Cosmic Cosmos

Patron Demand for This Cocktail Phenomenon Is Still Priming Profits On-Premise


By Mike Hanley


Take some vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice and a little lime juice, shake it with ice, strain it into a Martini glass, and you have made one of the most popular drinks in the country today — the Cosmo. Before many of the patrons drinking them on-premise today were even born, Cosmopolitan magazine introduced a recipe that has become almost a new category on today's hot drink menus.


How it got so popular is a s simple as four little words — "Sex and the City." After being seen on the popular HBO cable television show, Cosmo drinkers sprung up from Manhattan to Montana. It seems that every fan of the show wanted to live just like the women portrayed in the show, starting with what they drank. Fans came to bars with a different perspective on the bar scene, including drinking Martinis like the Cosmo and on later episodes, the Apple Martini.


While the television show now exists only in re-rums, the demand for the drink it popularized is still out there, just waiting for enterprising operators to capitalize on its sexy success.


Funtinis

The Cosmo is a large part of a Funtini craze that is really helping the dominant vodka category maintain its superiority as the most popular spirit on-premise as well as off. Funtinis are just as big today as gin Martinis were back in the 1920s and continuing up until the early 1980s.


Young people and old are drinking Funtinis. And you see them everywhere from swanky Martini bars to backyard barbecues. Cosmopolitans, Apple Martinis, Lemon Drops and Key Lime pies are all fruity Funtinis selling in nightclubs and bars like draft beer at a Green Bay Packers game.


Today, in varying degrees, Cosmopolitans have a strong foothold on sales across the country. Pubs and corner bars might not see an influx of Cosmo drinkers into their bars, but in nightclubs and upper-level dining establishments, they have become a staple in a bartender's recipe book. As witness to its ubiquitous success, many companies, while interviewing, even ask recipe knowledge of the ingredients for a Cosmo when looking for bartenders and wait staff.


Morphing Cocktail

Restaurants, too, are capitalizing on the Cosmo craze all around the country. One national restaurant and bar chain, Cheeseburger in Paradise, has won many awards for its colorful, innovative menu of specialty drink recipes and has no less than four Cosmos on its menu, as well as more than a dozen Funtinis.


By far, the most popular variation of the traditional Cosmo at Cheeseburger in Paradise is a Mango Cosmo. It has 1.5 ounces of Absolut Citron, one-half ounce of Monin Mango syrup, 2 ounces of cranberry juice and a lemon garnish. The lemon is squeezed tableside to bring up the acidity of the cocktail and giving it a crisp finish.


Another venue, The Melting Pot, has an incredible Blanco Cosmo that combines Ketal One, Cointreau and Ocean Spray White Cranberry juice.

Combinations like these represent the evolution of the popular cocktail. Because of the vodka base and hints of orange, popular flavors like mango, lemon and even raspberry can be added easily to enhance its flavor — similar to the variations that tequila and orange have in Margaritas.


Coast-to-Coast Toast

Around the country, variations of the Cosmo recipe are as varied as the people who drink them. Some people like them sweet with a lot of orange, and others love the taste of cranberry. A great way to please them all is to ask. Put about an ounce of cranberry juice in the drink and another ounce or two next to it in a shooter glass.


One tip for bartenders is to alert guests that you were not sure how they preferred their Cosmos, and explain that you wanted to make them the best one they've ever had.


Along with the extra juice, it pays to add, "I gave you some extra cranberry on the side, just in case I made it too strong for you." This is the best phrase you can imagine to make more money on any Cosmo recipe.


Other Spirited Cosmos

Vodka doesn't have to be the main ingredient in a Cosmo, either. Many clubs have Caribbean Cosmos that replace the vodka with flavored rums like Bacardi Limon. Other liquors have their own version, including Hennessey Cognac, Grand Marnier and Ciroc, the vodka made from grapes.


As long as the name has Cosmo in it, nightly club goers and weekend warriors will be drinking them and putting sales in the register for a long time to come.


Cheers.


Michael Hanley is global accounts manager for ShowTenders Inc. ShowTenders is a beverage-consulting firm headquartered in Tampa, Fla. The company helps nightclubs, bars, lounges, restaurants and other hospitality-related venues with everything from drink concept development to on-going and new rollout initiatives. For more information, e-mail ShowTenders at showtenders.com or call (813) 282-8240.


And don't miss ShowTenders' Pre-Conference Workshop, "The Cocktail Experience," at "The Show" in Las Vegas on Sunday, February 27.