Cosmopolitan
A Cosmopolitan is 40ml of citrus vodka, 15ml of Cointreau, 15ml of fresh lime juice and 30ml of cranberry juice, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and double strained into a chilled coupe, with an orange twist. About 2.2 UK units. The measures are the IBA’s. Who invented it is disputed. Gary Regan credited Cheryl Cook, a bartender at the Strand in South Beach, Miami, with a version in 1985 or 1986. The recipe that spread is usually credited to Toby Cecchini at the Odeon in New York, made with Absolut Citron, Cointreau, fresh lime and cranberry; accounts date it to 1988 or 1989. Under the colour it is a sour: vodka, orange liqueur and lime, with cranberry for tint and a little extra acid. Made with fresh lime and served very cold, it is tart and dry, a long way from the sweet pink drink of its reputation.
Glassware: Coupe Glass
Garnish: Orange twist expressed, and flamed if you like
Ingredients
40ml
Lemon-flavoured vodka at about 40% ABV, as the IBA specifies. Plain vodka works too, with a generously expressed twist to supply the peel oil.
15ml
A dry orange liqueur at 40% ABV. It sweetens and adds orange perfume; a sweeter, weaker triple sec tips the drink towards sugar.
30ml
The sweetened cranberry juice drink sold in cartons, which is what the measures assume. Pure unsweetened cranberry juice is far sharper. Thirty millilitres tints the drink and adds a little acid.
Instructions
Squeeze the lime juice the same day.
Chill a coupe in the freezer.
Add the vodka, Cointreau, lime juice and cranberry juice to a shaker.
Fill with cubed ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe.
Express an orange twist over the surface, flamed if you like, and drop it in.
Source: the IBA (Official IBA specification; served in a chilled coupe with an orange twist where the IBA uses a large cocktail glass and a lemon twist; method ours). Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Chill the coupe in the freezer. A Cosmopolitan has no ice in the glass, and as it warms the lime fades and the sugar comes forward. A small glass, drunk promptly, stays cold to the last sip. Keep the cranberry to 30ml. It tints and sharpens; more turns the drink red, sweet and flat. The colour to aim for is a pale pink. Use fresh lime and a dry orange liqueur. Bottled lime juice and a sweet triple sec make the sticky version many people remember. Shake hard and double strain, so no ice chips water it down in the glass.
Behind the Cosmopolitan
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
The origin is disputed. Neal Murray says he added cranberry to a Kamikaze at the Cork & Cleaver in Minneapolis in 1975. Gary Regan credited Cheryl Cook, at the Strand in South Beach, with a drink of Absolut Citron, triple sec, Rose’s lime and cranberry in 1985 or 1986.
The version that spread came from the Odeon in New York. Regan credits Toby Cecchini and Melissa Huffsmith-Roth there in 1989; other accounts credit Cecchini alone, in 1988. Their recipe used Absolut Citron, Cointreau, fresh lime and cranberry juice.
The Sour Underneath
Take away the colour and the Cosmopolitan is vodka, orange liqueur and lime, the frame of the Kamikaze. The Margarita and the White Lady are built the same way: spirit, orange liqueur and citrus.
The cranberry does two jobs. It tints the glass and adds a little acid and tannin, which dries the finish. At 30ml it stays in a supporting role.
The Odeon, the IBA and Ours
The Cosmopolitan at the Odeon, at the IBA and here
Vodka
- Odeon
- 2oz Absolut Citron
- IBA
- 40ml citron vodka
- Ours
- 40ml citrus vodka
Orange liqueur
- Odeon
- 1oz Cointreau
- IBA
- 15ml Cointreau
- Ours
- 15ml Cointreau
Lime
- Odeon
- 1oz fresh juice
- IBA
- 15ml fresh juice
- Ours
- 15ml, squeezed the same day
Cranberry
- Odeon
- Half an ounce
- IBA
- 30ml
- Ours
- 30ml
Garnish
- Odeon
- Not given in the account
- IBA
- Lemon twist
- Ours
- Orange twist
UK units
- Odeon
- About 3.6
- IBA
- About 2.2
- Ours
- About 2.2
| Element | Odeon | IBA | Ours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vodka | 2oz Absolut Citron | 40ml citron vodka | 40ml citrus vodka |
| Orange liqueur | 1oz Cointreau | 15ml Cointreau | 15ml Cointreau |
| Lime | 1oz fresh juice | 15ml fresh juice | 15ml, squeezed the same day |
| Cranberry | Half an ounce | 30ml | 30ml |
| Garnish | Not given in the account | Lemon twist | Orange twist |
| UK units | About 3.6 | About 2.2 | About 2.2 |
Fame and the Backlash
Dale DeGroff said that after Madonna was seen with one in 1996, requests for the recipe reached him from as far as Germany and Australia. Sex and the City then made it Carrie Bradshaw’s order.
Fame brought careless versions: bottled lime, sweet triple sec, too much cranberry and a large glass left to warm. Made to the measures here, it is tart and only lightly sweet.
How to Serve It
Very cold, up, in a chilled coupe rather than a large martini glass, so the smaller pour stays cold to the end. Express the orange twist over the top; flaming it warms the oil and adds a faint toasted note.
Without the cranberry it is close to a Kamikaze; for vodka and cranberry over ice, a Cape Codder; for gin, orange liqueur and lemon, a White Lady.
Make it at home
The Spirit
VodkaVodka is spirit made from a farmed crop, usually grain or potatoes, distilled and refined so that the taste of that crop is deliberately reduced. Its legal minimum is 37.5% ABV, most bottles are 40%, and it may not be given a predominant flavour, which separates it from flavoured vodka and from gin. In a mixed drink it adds strength and body while the other ingredients carry the taste.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the Cosmopolitan?
Should a Cosmopolitan be red or pink?
Citrus vodka or plain?
How does ours compare with the IBA’s?
How is a Cosmopolitan different from a Kamikaze?
How strong is a Cosmopolitan?
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Kamikaze
A Kamikaze is 45ml vodka, 22.5ml triple sec and 22.5ml fresh lime juice, shaken hard and strained into a chilled coupe with a lime wheel. It is a vodka sour sweetened with orange liqueur, at about 2.7 UK units, and the same mix divided between shot glasses is the Kamikaze shot. Who created it was never recorded, and it is usually placed in American bars of the 1970s. The IBA listed it, at equal parts of each ingredient, until 2020. The 45ml pour here gives the vodka more room and makes a drier drink. Fresh lime is what matters. The sticky, sweet Kamikaze people remember was made with sour mix; with real lime the same three ingredients make a clean, sharp sour.
White Lady
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026