The New Cosmopolitan Cocktail

I always feel like my coming of age in the Sex and the City generation has had a huge influence on the person I am today. Watching endless episodes of the show throughout my latter teen years and at university – I always thought I was a Carrie with a touch of Charlotte – definitely impacted my likes, dislikes and habits.

It’s why I like to think I have a pre-disposition towards slightly ‘out-there’ clothes (neon bras under sheer shirts? YEAAAAH CARRIE), always want to have smooth shiny hair (Charlotte), was so excited to buy my first pair of Jimmy Choos (Carrie again) and enjoy nothing more than a couple of lovely cocktails (erm, any woman above the legal drinking age).

I mean, were you even a British teenager in the early 00’s if you didn’t become obsessed with drinking Cosmopolitan Cocktails with your girlfriends while wearing massively high heels and talking about boys? Essential rite of passage, right there.

So when Ocean Spray sent me some of their new Wholeberry™ whole cranberry fruit juice drink blend and asked me to create something lovely with it, there is one thing and one thing only I was going to create. It was Cosmopolitan time, comrades!!

(Yes, that is a Kilner jar I’m using to shake my Cosmo. Apparently I’ve lost most of my Carrie personality traits since I had kids which includes not being able to find my cocktail shaker ANYWHERE).

The Blood Orange Cosmopolitan

Funnily enough, my research tells me that Ocean Spray were some of the first to invent the early version of the Cosmopolitan Cocktail.

Back in 1968 the folks at Ocean Spray were looking for more interesting and inventive ways to market their cranberry drink. While it was popular to serve to children it wasn’t huge with adults, so they printed a recipe on the side of every carton of cranberry juice for a drink they called ‘The Harpoon’.

The Harpoon consisted of a measure of vodka, a measure of cranberry and a squeeze of lime, close to the Cosmo recipe but missing the sweet orange-flavoured liqueur. And BOOM! A classic was born.

Ocean Spray’s new Wholeberry™ whole cranberry fruit juice drink blend contains whole cranberries, preserving the fresh taste and nutrients of the entire fruit. There are 40 whole crushed cranberries in each glass as well as fruit, fibre and vitamin C, so not only does the drink make a banging cocktail but it’s good for you, too.

The Fizzy Cosmopolitan

So I decided to use the new Ocean Spray Wholeberry™ whole cranberry fruit juice drink to create not one but two riffs on the classic Cosmopolitan! I took advantage of Blood Orange season to add a seasonal spin on it, too: introducing the New Cosmopolitan and the Fizzy Cosmopolitan, à la More Than Toast…

I’ve been re-watching the old Sex and the City episodes of my youth recently and god, I never realised how whiney Carrie Bradshaw is, or how dysfunctional her relationship with Big seems. I’ve got to say, I’m glad I’ve grown out of some of her ways of thinking: the cocktails and the Choos can most definitely stay, though.

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The New Cosmopolitan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 1 person

Ingredients

• 50 ml vodka
• 25 ml Grand Marnier
• 50 ml Ocean Spray Wholeberry Cranberry drink
• 25 ml Blood orange juice
• Small squeeze Lime juice

Instructions

1. Pop a few cubes of ice in a cocktail shaker: I couldn't find mine so used a kilner jar (#kitchenhack)

2. Add all the ingredients together and shake well

3. Serve in a martini glass with a twist of orange peel

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The Fizzy Cosmopolitan

Servings 1 person

Ingredients

• 25 ml vodka
• 25 ml Grand Marnier
• 50 ml Prosecco
• 50 ml Ocean Spray Wholeberry drink
• 1 twist Orange Peel

Instructions

1. Add the vodka, Grand Marnier and orange twist to a champagne glass

2. Top up with the Cranberry drink and Prosecco.

Thank you to Ocean Spray for working with MTT