The Cocktail Napkin – Cosmo For Two

By Jo Petteruti, Mixologist and Owner, Jo's Stillwater Tea Room   February brings us some wonderful opportunities to share moments together.  It's a month where here in Nevada our temperatures start to climb a bit, giving us some need warmth of the sun and that helps to elevate our spirits. There is also a very special day in February, one that can be about sharing time with someone special, showing them how you feel about them and elevating their spirits -   Valentine’s Day, February 14^th.  Share a cocktail with that person to celebrate what you appreciate most about each other.  Share a conversation over that cocktail  in that moment, because that opportunity might not be there in the next. The Cosmopolitan is a fabulous cocktail to make for two.  It's easy, versatile and refreshing.  It's deep pink hue is also perfect for Valentine's Day.  Plus, shareable cocktails are always fun to make and you can take turns making them to add your own flair to them too! Naturally there is a history behind the Cosmopolitan even though the exact origin is rather fuzzy.  In the late nineteenth century a cocktail known as the Daisy was concocted to smooth out harsher flavors of the spirits back then.  That recipe called for a spirit, a sweetener and citrus, which is similar to today's Cosmo but not include  the cranberry juice. The spirit they used was always vodka either. A more direct connection comes from 1968, when the Ocean Spray Juice company started looking for more inventive ways to market their cranberry juice to adults. The juice was popular to serve to children but the marketing executives wanted to expand their market share.  A recipe called the Harpoon was devised and printed on the side of every carton of cranberry juice that called for an ounce of vodka, an ounce of cranberry and a squeeze of lime.  It was close to today's Cosmo recipe, but it did not include a sweetener. The most formal invention of the Cosmo occurred in 1987 when a bartender named Toby Cecchini made the drink while working at the famous Odeon Restaurant on West Broadway in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood.  In those days, the Odeon was one of the main restaurants to see and be seen in Manhattan. Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast parties were often held at the restaurant, and celebrities, models and movers and shakers often rubbed elbows in those famous booths. From The Odeon, the Cosmo spread across the city, eventually ending up in The Rainbow Room where Madonna is pictured drinking one at a Grammy After Party. With her seal of approval, the Cosmo was immediately embraced by celebrity culture.  Then the popularity truly exploded when the popular TV show Sex and the City decided to make the Cosmopolitan its characters’ drink of choice. So, here is the Tea Room's version of the Cosmopolitan.  Just keep in mind that this recipe is for two cocktails – one for you and one for your sweetie.  And if you're making them for Valentine's day, you can serve it with a rose and/or a nice dark chocolate heart to add a special touch. Cosmopolitan For Two Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Tahoe Blue Vodka
• 2 oz. Cointreau (Triple Sec can be used instead as the sweetener)
• 3 oz. Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice
• 1 oz. Lime Juice
• 4 Lime wedges

Preparation:

• Chill two coupe glasses and have two sidecar carafes handy.
• Add two scoops of ice to a cocktail shaker, then add the liquids.
• Squeeze and drop two of the lime wedges into the shaker, which adds some nice lime bits into the cocktail.
• Cover and shake well until icy cold.
• Strain some of the shaker's ingredients into the coupe glasses, then split the remaining amount between the two sidecars.
• Garnish each glass with a lime wedge skewered on a pick.

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