The famous Cosmopolitan Cocktail, made with vodka, a orange liqueur, lime juice, and a splash of cranberry juice is your go to ladies night drink. This cocktail was made for book clubs, gossip, and laughter.
While Sex in the City might have made Cosmos famous, the first iterations of this amazing cocktail recipe date back to the 1930s. The Cosmopolitan Daisy was published in a bartending book in 1934, and it was almost exactly this same cocktail. It is believed to be the original Cosmopolitan recipe.
Cosmopolitan Cocktail Ingredients
- Quality Vodka: Since this martini is primarily made up of vodka, you want to make sure that you use something that is high quality. Read some of our recommendations below.
- Orange Liqueur: That same gorgeous bottle that you bought for margaritas can be used here. We also have recommendations for what variety we prefer below.
- Lime Juice: In the world of cocktails, fresh lemon and lime juice is always preferred. That being said, you can certainly use the bottled variety in a pinch.
- Cranberry Juice: Straight, 100%, cranberry juice is actually quite tart. Our recommendation is to use cranberry cocktail in this and our other cocktails calling for cranberry juice.
What Vodka to Use
As mentioned in the recipe card, we suggest using a top shelf vodka for this Cosmopolitan drink. The best quality vodka for the price is Grey Goose and Belvediere. That being said, there is a rumor that Costco’s Kirkland brand vodka is actually a high end vodka that has been sold to the whole store for a lower price point. It has won more than once in blind taste tests.
If you do need to go to a lower shelf to make this cocktail, we would recommend that you go with Titos. It is a good lower shelf option.
Orange Liqueur
Orange Liqueur is exactly what it sounds like, an liqueur derived from oranges. It ranges greatly in quality and alcohol content. For our cocktails, we always spring for a bottle of Cointreau. The taste and quality cannot be beat. It is at the higher end of both quality and alcohol content. As we mentioned, it is what we use in our margaritas.
Another, more affordable option is Triple Sec. While that would work for some drinks, we do not suggest it here. It is overly sweet and not as good of a fit for this high end cocktail.
How to Make a Cosmopolitan
- Combine all of the ingredients into a metal cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Strain the ingredients into a chilled martini glass.
How to Serve a Cosmo Drink
As mentioned above, we love straining this ice cold cocktail into a chilled martini glass with a lemon twist. Chiling martini glasses is an easy trick that we love.
How to Chill a Martini Glass
Chiling martini glasses is an easy trick that we love.
- Fill the martini glass with ice.
- Top the ice with cold water.
- Put the glass in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Before serving the cocktail, dump out the water and gently dry the glass.
Garnish
To make a lemon twist, simple cut a slice of lemon. Make a slit in one side of it and then gently cut away the inside. Twist the remaining peel and set it on the edge of your glass.
Other Great Martinis
Can’t get enough of martinis? Try some of these favorites:
Cosmopolitan Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces good quality vodka
- 1 1/2 ounces orange liqueur
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 ounce cranberry juice
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake to combine and strain into a martini glass.
Did You Make This
Cosmopolitan Cocktail
Liz says
Nothing better than the classic Cosmo! You’ll have to share your tips on making those perfect lemon twists 🙂
Thank you Liz!! I should do a video on those!
Karen K says
I just put my martini glasses in the freezer to chill. 🍸
We hope you enjoy this one, Karen!
Judi says
We absolutely love this recipe! We used Svedka vodka, Triple Sec, no sugar added (100% juice) cranberry juice and fresh lemon juice, didn’t have limes. I used a tad less triple sec because of its sweetness. All of our guests agreed, the lemon juice tasted better than other cosmopolitans we’ve had made with fresh lime juice. Give it a try with fresh lemon juice. I chill my martini glasses by rinsing them with water, shaking off the excess water and placing them in the freezer while I mix up the cosmopolitans. They come out nicely frosted. Thanks for the great recipe!!