Talk:Cosmopolitan (cocktail)

This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (color, defense, traveled) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Food and drink: Beverages High‑importance Food portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Food and drink, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of food and drink related articles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. Related taskforces: /  This article is within the scope of the Beverages Task Force, a task force which is currently considered to be inactive. Food and Drink task list: edit history watch purge To edit this page, select here Here are some tasks you can do for WikiProject Food and drink: Help bring these Top Importance articles currently B Status or below up to GA status: Agaricus bisporus (i.e. mushroom), Beef, Bread, Curry, Drink, Food, Ham and eggs, Soy sauce, Sushi, Yogurt Bring these Top Importance articles currently at GA status up to FA status: Beer, French cuisine, Sugar Bring these High Importance articles currently at GA status up to FA status: Apple, Burger King, Fish Participate in project-related deletion discussions. Delete unrelated trivia sections found in articles. Please review WP:Trivia and WP:Handling trivia to learn how to do this. Add the {{WikiProject Food and drink}} project banner to food and drink related articles and content to help bring them to the attention of members. For a complete list of banners for WikiProject Food and drink and its child projects, select here. Provide photographs and images for Category:Wikipedia requested images of food Consider joining this project's Assessment task force. List any project ideas in this section Note: These lists are transcluded from the project's tasks pages. Spirits High‑importance Liquor portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Spirits, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Spirits or Distilled beverages on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. Spirits WikiProject task list: This list is transcluded from the tasks page, to edit it click here. Here are some tasks you can do for WikiProject Spirits: Tagging all articles that fall under our scope with {{WikiProject Spirits}} and assessing their quality and importance to the project.

Recipe Wrong

It is a splash of cranberry not 3 cl. 3 Cl would make it red. The drink it meant to be pink and primarily lime juice. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.89.198.121 (talk) 14:13, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Pop culture reference

There's a Flash game involving mixing a Cosmopolitan: . 66.92.237.111 01:28, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Ha-ha. Thanks for the link. It is a good game, and the company provides a lot of information that shows the Cosmopolitan (or is it just the game and the funny bartender character) is very popular. --Willscrlt 06:29, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Isn't Cointreau a Triple Sec?

In the section about variations it says that you can use Triple Sec instead, but isn't Cointreau a variation of Triple Sec (like Grand Manier, etc)? --90.184.164.224 16:11, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Not really. Triple Sec is a blend of orange, lemon, and another citrus brandy, I think tangerine. Grand Marinier and Cointreau are single orange brandy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.121.118.245 (talk) 18:46, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Based on what I have read, they are all variations on orange liqueur (or brandy). Triple Sec appears to be the ingredient used in the "original" versions of the cocktail. This is probably because it is a more common and less expensive mixer at bars in the U.S. than Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Cointreau became a part of this drink when Cecchini used it in his version. Since the IBA based its version of the Cosmo on Cecchini's version, Cointreau became the international standard, even though Triple Sec was the more traditional mixer. As noted in the article, any decent orange flavored spirit could probably be substituted. The relative sweetness of the alcohol would alter the sensation, with several people commenting that Grand Marnier makes the drink too sweet and cloying. Some people disagree with including Cointreau in the description of this drink (it has been removed from the article several times in the past), but it is common (and even internationally standardized in the IBA version). I hope that helps clear things up a little. --Willscrlt (Talk) 13:10, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Whilst this does clear things up, if you follow the reference through to Cointreau it says that it is a "brand of Triple Sec". Thus there is a redundancy here, somewhere along the line I feel an edit is needed. I'll leave it to the experts to figure out where but it looks really unprofessional at the moment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Benjamin Dickson (talk • contribs) 08:36, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Lobsterpolitan?

Has this drink actually been served anywhere? Has anyone tried to reproduce it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.175.203.241 (talk) 01:26, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

As with most pop-culture references on The Simpsons, I assume that the drink is make-believe, but based on things in the real world. I could be wrong though. :-) --Willscrlt (Talk) 13:10, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

History

The history section is completely absurd. First it says that it was common in the 70's, then it describes it's invention a decade later, then describes other "inventions." The section on the gay-community thing needs citation, and, if true, then it's obviously the most likely candidate for "inventing the drink, and should be mentioned first. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.148.41.133 (talk) 20:29, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Agreed! That's why I just fixed it. Here is what I found out in researching it. There is a strong likelihood that the drink, or a very similar drink did originate in the gay bars in Provincetown in the 1970s. Nobody seems to know the actual creator of the drink or even the bar where it was served at that time, but anecdotal stories (which I did not consider reliable enough to reference) clearly remember the drink being served there. Also around the same time the Cork & Cleaver steakhouse in Minneapolis claims to have created the drink. Did it start there and move to P-town? Or was it vice versa? I have not been able to determine that for certain, but the Minneapolis reference is the only one in the 1970s that makes reference of the name, cosmopolitan. Further credibility for either P-town or Minneapolis being the birthplace of the drink is that John Caine remembers bringing it to San Francisco around 1987. That also happens to be the year that Cheryl Cook claims to have invented the drink. There is enough variation between all the early drinks that each of the origins may be correct. Toby Cecchini claimed that it was Cheryl Cook's version that he tweaked into the version eventually adopted by the IBA. The IBA version (thus Toby's version) appears to be somewhat less popular in the U.S. than the original Caine/Cook versions, though there may be regional influences making the difference rather than historical ones.

Since Wikipedia does not allow original research and insists on a neutral point of view, I think it is best if all of the possible origins be presented as equally possible, and people can draw their own conclusions.

