Cocktail anyone?

31-07-2014 Cosmopolitans are the very thing to drink according to the ladies of Sex in the City and if you havent seen it(have you been living under a rock for the last 15 years?) try one anyway, you'll be hooked before you know it. Anyway on deciding to try and make my own, I found a simple easy recipe that is now stuck in my head once and for all. There are many different ones but if like me you start with the best intentions, read the recipe, get to the third ingredient and then go and pour a large G and T instead and think, maybe next time, then this one's for you, I promise. Also, I dont have a blender, cant be bothered crushing ice into small enough pieces so am all for simplicity and ease. I also need to add here that they are quite lethal due to the amount of alcohol so pace yourself or simply add a little more cranberry juice.

Serving for one ..really, do you ever make one cocktail??

1/4 cup vodka (preferably Stoli or Absolut, maybe even a Citron)
1 tablespoon Triple Sec, easily available
1 and a half tblspn cranberry juice
2 teaspoons lime juice...or fresh squeezed limes
ice - to cool
orange - zest in drink once poured into glass



Now, the easiest way is actually to make a jug, biggish as you want to half fill with ice and easy for sharing (oops forgot to invite my friends round, shame). Americans like to use cup as a measurement, dont worry about how big this is, simply choose a glass/cup from your cupboard...not too big as you need a full cup of vodka so if it's a pint glass in your hand mebbe not!!..and use this as a guide for all your liquids.

Into your jug pour a cup of vodka,1/4 cup of Triple Sec, 1/3 cup of cranberry juice, lime juice(handy hint..if using fresh limes pop in microwave for a few secs to get more juce out) and stir with the ice.

Now here's the thing, I have no patience whatsoever, not when it comes to making my drink, so really you should chill in the fridge for at least half an hour BUT put the vodka in the freezer, use plenty of ice and all other liquids chilled then really you are good to go. Use a strainer to catch any ice and pour gently into a martini glass (NO put the pint glass away!), zest the orange over the glass and let the peel curl in to the cocktail or even rub the peel gently round the rim, if you're showing off to friends and La Voila, drink, enjoy, repeat....its that easy!

P.S. The amount of alcohol is quite high so best enjoyed when someone else is making dinner, after dinner or at lunchtime to have a nice afternoon snooze...