The Cosmopolitan

No, NOT that cosmopolitan!

THIS Cosmopolitan

THIS Cosmopolitan is a kind of cocktail mixed with vodka and the cranberry juice.  Since the seventies, where it came out from the gay communities and seedy bars, the cocktail spread out from one bar to another until it was settled to shine from the fingers of desperate women of the HBO Series "Sex and the City".  The recipe for the cosmo vary for bartender to bartender, but the main ingredients -- vodka and cranberry juice -- remains the constant base.  

Here's a variant of the cosmo cited from this site:

• Prep Time: 3 minutes

• Total Time: 3 minutes

• Yield: 1 Cocktail

• Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz vodka

• 1 oz Cointreau orange liqueur

• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice

• 1/4 oz cranberry juice

• Orange peel for garnish

• Preparation:

1. Shake all the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
3. Garnish with an orange peel.

Optionally, use citron vodka in place of unflavored vodka for a fruitier taste.

So that's about it.  Oh wait there's more.  There's a game about how to make a good cosmo in picking out an ingredient in a cabinet of ingredients.  Click on the image below to lead you there.

Results are ranked by the bartender, who also tastes your cocktail, and by mean ranked, it means reactions, like this one:

Epic Fail at it's Finest.

Sangria Time

Preparation time: 5 minutes of mixing, 6 hours of chilling

Tired of that boring old fermented grape extract you call wine?  Well here's to something to make your taste buds crave for more: sangria!

Sangria. It's wine, only 20% better!

Make it as your go-to drink when you’re expecting more than eight people to a cocktail party. It's quite easy to make as they do with punch. Plus, its fruity taste makes it a hit in almost any party—from a summer backyard BBQ to a bachelorette party to a kickass wedding on a zombie apocalypse night! Remember, the trick to making good sangria is to use the freshest fruits and the best alcohol.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup brandy
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine
• ½ cup triple sec or peach schnapps
• 1 lemon, sliced in rounds
• 1 orange, sliced in rounds
• 8 maraschino cherries
• ¼ cup sugar (optional)
• 2 cups club soda or ginger ale (optional)

Preparation

1. Mix together the brandy, juices, dry wine, triple sec or peach schnapps. Add the sliced lemon and orange, plus the cherries. Taste the mixture, and add the ¼ cup sugar if you wish to make it sweeter.
2. Refrigerate for at least six hours to get the best flavor. 
3. Pour some club soda or ginger ale (for a sweeter finish) before serving. This gives your drink a bit of fizz.

Serves: 8

cited from: http://ph.she.yahoo.com/classic-sangria-070654606.html