Sex and the Cosmopolitan

Sex and the Cosmopolitan

It's a modern drink that has very quickly become a classic - and deservedly so. Joanne Gibson profiles the history and popularity of the lem-lime vodka and cranberry juice cocktail.

 

Hi, I'd like a cheeseburger, please, a large fries and a Cosmopolitan." Thus spake Carrie Bradshaw in the popular television series Sex and the City, and the Cosmo almost instantly acquired mass appeal.

As Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte's drink of choice during countless escapades in New York City, it became the symbol of a hip, sexy and sophisticated lifestyle - arguably the female onscreen equivalent of James Bond and the Martini. But despite being one of the most popular cocktails of the past decade, its origins are somewhat unclear.

It certainly bears no resemblance to the gin-based Cosmopolitan described in a 1934 book called Pioneers of Mixing Gin at Elite Bars, although it does follow the classic guidelines for a "sour-type cocktail" - namely a base spirit (vodka, preferably a lemon-flavoured one like Absolut Citron) with some tartness (from limes and cranberry juice) and a hint of sweetness (from a Triple Sec such as Cointreau and, if used, lime cordial).

According to online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, the Cosmopolitan seems to have been developed in the 1970s, perhaps in the gay community of Provincetown, Massachusetts (that divine pink colour, darling), perhaps at the Cork & Cleaver steakhouse in Minneapolis (frankly unlikely, with apologies to bartender Neal Murray if he did indeed create the drink in 1975), and perhaps by Cheryl Cook, a bartender in South Beach, Florida (which is at least very appropriate, given the strong woman/Sex and the City association).

Cook certainly claims credit, quoted in an online interview by Wikipedia as follows: "What overwhelmed me was the number of people who ordered Martinis just to be seen with a Martini glass in their hand. It was this realisation that gave me the idea to create a drink that everyone could palate and was visually stunning in that classic glass. This is what the Cosmo was based on."

Her recipe called for "Absolut Citron, a splash of Triple Sec, a drop of Roses lime and just enough cranberry to make it oh so pretty in pink" but by the time it was established in New York, in about 1987 or 1988, the ingredients had already changed a little.

It seems Toby Cecchini, bartender at The Odeon, took a poorly described version of Cook's recipe and developed what has since become the internationally standardised drink - including Cointreau specifi cally and freshly squeezed lime juice as opposed to cordial.

Ideally a Cosmopolitan should be pink rather than red, but cranberry juice is good for more than just colour.

High in antioxidants, which help to protect our bodies against the free radicals that play a role in normal ageing (not to mention the onset of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses), cranberries also contain proanthocyanidins.

These not only prevent bacteria from forming in the bladder (thereby reducing the risk of urinary tract infections) but also in the mouth (thereby reducing the formation of plaque which can lead to gum disease).

A veritable health drink for girls out on the town, it's little wonder that, in the 2007 film adaptation of Sex and the City, Miranda sips on a Cosmopolitan and asks: "Why did we ever stop drinking these?" To which Carrie replies: "Because everyone else started!"

It could also be argued, however, that discerning drinkers stopped ordering Cosmos simply because too many bars served poorly made ones - too much cranberry juice, cheap triple sec, sour mix rather than fresh lime juice...

Made properly, though, a well-made Cosmo is a deserved classic. As Carrie says: "So what are we going to do? Sit around bars, sipping Cosmos and sleeping with strangers when we're 80?"

Try the recipe below (from the International Bartenders Association) and this might not seem such a bad idea.

COSMOPOLITAN
40ml Absolut Citron
15ml Cointreau
15ml fresh lime juice
30ml cranberry juice

Put all the ingredients in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into large cocktail (Martini) glass. Garnish with a slice of lime, or with a piece of orange peel.

VARIATIONS
One variation of the Cosmopolitan calls for a lime wedge to be squeezed into the chilled cocktail glass instead of including it with the ingredients to be shaken. In a Cosmocello, the lime juice is substituted with Limoncello.

And then there's the Blue Cosmopolitan, which sees white cranberry juice used instead of red, and blue Curacao instead of Cointreau.