Icewine Cosmo

• January 15, 2023
• Wine Cocktails

Bringing sexy back with a new spin on an old favourite. 

by Erin Henderson

As the saying goes, everything old is new again, and so proves the current uptick in Cosmo orders. 

Cosmopolitan cocktails hit the hysteria level in the 90's thanks to uber-hot Sex and the City and its fashionable foursome cast, led by the iconic Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker, if you've been living in a cave.)

Back then, 20-somethings across North America teetered out on Saturday nights in dangerously spiky heels looking for love in all the wrong places. To soothe those aching hearts – and feet (and if memory serves, twisted ankles), the neon-pink, cranberry-and-vodka Martini riff was there to keep us girls looking fine and feeling no pain.

Cocktail historians say the drink dates back prior to SATC fame, having started sometime in the 80's when fidgity New York bartenders were looking for a new way to showcase the rising popularity of flavoured vodka. And because the 80's are just that extra (and we love everything about it), why not serve this new cocktail in a luxe Martini glass? 

However, the Cosmopolitan hit its crescendo during the height of SATC, and as all trendy things do, inspired a litany of riffs from the White Cosmo (which replaced the orange liqueur with elderflower) and others that swapped the vodka for gin. 

But perhaps my favourite is this version, which uses red Icewine for an enticing spin on the classic.