Shaken Cosmopolitan with Scratch Cranberry Cordial and Flamed Orange

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The Cosmo, rebuilt the way a good bar makes it: a tart cranberry cordial cooked down from real berries instead of sweetened juice from a carton, fresh lime, citrus vodka, and a hard 12-second shake that whips it into a pale-pink drink with a fine bubble collar. A flamed orange twist over the top adds the caramelized citrus-oil perfume that makes the first sip smell like a hotel bar.

Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh or frozen cranberries (about 2 cups)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 strips orange zest, peeled wide with a vegetable peeler
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 3 oz citrus (citron) vodka, or good plain vodka
• 1 1/2 oz Cointreau or other quality orange liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice, from about 1 1/2 limes
• 1 1/2 oz cranberry cordial (from above)
• 1 dash orange bitters (optional)
• ice cubes, for shaking

• 1 navel or Cara Cara orange, for a wide twist
• 2 fresh cranberries (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the cordial: combine the cranberries, sugar, water, orange zest strips and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then cook 8 to 10 minutes at a lazy bubble — the berries will pop and the liquid will turn deep ruby.
2. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Press gently on the solids with the back of a spoon to release the juice, but stop before you mash the pulp through; you want a clear, glossy cordial, not a purée. Discard the solids and zest, and chill the cordial until cold, at least 30 minutes. It keeps 2 weeks refrigerated in a sealed jar.
3. Chill two coupes or martini glasses: fill them with ice and cold water and set aside while you build the drink, or freeze them for 15 minutes.
4. Combine 3 oz vodka, 1 1/2 oz orange liqueur, 1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice, 1 1/2 oz chilled cranberry cordial and the dash of orange bitters in a cocktail shaker. Fill three-quarters full with fresh ice cubes.
5. Seal and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds, until the tin is painfully cold and frosted over. This dilutes and aerates the drink — a lazy shake makes a Cosmo taste syrupy.
6. Dump the ice water from the glasses and wipe the rims dry. Double-strain the cocktail through the shaker's strainer and a small fine-mesh sieve, dividing it between the two glasses. You should see a thin, even layer of pale foam on top.
7. Flame the twist: cut a wide, coin-sized strip of orange peel with a peeler, avoiding the white pith. Hold it pith-side toward the drink about 3 inches above the surface, warm the skin side for 2 to 3 seconds with a lit match held between the peel and the glass, then squeeze sharply — the oils will spark through the flame. Rub the peel around the rim and drop it in, or perch a fresh cranberry on the edge. Serve immediately.
8. Repeat with a second twist for the other glass, and drink while the drinks are still ice-cold.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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