Cosmopolitan Cocktail

This Cosmopolitan Cocktail is the perfect martini recipe for a girl’s night, book club, or just a quiet night at home. Made with just four simple ingredients, you will fall in love!

I was just talking with a friend today . . . well, texting. I was asking her some advice about something and then suddenly was overcome with sadness that we couldn’t be having this conversation in person over some delicious food.

I’m an introvert, so in a lot of ways, 2020 hasn’t been terrible for me. But I am an introvert who does need occasional social interaction. And it just hit me out of the blue today how much I wish I could have a meal or a cocktail with a friend.

So if you are feeling like me, I would encourage you to send this recipe to your friend you miss the most, and schedule a video chat with them, with you both sipping Cosmopolitans.

Classic Cosmo Vs. The New

Originally a Cosmopolitan cocktail contained vodka, orange liqueur, lime juice, and just a splash of cranberry juice. It made it this gorgeous pale pink color.

Over time, it has evolved a little and more cranberry juice has been added. The version here has more cranberry juice, making it less strong and a little sweeter.

If you would like the original, cut the cranberry juice back to a splash. And make two.

And make sure you drink enough water beforehand.

Ingredients in a Cosmopolitan Cocktail

This cocktail recipe only has four ingredients, so you want them to be good!

• Start with quality vodka
• Then you need some good orange liqueur
• Add fresh lime juice
• And finally cranberry cocktail

What Vodka Brands to Use

There is a great range in vodkas, so I’m going to give you my three recommendations in order of their quality:

1. Grey Goose – You can’t beat this quality for the price.
2. Belvedere
3. Titos

What Cranberry Juice to Use

Technically we aren’t going to use actual cranberry juice. It is extremely tart. Use a Cranberry Cocktail. It will make the drink sweeter. That said, if you don’t like sweet drinks, you can go back to the authentic way of making Cosmopolitans and add just a splash.

Orange Liqueur

This recipe calls for orange liqueur, which leaves you with two real choices: Triple Sec or Cointreau. Cointreau is a top shelf version of Triple Sec, a sweet orange liqueur. They vary in alcohol content with Cointreau coming in around 40% and Triple Sec hanging out around 25%.

I highly recommend investing in a bottle of Cointreau. I use them in my famous margarita recipe, and it really does take cocktails to the next level.

How to Make a Cosmopolitan

1. Fill your martini glass with ice and water and put it in the refrigerator. If you can plan ahead it is best to leave it in there for four hours.
2. Add ice to your metal cocktail shaker.
3. Pour in the vodka, orange liqueur, lime juice, and cranberry juice. Give it a shake.
4. Dump the ice water out of your martini glass and wipe it down.
5. Strain the cocktail into the chilled martini glass and garnish with a lemon peel or lime wedge.

More Martinis

If you are looking for more great martini recipes, check out these classics

• Dirty Martini
• Lemon Drop Martini
• Gin Martini

If you try this Cosmo or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!