The Cosmopolitan is back. If you haven’t heard or seen, the Cosmo has been proclaimed by some as the drink of Summer 2021, as consumers venture out and gather together after more than a year of social distancing during the pandemic.
The pretty pink cocktail shot to fame in the late 1990s/early 2000s. There are differing accounts as to who invented it, but there’s no question that the Cosmo’s role on Sex & The City fueled its popularity.
But just the drink soared to dizzying heights, it soon faced a backlash for being too basic and ubiquitous. It became profoundly uncool to order a Cosmopolitan at many bars, especially “serious” craft cocktail spots—some so precious that they didn’t even stock vodka.
Still, many people never stopped drinking them. The Cosmopolitan is, after all, a great drink when made properly. And now that some 20 years have passed since Carrie Bradshaw and friends first hoisted their Cosmos, what’s old is cool again. Here are a few recent spins on the now-classic cocktail.
Nuevo León
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Grey Goose L’Orange vodka
- ½ oz. Solerno Blood Orange liqueur
- 1 oz. Lemon juice
- 1 oz. Cranberry juice
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into shaker and shake.
- Strain into coupe glass.
- Garnish with orange slice.
Notes
Cosmo ICEtail
Ingredients
- 1 part Reyka vodka
- 2 part Cranberry juice
- 1 part Fresh lime juice
- 1 ¾ parts Simple syrup 1:1
- 1 ¾ parts Water
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a freezer-friendly vessel of choice.
- Place in the freezer and freeze until icy consistency.
- Serve with a spoon.
Notes
Mother’s Cosmo
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Gordon’s Sicilian lemon gin
- ½ oz. Fresh lime juice
- ½ oz. Orange saccharum
- 2 Fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Muddle 2 fresh raspberries in a cocktail shaker.
- Add all the ingredients and fill with ice.
- Shake and strain in a chilled cocktail coupe.
- Garnish with an orange peel.
Notes
Strawberry Rose Cosmo
Ingredients
- 1 oz. Vodka
- ½ oz. Triple sec
- ½ oz. Monin Strawberry Rose syrup
- ½ oz. Fresh lime juice
- ¾ oz. Grapefruit juice
Instructions
- Chill a cocktail/Martini glass.
- Pour ingredients into mixing glass with 2/3 ice in order listed.
- Cap, shake and strain into chilled serving glass.
- Add edible flower(s), strawberry garnish
Notes
Cause-Mopolitan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Strawberry lemongrass-infused Grey Goose vodka
- ½ oz. Cointreau
- ¾ oz. Lime juice
- ½ oz. Cranberry juice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a shaker.
- Shake and fine strain into coupe glass.
- Garnish with orange swath.
Notes
Bradshaw on Bedford
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Vodka
- 1 oz. Rose rhubarb sun-dried tomato syrup
- ¾ oz. Lemon juice
- 4 Basil leaves
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice.
- Shake vigorously.
- Double strain into a coupe glass.
- Garnish with a ribbon of rhubarb.
Notes
Combine 6 stalks of rhubarb, 5 cups of dried rose petals, 3 cups of sundried tomato (must be air sealed, NOT oil-packed), 4 cups water, and 4 cups sugar; bring to a boil and left to steep for 10 minutes before straining. Color should be deep red to pink and taste savory salty tart. Max Stampa-Brown, beverage director at Den Hospitality in New York, created this recipe for the company’s Bandits concept.
Berry Cosmopolitan
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Frankly Organic Strawberry vodka
- ½ oz. Cointreau
- ½ oz. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- ½ oz. Simple syrup
Instructions
- Combine all liquid in a shaker.
- Fill with ice and shake.
- Strain into a Martini glass
- Garnish with a lemon twist.