Cosmopolitan

So many drinks, so little time mate…

Every barman makes his own version of all those drinks too so that means even more drinks for everybody.

This is the version of the Cosmopolitan as made by the most famous bartender in the world; Mr Dale De Groff. Mr De Groff was the head bartender and bar manager of the famous Rainbow Room in New York for a decade or more and I had the chance to meet him and work with him during a seminar in London in 2000. He was a great bloke.

This recipe is sized for a small Martini glass.

Here you go mate:

1 part Absolut Citron (about 35 ml)

½ part Cointreau (about 15ml)

1 Squeezed lime wedge (1/8th of a lime)

1 quick dash Cranberry (a little less than the Cointreau)

Pour all these ingredients in a SHAKER with SOLID ice cubes, add the squeezed out lime wedge in there to, and SHAKE thoroughly for about 10-15 seconds. It’s as important to make the ice release WATER (the secret ingredient in most drinks mate) into the drink so to enhance the flavours as it is to make it COLD.

STRAIN into martini glass.

Take the zest (none of that white nasty stuff from the peel now!) from an orange, hold it over the surface of the cocktail with the outside of the zest facing the drink, break it as you hold a burning match in front of it… This should result in a small puff of fire settling on the surface of the Cosmo, thus the flambéed oils of the orange add its flavours. (Plus... You look like the Grand Master of bleedin cocktailmaking as you add your own sound effects.) Put the now flamed zest in the drink as a garnish and serve.

The colur of the drink should be a PALE pink!

Enjoy (if you’re a girl). For the gents we will be talking about Guinness next.

Cheers.