White Cosmo

If you love a Cosmopolitan—or maybe even if you don’t—you should try a white Cosmo. While the pink-hued cocktail was in big in the 1990s thanks to Sex in the City and its citrus-forward, tart-yet-sweet flavor, the white Cosmo is less well known. Made with white cranberry juice, vodka, and the orange liqueur Cointreau, Martha’s white Cosmo is elegant, flirty, and fun. It has tart, sweet, and floral notes. Like its inspiration, it’s often served in an elegant martini glass that plays to the original drink's 1990s aesthetics. We love it even more in a retro coupe glass.

What Is White Cranberry Juice?

White cranberry juice is made from cranberries, but it is made from an entirely different species of fruit than traditional red cranberry juice. White cranberries have a pale, milky exterior and their juice is less tart. They have a gorgeous aroma that is almost reminiscent of white flowers. White cranberry juice is a more easy-going mixer than its red-hued relation and mixes well with a range of ingredients for cocktails.

Why Use Cointreau?

Martha uses Cointreau in her white Cosmopolitan cocktail. Some recipes use the elderflower liqueur St. Germain, but Martha prefers the citrusy sweetness of an orange-flavored liqueur. But why does she use Cointreau rather than triple sec or Grand Marnier, two other well-known orange-flavored liqueurs?

Triple sec, unlike the other two, is not a proprietary blend; it’s the name given to orange liqueurs manufactured by many brands—it varies greatly but is often sweet and syrupy. Grand Marnier is a specific make but it contains brandy and this makes it more powerful in terms of both taste and alcohol than the others. Cointreau works for this cocktail because it has consistent quality, more of an orange-forward taste, and because it is colorless—we don’t want to add any hue to this white Cosmo.

Garnishing a White Cosmo

On The decorvow Show, Martha garnished her white Cosmo with organic rose petals. We usually use sugared cranberries on a skewer across the glass: Other options include:

• Fresh cranberries in place of the sugared ones
  
• Lemon twist or lime twist
• Lime wedge