The Cocktail Chronicles: Cosmopolitan
A classic cocktail, the Cosmopolitan, makes a delicious beverage for any holiday get together, especially Galentine’s, Valentine’s Day, or a girls’ night out. Similar in flavor to a Sea Breeze, this liqueur drink combines bitter and sweet beautifully. Made with vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice, this strong drink sips easy for any celebration or get-together.
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Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day… and in celebration, I made you a pink drink with a cute raspberry heart-shaped ice cube floating in it. It’s pretty. Just like you.
Valentine’s Day is one of those days that you either love or hate. I feel like there’s no in between on people’s feelings for the February holiday… and that kind of makes me sad. While I wasn’t always the biggest Valentine’s lover — especially during those awkward high school and collegiate years where I didn’t have anybody special in my life — the day has certainly grown on me in my old age. (Ha!)
I always like to do something nice for it, and we have started a tradition of making a lovely meal on the night of Valentine’s instead of hitting one of our favorite restaurants. We save that for the weekend after. Which is why I’ll be making Blackened Sockeye Salmon with Spinach Madeline, Beer Bread and probably a Chocolate Souffle (because Valentine’s isn’t Valentine’s without a souffle!) tomorrow.
Sadly, I will not be making this drink to accompany our dinner.
Other Cocktail Chronicles drink recipes: Southern Champagne / Bloody Mary / Mustique / Kingston / Rum Sidecar / Tom Collins / Cutty Sark on the Rocks / Blizzard Bourbon Cranberry Cocktail
This cocktail was a little alcohol-heavy to me (Erin), taste-wise. It was delicious, but I can see how you could get yourself into some major trouble drinking multiple ones of these during the night. I’m sure Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte would be disappointed in me. … And Winston’s thoughts were simple. He wrote, “Girls, girls, girls” in our book. ‘Nuff said.
Three cheers! Pretty good for a one-time drink, but don’t expect to see us sipping one of these throughout the evening.
Essential Tools to Make a Cosmopolitan
- A cocktail shaker (like the Cresimo 24 oz. Cocktail Shaker & Jigger, Kate Spade New York Gold-Dot Cocktail Shaker or Cambridge Silversmith’s Copper-Etched 24. oz. Stainless Steel Cocktail Shaker.)
- Fine Mesh Strainer.
- Cosmopolitan Glasses.
Other Awesome Valentine’s Drinks
- Skinny Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Martinis
- Framboise Champagne Cocktail
- Vanilla Hot Chocolate Martini
Interested in mixing up a classic Cosmopolitan?
The recipe is just below…
Cosmopolitan
Ingredients
- 1 oz. vodka
- ¾ oz. orange liqueur
- ¾ oz. cranberry juice unsweetened
- ¼ oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
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Instructions
- Measure out all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker.
- Add ice, then shake vigorously until chilled.
- Strain into a large cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a twist of orange or a heart-shaped ice cube, then enjoy immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you ever made this recipe? Leave us a comment and star rating below to let us know what you thought!
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
Valentine’s dinner at home is an absolute necessity, even if it’s frozen pizza or leftovers (which is likely enough…). Battling the crowds of daters is not my cup of tea. But delightful cocktails like this certainly are! 🙂
I’m glad you’re with us on this, Eileen. I’m not a fan of the crowds of daters, either, and somehow, making our own Valentine’s dinner seems even more fun for the two of us to do since we both love to be in the kitchen. And agreed on delightful cocktails. I’ve gotta figure out what drink I am serving tomorrow with our meal!
My boyfriend and I always go to a special Indian buffet for Valentines day. The place is never busy and the food is amaaaazing. Before finding this place, I never wanted to go out because it was so busy (and so expensive!) everywhere.
Your cosmo pictures are SO FREAKING CUTE! I’m far too lazy to ever put the amount of love into my pictures you do with those fancy little heart ice cubes! Adorably worth it
I love that y’all have a Valentine’s tradition at an Indian buffet! How fun! And how wonderful it is that not only is it never busy, but the food is delish. 🙂 How was it this year?
And thank you. 🙂 I love the photography part of this, as I am a photographer (albiet a photojournalist and not a food one), and the heart ice cubes were a fun little addition to the cocktail. I just wish I had liked drinking it more!
I LOVE a good cosmo! Some of them can be too strong though, my fave martini is a chocolate martini, so delicious!
I love that you love a good Cosmo! Do you have a recipe for yours? And ditto on a chocolate martini. You certainly cannot go wrong with one of those!
It’s so pretty! I LOVE pretty drinks. I’m strange like that. The heart is so cute!
Thanks, Heather! I love pretty drinks, too, and I’m glad you loved looking at this one!