Cosmopolitan

The Cosmopolitan, or Cosmo cocktail is a deliciously tart yet sweet fruity drink that's flavor is reminiscent of my homemade pink lemonade! That's no surprise as one of the main ingredients is cranberry juice cocktail, along with vodka, lime juice and either triple sec or Cointreau!

Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail

Blended perfectly with my recommended ingredients, you will find that this is simply one of the best cosmopolitans you will have! Plus, it's a quick and easy cocktail to mix up for entertaining too!

Jump to:

• Best Cosmopolitan Cocktail
• 🍹 Ingredients
• 🍸 Instructions
• 🍸 Pitcher Cosmopolitan Instructions
• 🥂 Cocktail Tips & Variations
• How To Double Strain A Cocktail
• 📖 Recipe Card
• 💬 Comments & Reviews

🍹 Ingredients

The classic cosmopolitan cocktail combines vodka, triple sec, lime and Ocean Spray cranberry juice cocktail. It has to be the cranberry juice cocktail, which includes other fruits. If you use the 100% cranberry juice, your Cosmopolitan will end up too tart rather than perfectly tart!

I suggest using Absolut Citron for your vodka, but if you don't have that on hand use a better vodka. Your drinks are directly affected by the ingredients used, and a $5 vodka just won't compare to better brand(s) when it comes to flavor.

Triple sec is another ingredient that I like to upgrade. Although the 'original Cosmopolitan' was made using triple sec, I just think using Cointreau makes your cosmo SO MUCH BETTER!

• Vodka - (Absolut Citron)
• Cranberry Juice Cocktail
• Lime Juice - (Rose's or fresh lime juice)
• Triple Sec - (Cointreau)

🍸 Instructions

Fill your shaker with ice, then add the ingredients. Now, a note about the ingredients - base vs my suggested upgrades.

1. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add 2 ounces of vodka, 1 ounce of cranberry juice, ¾ ounce lime juice, and ¾ ounce triple sec.
2. Shake until chilled.
3. Strain into a chilled martini glass using the double strain method.
4. Garnish with citrus wedge (orange, lemon, or lime) or curl.

🍸 Pitcher Cosmopolitan Instructions

Pitcher Cosmopolitan Recipe for entertaining - this pitcher sized serving yields approximately six cosmopolitans.

• 1 ½ cups Absolut Citron
• ¾ cup cranberry juice cocktail
• ½ cup lime juice
• ½ cup Cointreau

Add all of the ingredients into a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve later in the day. To serve, add ice to a shaker and pour the Cosmopolitan mix into the shaker. Shake until chilled, strain and serve in a chilled martini or cocktail glass with citrus garnish.

🥂 Cocktail Tips & Variations

• As noted above, use a cranberry juice cocktail rather than 100% cranberry juice for your cosmopolitan. I do suggest Ocean Spray brand cranberry juice, as the flavor has always resulted in a tastier cosmo for me.
• Now a note about the lime juice. Rose's brand lime juice is already sweetened and will work just fine. However, I do prefer fresh lime juice for my ultimate Cosmopolitan!
• If using fresh lime juice doesn't quite suit your tastebuds, try mixing it half and half with simple syrup. This will make for a better homemade version of Rose's lime juice.
• Add your desired ingredients to your shaker, then shake vigorously until chilled. Pour the ingredients using the double strain method into a chilled martini or cocktail glass.

How To Double Strain A Cocktail

Use your regular (Hawthorne) strainer over the mouth of the cocktail shaker and hold a small fine mesh sieve strainer over the mouth of your glass.

Serve your Cosmopolitan cocktail with a wedge or curl from your favorite citrus - lime, lemon, or orange.

Notes for a pitcher sized portion for entertaining are included in the recipe card below and in the cocktail instructions above. Enjoy!!

📖 Recipe Card