Cosmopolitan
ClassicIBA OfficialCitrus vodka, cranberry, and a blush of lime.
Crisp and tart, with citrus vodka's clean bite up front and Cointreau's orange sweetness rounding the edges. Fresh lime keeps it sharp; a measure of cranberry lends a dry, berry-tinged finish and that signature blush-pink glow. Bright, dry, and elegant — fruity without ever turning sweet.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Citrus Vodka
- 0.5 oz Triple Sec
- 0.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 oz Cranberry Juice
- Lime wheel · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Add the citrus vodka, triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice to a shaker with ice.
- 2
Shake hard until well-chilled.
- 3
Double-strain into a chilled martini glass.
- 4
Garnish with a lime wheel.
The Story
The Cosmopolitan crystallized out of the American cocktail revival of the late 1980s, when bartenders reached for citrus vodka and a splash of cranberry to build something bright, pink, and unmistakably modern. Toby Cecchini's 1988 version at New York's Odeon — fresh lime, Cointreau, and Absolut Citron in place of earlier sweetened templates — is the one most bartenders trace the drink to. A few years later it became the defining glass of a generation, carried onto every screen by the women of *Sex and the City*. Beneath the glamour is a genuinely well-built sour: tart, balanced, and dressed in the prettiest color in the bar.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
