Cosmopolitan garnish: the flamed twist, and an easier alternative
A Cosmopolitan is a pink drink in a wide glass, which makes it one of the most photographed cocktails there is, and one of the easiest to finish badly.
The classic finish
An orange twist, expressed over the surface. Expressing means holding a strip of peel skin-side down above the glass and pinching it, so the oils spray across the top of the drink. You can usually see it happen.
That spray is the entire purpose. The peel itself contributes almost nothing once it is in the glass; it is the burst of citrus oil across the surface that you smell as you lift it, and smell is most of what you are tasting in a drink this delicate.
Cranberry and lime are both sharp. Orange oil rounds them off. Lemon would push the drink further towards sour, which it does not need.
The flamed twist
You will have seen this: hold a lit match between the peel and the glass, then squeeze, and the oils ignite in a brief flash.
It genuinely changes the flavour slightly, caramelising the oils as they pass through the flame, and it looks fantastic. It is also fiddly, mildly hazardous over someone's drink, and the difference in taste is small enough that almost nobody would pick it blind. Worth doing once for the theatre. Not worth doing for six people at a party.
The easier alternative
Express your twist, then discard the peel and put something on the surface that will still be there in ten minutes.
A Cosmopolitan is strained and served up with no ice, so the surface is perfectly still. That is unusual, and it is an ideal landing pad for a pinch of dried edible florets. Two or three petals, dropped from a little height so they scatter rather than clump. Simply Blush suits the colour of the drink.
This is the move if you are making several. You can express the twists in twenty seconds, then finish every glass with petals and they all look considered rather than rushed.
A pouch is $15.99 and goes a very long way, because you are using a pinch at a time. Stored properly the florets keep for up to 24 months, unlike anything fresh.
The recipe
Ingredients (per serve)
- 45ml vodka, citron if you have it
- 15ml Cointreau or triple sec
- 15ml fresh lime juice
- 30ml cranberry juice
- A strip of orange peel, and F N Lemons dried edible florets
Method
- Combine everything except the garnish in a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe glass, so no ice chips get through.
- Express a strip of orange peel over the surface, discard it, and scatter a pinch of florets.
Chill the glass first. A Cosmopolitan is served without ice, so the glass is the only thing keeping it cold, and a warm coupe ruins it inside five minutes. Ten minutes in the freezer is enough.
Everything we make is handcrafted in small batches here in the Waikato. Browse the edible florets, with free shipping on orders over $100.