Cosmopolitan (Minneapolis)

The classic Cosmopolitan is a very simple drink and it quickly became one of the most popular cocktails of all time. Its peak was in the 1990s because of its multiple appearances in the HBO show, "Sex and the City" and it soon became the ultimate girly drink. During the late 1990s, it was impossible to enter a bar and not hear a few ladies (and occasionally some dudes) declare, "I'll have a Cosmo!" Nowadays, the drink carries a shroud of shame - it's pink and passé after all - but it's still a tasty cocktail that packs a punch.

Bartender Neal Murray claims he created the cosmopolitan in 1975 at the Cork and Cleaver steak house in Minneapolis. According to Murray, he added a splash of cranberry juice to a Kamikaze and the first taster declared, "How cosmopolitan." This event supposedly led to the naming of the new beverage.

1½ oz vodka
1 oz Cointreau
½ oz cranberry juice
¼ oz lime juice, freshly squeezed

Garnish:
lime slice or wheel

Place a cocktail glass in the freezer to chill.

Combine the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker and fill it halfway with ice.

Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosted. Strain into the chilled glass and garnish with the lime slice.

Makes 1 cocktail.