Cosmopolitan Delight

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (29 ratings)

Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
12 oz Orange Curaçao liqueur
34 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
14 oz Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup
12 oz Shiraz red wine
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Orange zest twist (expressed & discarded) and skewered berry fruits

How to make:

SHAKE first 5 ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass. TOP with red wine.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10

Review:

No relation to the modern Cosmopolitan, this is a mellow, balanced blend of citrus, brandy and red wine.

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History:

Adapted from Dale DeGroff's 2002 book, The Craft of the Cocktail. He, in turn, credits the original recipe to Charlie Paul's 1902 book American and Other Iced Drinks.

COSMOPOLITAN DELIGHT. L. D.
Take a large soda-water glass and fill with chipped ice; put I a teaspoon of powdered sugar; squeeze half a lemon in; add half a liqueur-glassful of curaçoa, a teaspoon of orgeat syrup, and half a wine-glassful of brandy; shake well; decorate with fruits in season; dash the top with claret; and serve with straws.

Recipes of American and Other Iced Drinks, Charlie Paul, 1902

cosmopolitan delight
From Recipes of American and Other Iced Drinks, by Charlie Paul (1902). I included this turn-of-the century Cosmopolitan partly because of the name, but mostly because it tastes great.
1½ ounces brandy
½ ounce curaçao
½ ounce simple syrup
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ ounce orgeat
Splash red wine
Seasonal fruit, for garnish
Shake all the ingredients with ice and serve over ice in an old-fashioned glass. Top with a splash of red wine. Garnish with fresh seasonal fruits. Don't be shy with the garnish–these early drinks looked like fruit salads.

Dale DeGroff, The Craft Of The Cocktail, 2002

Nutrition:

One serving of Cosmopolitan Delight contains 222 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 16.5% alc./vol. (16.5° proof)
  • 19 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Robert Holen’s Avatar Robert Holen
6th November 2024 at 16:43
A more complex and mature Devil's Margarita. If you (like me..) only have blue Curaçao... It can double as a cool Halloween cocktail.
Avery Garnett’s Avatar Avery Garnett
30th July 2023 at 17:15
Also did 15ml orgeat in place of the syrup. A slightly almondy sidecar with the rich tannins of red wine. Delicious.
28th May 2023 at 04:11
Used 15ml orgeat in place of 10ml sugar syrup and 7.5ml orgeat - for me was preferred. Great!
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
16th May 2023 at 01:28
Had this again with a pizza dinner. We doubled the red wine and served with a few pieces of large ice in an wine glass. Went perfectly with the dinner. A little higher octane version of Sangria.
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
8th May 2023 at 00:41
Thoughts the ingredients looked a bit strange, but they work perfectly together. Final cocktail is very similar to a Spanish Sangria, but easier to make. We wanted the cocktail to be a little less sweet, so we left out the sugar syrup. Would definitely have again.
Carsten Tiebel’s Avatar Carsten Tiebel
8th July 2020 at 14:24
Wierd to read, but surprisingly tasty, will drink again!