My personal belief is that the drink is a product of the time period (1970s), and a logical evolutionary process from the kamikaze. Somehow it migrated to New York, and the name probably came from the Minneapolis steakhouse (not having found any claims to the name originating in P-town). The drink spread West to California at the the same time it was reinvented slightly differently in Florida around 1987. From there, it spread (again) to New York. The Florida connection sounds perfectly logical on its own, but gets a little confusing when you try to reconcile it with the other, earlier histories. If Cecchini hadn't credited Cook as his source, I would question the whole Cook history. As it is, I am left assuming that both hereditary lines are equally valid. --Willscrlt (Talk) 13:10, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

--Not editing the article, since this is original research, but I lived in San Francisco from 1981 to 1987, and the drink was pretty widely available at least after 1985, probably earlier, so the "bringing it to SF in 1987 thing is false. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.245.230.52 (talk) 14:46, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Didn't Cary Grant order a cosmo at the Oak Room scene in the 1959 movie North By Northwest? Perhaps not. I suspect that the cosmopolitan has been around for quite a bit longer than anyone here realizes. I believe I have a mixed drink book from the late 60s that has the recipe for a cosmopolitan in it. Made then with simple sugar, lime juice etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.31.192.31 (talk) 13:03, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

  No, he doesn't get a chance to order any drinks.  He does tell his secretary beforehand that he'll be having two martinis. 94.170.25.203 (talk) 17:35, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

In the book "The Art of Mixing Drinks", first published by Bantam Books in 1956, a suspiciously similar drink exists. In this case, page 150 of the 14th printing (1969), a drink called "Blue Monday" is outlined which shows the combination of Vodka, with Cointreau in a 3 to 1 ratio, and then colored with blue food coloring, shaken with ice, and strained into a glass. The text says that the coloring may be omitted. Obviously this omits the cranberry juice and lime juice, but it is easy for any creative bartender to improvise a variation on this base.

Explanation of "flamed"??

In the "Preparation and serving" section, it says "Traditionally a coin sized piece of orange should be "flamed" across the top of the drink." What in the heck is "flamed across the top of the drink"? A link to a Wiki page explaining this use of "flame" would be great. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tyranny Sue (talk • contribs) 03:14, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

+1 to that.Shardok (talk) 07:44, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

This refers to using a lighter or match to scorch the outer side of a piece of rind, which is then squeezed so that the zest sprays out creating a thin film across the surface of the drink.General blackblood (talk) 11:38, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

Vodka Citron or regular Vodka?

In all my old cocktail books (which are about 15 to 20 years old, reasonably reputable, although not really intended for professionals; Salvatore Calabrese's Classic Cocktails for instance)Vodka, not Citron Vodka, is specified as the base spirit for this cocktail.

If the 1970's (or earlier) version is accepted for the origin of this drink then Absolut Citron was not available. Was another Citron Vodka on the market and used at this time? If so then what and if not then surely a standard Vodka must have been used.

As far as I can tell, the use of Vodka Citron is largely in emulation of Dale deGroff who served it this way when Madonna was famously pictured drinking Cosmos, helping to spread their popularity.

Considering the numerous inconsistencies in the history section I can't help but suspect that a dubious bid for 'authenticity' and one-upmanship is behind the insistence upon Citron Vodka and that yet another cocktail myth is being manufactured. Considering how widely it has been used, at least in the past, surely it should be mentioned in this article that regular Vodka has been and perhaps still is acceptable in a Cosmopolitan (and may actually be more 'authentic' if, and I do mean if, the original concoction is what is being aimed for). There still seem to be many Cosmo recipes on the net,and many by good bartenders, favouring regular Vodka. That no mention of this is made here strikes me as rather dubious. As it stands, without any mention of standard vodka as a viable alternative (I'll add a mention to the preparation section myself -and we'll see how long it lasts!) it looks suspiciously like a product advertisement. Personally I find it hard to take any cocktail remotely seriously if it relies wholly upon a novelty product such as a flavoured vodka anyway.General blackblood (talk) 12:00, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

The 1930's

That 1930's drink has only the faintest resemblance to a Cosmo, and no historical evidence that they're related is offered. Delete? I'd delete it now myself, but I'm not a very frequent editor and I don't want to upset any applecarts. VaneWimsey (talk) 03:44, 31 December 2013 (UTC)

Preparation

We've got this statement:

However, many bartenders continue to use a standard unflavoured vodka and this alternative would undoubtedly be historically consistent with any of the supposedly predecessors of this drink that were popular in Ohio, Provincetown, or Minneapolis during the 1970s, or in San Francisco during the 1980s.

This is followed by way too many refs. Most of them are just recipes. I suspect what happened is someone looked up all these recipes and came to the conclusion about flavored vodka. We can't use this because it's original research. We would need a reliable source that says this. I removed a bunch of recipes but someone needs to find out whether any of these sources support the statement. Kendall-K1 (talk) 16:51, 25 February 2016 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Cosmopolitan (cocktail). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.ardentspirits.com/ardentspirits/Newsletter/vol7Issue06.html#cosmo
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150307020340/http://www.iba-world.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&Itemid=532 to http://www.iba-world.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&Itemid=532

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at {{Sourcecheck}}).

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 07:56, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Cosmopolitan (cocktail). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070109064707/http://citypages.com/bestof2006/sexdrugsrocknroll/bestof2828.asp to http://www.citypages.com/bestof2006/sexdrugsrocknroll/bestof2828.asp

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Y An editor has reviewed this edit and fixed any errors that were found.

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 13:13, 13 August 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Cosmopolitan (cocktail). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131105202723/http://www.citypages.com/bestof/2006/award/best-locally-created-cocktail-2374/ to http://www.citypages.com/bestof/2006/award/best-locally-created-cocktail-2374/
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131105125439/http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-jersey/season-4/bio/kathy-wakile to http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-jersey/season-4/bio/kathy-wakile

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 02:14, 11 December 2017 (UTC)