How Do You Make a Cosmopolitan?

How do you make a cosmopolitan like the ones trendy Carrie Bradshaw from television's "Sex and the City"? This guide will show you how.

The cosmopolitan is a cousin of the cape codder, a cranberry cooler although bartenders around the United States claim to have invented original cosmopolitan drink recipes. Most people give credit to Cheryl Cook, a Floridian bartender, for mixing up the first cosmo in 1987. It's not difficult to learn how to make a cosmopolitan. With the right recipe, you will be whipping up your own fancy cosmopolitans with ease.

This cocktail paved the way for a series of sweet drinks now served in martini glasses. Even though these drinks are referred to as martinis, they have little and sometimes nothing in common with the classic martini.

To properly serve up a batch of cosmopolitans, you'll need to invest in one mid-priced to top shelf vodka citron, a set of cosmopolitan glasses (martini glasses, often with funky stems or pretty designs on the glasses), a bowlful of coarse sugar, a bottle of Cointreau, fresh limes, a fresh orange and a bottle of cranberry juice. Some recipes call for triple sec or Grand Marnier in place of the Cointreau, but only high quality triple sec will suffice and Grand Marnier will produce a heavy, overly sweet concoction.

To make a perfect cosmopolitan, slice a fresh orange and rub the rim of the glass with the juice. Dip the rim of the glass in the coarse sugar, coating the rim. You can use tinted sugar if you like to add a little pizzazz to the presentation.

Combine the following in a cocktail shaker:
1 ounce vodka citron
½ ounce Cointreau
½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
½ ounce or less of cranberry juice
Five ice cubes

Shake the cocktail in the glass for a full minute to allow the mixture to cool sufficiently and to allow a little bit of the ice to melt. Strain the cocktail into the prepared martini glass, allowing no ice to escape into the glass. Garnish with a twist of orange and a coin-sized orange slice floating in the drink. If you want to impress your guests, flame the drink just before serving so a thin layer of orange oil will form on top of the cocktail.

When making cosmos, make sure you use very little cranberry juice. You want to use the juice more for color than flavor. Also, if you like a sweeter cosmo, try substituting Rose's lime cordial or sour mix instead of the lime juice.