Sunday, October 6, 2024

Don't Call It Retro: The Cosmopolitan Cocktail Has Always Been in Style





 I hear there is a revival happening right now- a retro cocktail revival. Something about the "fluorescent nostalgia of old school cocktails" as noted by Sam Stone in Bon Appetit magazine this month. In the article they described a new version of the electric green Appletini showing up in a cocktail bar in New Orleans. I have no problem with a comeback story. I love the idea of a phoenix rising out of the ashes. The issue have here is that this drink made popular in the 1990's is considered "old school" as if it were a classic gin martini garnished with a single green olive-the kind my grandmother would have ordered if she actually drank that sort of thing. Designating something that was popular in the 1990's as retro also signals to me that I am now officially old and I don't like to be reminded of that since I will forever think of myself as 25 and impossibly young.

Other "Comeback Cocktails" listed in the article (Neon Retro Redux) include the Cosmopolitan made popular in the late 1990's -early 2000's by Carrie and her fabulous friends in "Sex and the City".  But I contend that this very cool drink never went out of style and it continues to be top on my list of go-to's. And those four ladies will always represent the epitome of a cool, strong female power squad. I think we need to channel that energy now more than ever, don't you?

Recently, though the ever glam Cosmopolitan cocktail reached an even higher rung on my list when I had one -dare I say, "the best version I have ever tasted"?- at Fisherman's View Restaurant in Sandwich, MA. Not your typical SATC vibe, a nice-tame place overlooking the water that was way too crowded on a Saturday night after Labor Day but the cocktail was perfection: bright pink hue disguising the booziness of the vodka, eye pleasing contrast with the lime wheel garnish but the best part was the balance of tart and sweet from the ingenious swap out of a cranberry shrub for the typical cranberry juice cocktail.  I am salivating just thinking about it now.

Now this is a reboot that I can get behind. 


The Fisherman's View Restaurant calls theirs the "Cape Cod Cosmo". If you are ever in Sandwich, MA be sure to stop by and sample it for yourself. Until then, make this at home as this version tastes pretty close to theirs.


Best Cosmopolitan 
(makes one)

3 oz. vodka
2 oz. cranberry shrub*
1/2 oz. triple sec or cointreau
1/4 oz. lime juice
lime wheel for garnish

Add all ingredients except lime wheel to shaker full of ice. Shake vigorously until shaker has frost forming on the outside. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with lime wheel. Serve dirty rocks on the side.


*Cranberry Shrub
(makes enough for multiple cocktails)


1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar

Add all ingredients to a medium size saucepan. Bring to boil them simmer for 15 minutes on low.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a glass jar with lid. Refrigerate until ready to use.






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