Easy Cosmo Recipe

I’ve always thought a cosmo was a slightly deceptive cocktail. Hear me out! The first time I ordered one I honestly didn’t know what was in it—I had just heard the name cosmopolitan before, so I thought I’d give it a try. (I’ve actually never seen Sex in the City so I’m not totally sure what show or movie I got this from?) Given that the cocktail is pink, I thought it would be some version of a very sweet martini. Not so! Although a cosmo is sweeter than sipping vodka, it’s not a very sweet drink at all.

But maybe this just shows my own ignorance to the potential complexities of pink drinks. You can’t always judge a book by its cover.

This easy cosmo recipe is quite classic in that it’s a balanced drink (not too sweet, not too bitter) of citron vodka, lime, and cranberry juice. And if you don’t have citron vodka on hand, plain vodka will work as well. I would just be a little heavy handed with the lime juice in that case.

And here’s how I make those little orange spirals. You can buy a fancy peeler to assist with this, but as I have been KonMari-ing my kitchen this year I found I just don’t use that kind of thing enough to have it at home. So I use a potato peeler to scrape off a large piece of orange peel, and then simply use my kitchen shears to cut strips and curl them. This would be too labor intensive to be practical if you were bartending and busy, but if you’re just shaking up a small number of these or have time to make these orange spirals ahead I’d do it because they really do elevate the drink just a little. I mean, THEY ARE CUTE.

🙂

I like to serve these in a martini glass (bonus points if you chill the glass beforehand), but a coupe is really cute too. Whatever you serve this cosmo in, enjoy—cheers! xo. Emma

5 from 2 votes

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Easy Cosmo Recipe

Servings 1

Ingredients

• 2 ounces citron vodka
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 1 ounce cranberry juice
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• orange peel for garnish

Instructions

1. In a cocktail shaker, add the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, lime juice, and ice. Shake until the shaker feels very cold in your hands. Strain into a martini glass or coupe and garnish.

Recipe Notes

You can use plain, unflavored vodka if that's what you have on hand. I would just go heavy on the lime juice, so maybe use more like 3/4 ounce.

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.