Sex and the City: The Cosmopolitan
Love it or hate it, Sex and the City introduced a whole new generation of drinkers, myself included, to the fabulous world of the cocktail. This is the first in a series of posts trying out drinks featured on the show, and seeing how they stand up in the real world. Today, the most (in)famous of all Sex and the City cocktails, the Cosmopolitan.
The Cosmo was Carrie Bradshaw’s drink of choice throughout much of Sex and the City. Despite its modern image, the recipe follows the classic sour-family cocktail recipe of base spirit (vodka), sweetener (Cointreau) and sour (lime juice), with a bit of cranberry juice thrown in to add an extra bit of tartness and a nice pink colour.
Its history is somewhat uncertain – until recently it was thought to have originated during the 80s, perhaps based upon the Harpoon, a drink created to promote Ocean Spray juice during the 1960s. This was complicated recently though by the discovery of a gin based “Cosmopolitan” recipe, very similar to the modern Cosmo in all but the use of gin, listed in the 1934 book “Pioneers of Mixing Gin at Elite Bars”.
Whatever its origins, the Cosmo is now firmly rooted as one of the most popular cocktails of the past twenty years. However this popularity has become its undoing, and it has become rather démodé in recent years. I think a lot of this has to do with the poorly made Cosmopolitans that many bars turn out these days, using far too much cranberry, cheap triple-sec and lime cordial, or (gasp) sour mix, rather than fresh juice. Which is a shame, as I firmly believe a well made Cosmo is a deserved classic.
Cosmopolitan
- 1½ shots citrus vodka
- ½ shot Cointreau
- ¾ shot cranberry juice
- ½ shot lime juice
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- Shake all ingredients well with ice and fine strain in to a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange zest.
Unfortunately the red wall in the background of the photo has made the Cosmo look a lot redder than it should be. Ideally a Cosmopolitan should be a pinky colour, rather than a red. The cranberry and lime create a tart, sour flavour that nicely offsets the sweetness of the Cointreau, with the vodka further underlining the citrus taste. The orange bitters and flamed zest really make this drink, bringing together the flavours to create a surprisingly interesting mix that is far more complex than the Cosmo’s reputation might suggest. If you’ve never tried it with bitters, give it a go – you might just discover what all the fuss is about.
Posted in Curaçao & Triple Sec, Lime, Orange Bitters, Recipes, Sex and the City, Vodka
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September 2nd, 2007 at 10:25 pm
[...] stuff either, or you’ll end up like this guy. Also, lots of folks, like Jay at Oh Gosh! who recently did a post on Cosmos from the other direction, want you to use citrus infused vodka. Do not fall into this [...]
September 8th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Does anyone know the exact episode the very first Cosmopolitan was seen on Sex in the City. I want to reant it.
Thank you!
Cheryl
September 10th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
[...] On with the show. I played a bit of Blogpong with Jay at Oh Gosh! over Cosmopolitans, and the use of infused vodka. Jay advocated citrus infused vodka in making Cosmos, and I think it [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Does anyone know the secret of getting a flame from squeezing the orange peel?? I’ve tried several types of orange with no success?
May 9th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Jim, big old navel oranges are the best in my experience. It’s important to use a nice sharp knife and avoid handling the peel too much before you squeeze it, as you want to conserve as much of the zest oils as possible.
I haven’t made a Cosmo for ages, but with the movie coming up I might have to dig out a bottle of citrus vodka to celebrate. If I remember any other tips for flaming zests I’ll be sure to let you know!
June 8th, 2008 at 3:55 am
The first time the Cosmopolitan was mentioned and seen in the TV show was on July 18th, 1999. It was the 2nd season, 19th episode called The Chicken Dance. Samantha orders one at a wedding bar, Carrie orders vodka on the rocks.
The next was in the 20th episode called The Man, The Myth, The Viagra.
The third time was #23 Evolution and the fourth was #24 La Douleur Exquise!
Cheryl
June 9th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Good find Cheryl – thanks for keeping me updated. It’s funny, I watched the second season back when I was locating cocktails to cover like the Tartini, but I totally missed the Cosmo mentions. I guess I assumed it was earlier on…
June 20th, 2008 at 4:44 am
[...] billboards to broadcast from. And the radio. Movies are also a great way to advertise. After the Sex and the City movie came out, my friend’s sister went out to a bar and the bartender said that ever since [...]
November 26th, 2008 at 4:15 am
[...] to "Sex in the City," a Cosmopolitan (aka "a cosmo") is the ultimate cranberry cocktail, but you can do so much more with that humble cranberry [...]
March 5th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
[...] The Sex and the City cosmopolitan craze has had a trickle-down effect of another kind. Research shows that watching small-screen [...]
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:39 am
[...] ქერი ბრედშოუს და მისი დაქალების ფავო…. [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
[...] cosmopolitan which was throughout the series and in the last scene of the movie. As a result, cosmos were very much back on the bar menu and featured in every magazine. They were even able to get some [...]
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
[...] Now if only Wild Blossom could be sipped on a hit television show too? [...]
November 14th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
[...] Unless you’ve set your heart on attending Prohibition start to finish, you should be thinking about going to the Sphincter Show at 9:30 in the Branford common room; there’s probably no group of women on campus (except Theta) sharper or better at timely satires of campus issues. If you are easily offended, a member of the Greek system, or strongly pro-Yale administration, you may want to stay away. But if you aren’t, and decide to go, bring this Bullblog Drinking Game along—and, for good feminist measure, a cosmo! [...]
January 6th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Despite it’s modern image
NOPE
possessive its has no apostrophe !
January 6th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
….actually you’ve done it all the way through
January 6th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Thanks for pointing it out – now corrected. I guess I wasn’t in the mood for proof reading that day.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Substituting Grey Goose Poire vodka makes it a pear cosmo, and is my go-to cocktail when I’m in the mood for something sweet.
As far as citrus vodkas, I was disappointed by Ketel One’s version–ugh! smells and TASTES very medicinal, in my opinion. Surprising, since I like regular Ketel One in a good dirty martini. Absolute Citron or almost anything else is better for mixing, though.