Many modern classics have a close kinship with antique recipes. The Daisy, Fix and Flip are now almost completely forgotten, yet we would have no Cosmo or Sour Apple without them.

Daisies were once a popular "sour," a cocktail made tart by the addition of lemon or lime juice. (The Whiskey Sour is the most famous of these, and a close cousin to the Fix.) The Fix is a sour cocktail that uses pineapple syrup as a sweetener, while the Daisy uses raspberry syrup or grenadine.

Gin Daisy

2 ounces gin
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon raspberry syrup or grenadine

Pour ingredients into ice filled shaker. Shake, then strain into a
chilled cocktail glass.

-From Straight up or on the Rocks : The story of the American Cocktail,
by William Grimes

 

Raspberry Syrup (makes approx 0.5 litre)

Combine in sauce pan;
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 pint raspberries
While stirring, bring to a boil. Remove immediately from heat, fine
strain and chill before serving. Syrup will keep for two weeks if refrigerated.

 

Its origin is a highly debated topic of discussion (don't get me started), best left for my next post. Here is the modern, classic recipe as popularized by Dale Degroff at the Rainbow Room in NYC, circa 1996.

Cosmopolitan

1 1/2 ounces citron vodka
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce cranberry juice
flamed orange peel for garnish

Shake all the ingredients with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail
glass. Garnish with flamed orange peel.

-From Craft of the Cocktail, by Dale Degroff