Cocktail “Cosmonaut” – the Perfect Drink for July 4th
Happy weekend and welcome back to Happy 3 Ingredient Hour , a weekly drinks column featuring very simple yet delicious libations. Independence Day is approaching, but recent political machinations have made me feel less than a patriot. Thus, I will celebrate with Sasha Petraske’s Cosmonaut cocktail, because we must always remember that the degenerated workers’ state has thrown us into space.
Both Petraske’s parents and grandparents were communists, and, according to his obituary , this aroused in him “distrust of capitalism and sympathy for the working classes.” While there isn’t really anything Russian about this cocktail – it’s more of a riff from the ubiquitous Cosmopolitan at the time – I still really love the idea of sipping on these tart, slightly sweet gin-based beauties rather than pushing light beer after light beer.
I found a recipe in Robert Simonson’s three-ingredient cocktails which, as you probably guessed, really shit to me. Although the original recipe uses raspberry jam, I allow you to experiment with different fruit pastes; I made mine with blackberry jam and it was really nice. To make it yourself, you will need:
- 2 ounces gin
- 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 bar spoon raspberry (or your favorite) jam
Add everything to an ice-filled shaker (or one large cube) and shake until cool. Strain through a fine sieve into a compartment glass.