by Louanne Cox

Created on: July 07, 2007

"A cheese burger, large fries and a cosmopolitan please?" says Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. Because of this television series women everywhere are ordering cosmopolitans and modeling themselves on whichever of the women they most admire. Although the drink originated in the mid 1980s, most of us were more into the creamy drinks of that decade like Sex on the Beach & Toblerones, I actually didn't have a cosmopolitan until I saw Sex and the City. I have missed out on a lot, the cosmopolitan is a refreshing change from creamy cocktails without the sting of some of the tequila and gin based ones. The popular recipe is 1 oz vodka, 1oz cranberry juice, oz cointreau & a splash of lime juice. Mix all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well, then strain into a martini glass.

Most sources credit Florida bartender Cheryl Cook with creating the original Cosmopolitan. She claims to have invented it in the mid 1980s because she wanted to have something that would look good in a martini glass, but was also palatable to drink. She used to watch people order martini's to try and look cool and then not be able to drink them. I know myself, I cannot drink a straight martini as I find them far too strong.

You can also make a Blue Cosmopolitan by substituting the cranberry juice with white cranberry juice and the cointreau with blue curacao.

A White Cosmopolitan is made when you substitute cranberry juice with white cranberry juice. Personally I like the pink of the regular cranberry juice.

So, cheers to Carrie, Miranda, Samantha & Charlotte for bringing the Cosmopolitan to our attention.

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