The Kamikaze is the Cosmopolitan without the cranberry — vodka, triple sec, and fresh lime in equal measure. It is the drink's older, plainer ancestor: sharp, dry, and citrus-bright.
Take the cranberry out of a Cosmopolitan, and this is what remains.
Before the Cosmopolitan
The Kamikaze came first. It emerged in American bars in the 1970s — often, in its early life, as a shot — and the Cosmopolitan is essentially a Kamikaze with cranberry juice added and a citrus vodka swapped in. The family tree runs straight through it.
Equal Parts, Sharp
The classic Kamikaze is equal parts vodka, triple sec, and lime juice. That makes it tart and direct — there is no fruit juice to soften it. Shaken hard and served up, it is a brisk, no-nonsense drink.
Shot or Cocktail
The Kamikaze lives a double life — as a quick equal-parts shot and as a proper shaken cocktail served up in a coupe. The recipe is the same; only the glass and the pace change.
The Cosmopolitan Family
The modern classic — citrus vodka, triple sec, cranberry, and lime, shaken and served up.
- 1 1/2 ozCitrus vodka
- 1 ozCranberry juice
- 1/2 ozTriple sec
Vodka and cranberry over ice — the simple highball at the Cosmopolitan's root.
- 1 1/2 ozVodka
- 3 ozCranberry juice
- 1/4 ozLime juice
The Cosmopolitan made clear — white cranberry and a whisper of elderflower.
- 1 1/2 ozCitrus vodka
- 1 ozWhite cranberry juice
- 1/2 ozTriple sec