I’ve been asked for my secret cosmo recipe. Most bartenders make this cocktail according to a standard recipe, but without crafting a ingredients properly. They get too sweet from too much triplesec and are uninspired.

I craft my cosmo with:

1. Combine with ice in a shaker
2. 2 parts vodka (or citrus vokda) - a good vadka, high-end ones are wasted here
3. 1/2 part triplesec - Or a light drizzle of Contreau which is stronger
4. 1 part cranberry juice cocktail - not the blends with other fruits
5. 1.5 parts margarita mix - store-bought is great but not the sweet kind
6. Shake Shake Shake!
7. Strain into a chilled martini glass - I keep mine in the freezer
8. Garnish with twisted Lemon Peel or a twisted Lime Peel

Note: This is really a cousin to the classic margarita. I subsitute the usual “Roses Lime Juice” which is sickly sweet with the marharita mix which is more sour. This balances the sweetness of the triplesec and gives a balances flavor and a cool cloudy pink hue to the drink. One sip, and you’ll never order from a bartender again!

Don’t overdo the triplesec. If you use Contreau instead, use 1/4 as much as you would triplesec. It is a more complex and sweeter liquor and will overpower the cocktail.

Guests came over for a cosmo, but I had (gasp!) ran out of cranberry juice. I found some Pineapple juice and substitued it for the cranberry in the above recipe. I think I also diminished the margarita mix. Its a sweeter concoction, but not sickly sweet.

Substitute Blue Caracao for the Triplesec in the above recipe. (They are both orange-based liqueurs.) Drop the cranberry because that really just adds color, and now we have the icy blue color which is fun!

Blue Caracao and the Cranberry might make a green cosmo but I really don’t see the point.