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Virgin Cosmopolitan

Cranberry, lime and orange, shaken hard and served up. Looks the part and tastes sharp rather than sweet.

Prep
4 min
Serves
1
Glass
Coupe
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 oz cranberry juice (unsweetened)
  • 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
  • 0.5 oz orange juice
  • 0.5 oz simple syrup
  • Orange peel, to garnish
  • Ice

Method

  1. 1Chill a coupe glass with ice and water while you build the drink.
  2. 2Add the cranberry, lime, orange juice and syrup to a shaker with ice.
  3. 3Shake hard for 12 seconds — the dilution and the chill are what make it taste finished rather than like juice.
  4. 4Discard the ice from the coupe and double-strain the drink into it.
  5. 5Express an orange peel over the surface and drop it in.

Notes

  • Unsweetened cranberry, not cranberry cocktail — the latter is mostly sugar and you lose all the tartness.
  • Serving it up in a chilled coupe does more for this drink than any ingredient swap.
  • A dash of non-alcoholic aromatic bitters adds the backbone the vodka used to.

Common questions

What can replace vodka in a cosmopolitan?

Nothing needs to. Vodka is nearly flavourless and mostly contributes texture, so a cosmo built on cranberry, lime and orange tastes close to the original — chill it hard and serve it up.

Make one of these next

  • Virgin Daiquiri

    Lime and sugar in balance. The simplest sour there is, and a good test of whether your lime is fresh.

  • Virgin Hurricane

    Passion fruit, orange and lime — New Orleans' loudest drink, minus the rum that made it dangerous.

  • Virgin Mai Tai

    Almond, lime and orange over crushed ice. Tiki's best drink, and the almond is what people actually taste.

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