Despite what is often called ‘the roaring success’ of the Cosmopolitan cocktail after it was heavily featured in the Sex and the City series, I am surprised to see how many of my female friends have not tried it themselves.

Whenever I have friends over, it’s one of the first things I suggest and I always get the same reaction – it tastes fabulous and they love it.

A Cosmopolitan is one of those drinks that is served in a Martini glass, even though it does not contain any Martini. It may seem strange, but Martini glasses are visually superior to the standard tumblers or high-ball glasses so it does add to the image of the drink.

The pink colour in the drink makes it especially feminine and comes from the addition of cranberry juice; it shouldn’t be too dark but those of you who feel the drink is too strong may want to add a bit more cranberry to dilute it further.

Ingredients

• 45 ml Vodka. I’ve used various types but my favourite would be Absolut Citron which blends well with the Cointreau and Lime Juice.
• 30 ml Cointreau. Any triple sec will do, but Cointreau is the standard-bearer.
• 15 ml Fresh Lime Juice. Bottled juice works, of course, but the taste is crisper with fresh juice.
• 7 ml Cranberry Juice
• Orange Peel as garnish

Directions

1. Fill a shaker with ice.
2. Pour the fluids into the shaker and shake well.
3. Strain the contents into a cocktail glass. This means that the drink will not contain any ice but will be reasonably chilled. If you want to dilute the drink a little, some ice directly in the drink will help. Since it’s a Martini glass, I suggest ice chips or flakes.
4. Optionally garnish the drink with orange peel. For this, cut a half-circle of an orange and remove the fleshy part. Twist the peel over the drink so that some of the oils will spray on to the drink, then drop it in. If you don’t have orange to hand, a wedge of lime can also be used.

Cheers!