Need a good recipe.

Can someone give me a good recipe for a cosmopolitan, all the ones I have that I try are way too sweet. I would love a lime filled, cool and good tasty one. Sorry no tiki drink.

A Cosmo is one of Satan's Sin's very favorite drinks. I travel a lot, and discovered the very bestest of Cosmos at the Hyatt in Baltimore:

Vodka: Absolut Orange

Sweetener: Cointreau (NOT Triple Sec!)

Lime: fresh as possible

Cranberry Juice: Ocean Spray

Cocktail Shaker: Penguin-shaped

1. Put ice into cocktail glasses to chill.

2. Cut smidgen of lime peel for garnish. Then cut lime in half.

3. Fill cocktail shaker to halfway with ice.

4. Pour in a bold splash of Absolut Orange.

5. Pour in like, um, a capful's worth of Cointreau.

6. Squeeze in lime juice (one half lime for tangy, both halves for tangier).

7. Exercise extreme caution in pouring in cranberry juice. This is where most Cosmos fail. Some people think the cranberry is an important flavoring ingredient. False! False! At the end of the day, and after exhaustive expirimentation, I have concluded that the cranberry juice is basically for COLORING. I would use, say ... a capful's worth. Just a bare dash.

8. Close cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until your hands can't take the cold anymore.

9. Discard ice from cocktail glasses.

10. Pour drink. Drop lime peel on top for garnish. Or if you want to go whole-hog, an orange peel instead (but don't , for God's sake, use any orange juice in the recipe!).

11. Now put on Julie London's cover of "Cocktails for Two," and in the words of General Patton: "you'll know what to do."

Satan's Sin knows there will be smooth sailing tonight!

[ Edited by: Satan's Sin on 2004-09-08 08:03 ]

One year at christmas time I stumbled upon a unique twist of the Cosmo. I was infusing a wide variety of alcohols with fruit for x-mas gifts and was sampling them one night. I combined the lime infused gin with some cranberry infused vodka, iced em down in a shaker, and put it in a martini glass with a sugared rim. I don't remember anything after that. It was smoooooooov.

of course, this takes a bit of food prep and 2 weeks waiting time until its ready for action.

I have been a bartender for countless years now, including some VERY upscale places. So I thought I should say that the recipe that Satin's Sin posted is very much the ideal Cosmo. Yummy.

Most folk, at least in the midwest, view the cosmo as a girly drink. But I beg to differ. A good cosmo is a work of art, a bad cosmo is too sweet or just plain undrinkable.

Thank you, Finkdaddy. Coming from a professional bartender, I consider that high praise indeed.

I have been looked at askance many a time when ordering a Cosmo, because it is a "girly" drink. Well --

1. Marlboro cigarettes were once "ladies" cigarettes. Faced with sagging sales -- and hiring an extremely smart ad agency -- the cigarette was repositioned as a "manly" cigarette, cowboys were featured in the ads, and sales went through the roof.

2. There is a Russian peasant drink that consists of vodka and cranberry juice. It is used for festive occasions, as opposed to everyday getting-blotto purposes. Vodka is poured into a shot glass, then some cranberry juice is added. I tell girly-drink-detractors that this is the origin of the Cosmo, that it is a very ancient drink, although speaking frankly to my brothers and sisters at TC, I don't know this at all. But it at least shuts up the sniggerers.

Thank you folks. Cosmo's are butchered and derided(?) on a regular basis. SS, that recipe has been committed to memory. I'm a very big Martini (summer)/Manhatten (winter) fan. Cosmo's and Gimlets will fill in very nicely for spring and fall.

[ Edited by: foamy on 2004-09-08 14:11 ]

Satan's Sin's unasked-for Manhattan recipe:

(a work very much still in progress)

1. Do NOT use a cocktail shaker! A shaken whiskey drink comes out "foamy!" No good! Is best to mix in glass itself!

2. Put cherry into an old-fashioned glass.

3. Add a small handful of ice.

4. Splash in a generous dollop of whiskey. Jack Daniel's is always good, but I actually prefer a cheapie called Ten High. Has a slight sweetness.

5. Carefully pour in a half capful of sweet vermouth.

6. One and one-half dashes of bitters (tricky, I know, but nothing is easy, now is it?).

7. Gently, gently stirr with plastic cocktail stirrer, preferably one that has a tiny whistle or female form with enormous breasts.

Let me know how it sits!

S.S. I just got home after working 10 hours and saw your recipe. Since I could not go out and get the correct stuff for right now here is what I did. Vodka, Belvedere, I added some fresh orange zest (picked it from the garden).Lime, fresh. I picked it from my garden. I had the rest of the stuff except for the type of shaker you have. It came out preety strong but good. I bet it would have been perfect if I had the right shaker. Thanks a million. AHHHHH I am in heaven.

Hiltiki, that sounds pretty good. Fresh from the tree fruit? A particular friend of mine would love that mix. Oh, yeah.

SS, I'm down with everything, but, I'm gonna have to try the High Ten (a bourbon, yes?). I like a sweet(ish) finish on a Manhatten, usually accomplished with a dash of cherry syrup, and I generally mix with VO or Crown. I'll give it a shot and let you know. I like bourbon very much. Oddly enough, I haven't yet considered it for a Manhatten. If it's anything like the Cosmo recipe, I'm sure it'll be great. BTW, you can offer unsolicited recipes anytime – and thanks!

Hiltiki -- surely one of the grandest pleasures of living in California is going out to one's backyard to pick of the lime and lemon trees, is it not?

Forgot to add to the recipe -- "work like hell for 10 hours first." That always makes it better.

Nothing I like more when on the road than after a 14-hour day to plop myself down in my hotel room with my colleagues to see what kind of crazy drinks we can whip up. And fast!

Foamy -- I will try VO and Crown, as my Manhattan recipe is not yet perfected. Do try the Ten High. It is indeed a bourbon. And pleasingly priced. Have not thought of using cherry syrup; will give it a try.

Yes, SS it is a pleasure to just go out there all year round and pick stuff. In fact this year I also planted few kinds of mint, so I have fresh mint for mai-tai.Maybe I should try pinapples next.:~)

Kitty and I have enjoyed Satan's Sin's Cosmopolitan recipe finding the cocktail to be as good or better than any we have tried. The only thing I don't like is the fogging of the drink by using fresh lime juice. Fresh tastes better, (and I'm sticking with it) but Roses Sweetened Lime juice produces
a clearer and more traditional looking martini-type drink. Or is there a method you pros use to counter the fogging effect?

mrtikibar, imho, the "fogging" comes from using the cocktail shaker. I am not sure of the physics behind this phenomenon, but I think it has something to do with string theory and extra dimensions.

You can try stirring the ingredients in a pitcher with ice -- like a martini -- but this would not be as much fun. Rose's lime juice is very good, but not quite as tangy as fresh. A true conumdrum, indeed.

I am deeply gratified that you found my recipe satisfactory. It took considerable research. And this is a good time of year for a Cosmo, is it not?

I have completed my investigations into the art of the Manhattan. I am now moving onto the sublime mysteries of the Sidecar.

Satan's Sin,

Shaken, not stirred of course. Keep up the good work. Isn't their a TC grant available for this type of research?

[ Edited by: mrtikibar on 2004-12-23 11:25 ]

Isn't their a TC grant available for this type of research?

Yes, but the competition for the Girl Drink Fellowship can get really nasty.