A crisp white Cosmopolitan for Valentine’s Day
White cranberry juice is such a fun cocktail ingredient! I’ve been using it a lot in mocktail recipes these days (I’m pregnant atm, so the Moody other half, my husband Jeff, is the one taste-testing the boozy new recipes around here). White cranberry juice is crystal clear but has a lovely sweet-tart flavor, making it a really versatile ingredient in shaken cocktails.
The Cosmopolitan is a vodka cocktail from the 1980s that doesn’t get a whole lot of love. It’s often seen as a watered-down, ‘chick drink’ that sometimes contains way too much cranberry juice, or just isn’t generally well-balanced. This recipe is crisp and not too sweet, with a bold fruity flavor that seems to defy its colorless appearance. It’s just really fun to sip.
Cosmopolitans are known for their pink or reddish hue, but a white Cosmo has a totally different, and somehow much sexier vibe. This recipe uses the only white cranberry juice I’ve been able to find, a juice blend from Ocean Spray. It’s a pretty sweet cranberry juice, so I’ve kept the Cointreau to a half ounce and fortified the drink with a full two ounce pour of vodka. If you’re a gin fan, feel free to substitute with a crisp London dry, I won’t judge. Garnish this bad boy with red roses and you have a quintessential Valentine’s Day cocktail!
If you enjoy Cosmos, try my cachaca-based Cosmopolita!
White Winter Cosmopolitan
Ingredients
- 2 oz vodka
- 1 oz white cranberry juice I used Ocean Spray
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 1/2 oz Cointreau (or other triple sec liqueur)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill 3/4 with ice.
- Shake until chilled, about 12 seconds.
- Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wedge (or a rose for Valentine's Day).
