Drinks

A Virgin Cosmopolitan for Those Who Want It Year-Round

By Iden Eliopoulos

March 6, 2022

As a food journalist, sometimes you find an anonymous bartender who has an unnamed cocktail recipe. He’s been perfecting it for a while, and his buddy’s buddy came up with the idea first. This phenomenon is how classic cocktails are created. 

Stage #1: Casual, Stumbled Upon Genius

A bartender stumbles upon a great, rare flavor combination and offers it to a regular customer. The cocktail is still unnamed. It’s just a delicious combination of ingredients.

Stage #2: Classic Cocktails Are Perfected From Person to Person

Being passed from mixologist to mixologist, the flavor is slightly altered into a rare, more perfected drink. It comes polished and palatable. But garnish-wise, it still needs work.

Stage #3: Minimal Restrictions Let Individual Style Come Through

From the ashes of uninspired garnishes will rise a new identity––one to pair like a good pair of shoes. The cocktail’s garnish represents its flavors creatively. 

Stage #4: Anonymous Bartenders Have Expectations

The anonymous mixologist has a solid idea of the garnish, color and flavor profile. They even know the images the drink is supposed to conjure up––poolside lounging or Michelin star meals etc.

Stage #5: Let’s Get Popular

All that's left from here is the popularization of the drink. The name attached to that drink could be either given by its final creator or just a person who really likes it. Maybe that’s sad, but that's just how it goes with recipes.

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