spring for this premium liqueur. The only other acceptable substitute for Cointreau would be DeKuyper Triple Sec. Either one will make you a delicious Cosmopolitan.
Make sure you use Ocean Spray, not your local supermarket brand. The taste and quality is far superior. Also take care not to grab Cran-Raspberry, they look the same.
Enjoy!
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