The Spicy Metropolitan

The Spicy Metropolitan is a take on the classic Cosmopolitan but with Ginger and Hibiscus; tart, delicious and refreshingly balanced! Oh and that color is a SHOW STOPPER!

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This Spicy Metropolitan cocktail came to me because I knew I wanted to pair The Best Vegan and Gluten Free Lemon Squares with hibiscus. The tart nature of hibiscus makes it so refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to lemon. I mean, hibiscus lemonade that stuff is GOOD! But I honestly didn’t want to overdo it with the lemon. After all, I was pairing a lemon based dessert.

Would The Best Vegan and Gluten Free Lemon Squares work with a lemon forward drink? Yeah, I think they would. But I could also see that amount of lemon diminishing the lemon flavor. PLUS, hibiscus was just calling to be used. Then, I also realized that ginger works pretty dang well with lemon. So why not add some to the drink? Well, I made this sweetened Hibiscus and Ginger tea concentrate and it was DELICIOUS! But I had to figure out what to do with it in a cocktail form. Enter the Cosmopolitan.

The classic Cosmopolitan, or cosmo, is a combination of vodka, triple sec, sweetened lime juice and a splash of cranberry juice (depending on who is making it, just enough for color or a little added flavor too). I realized citrus would be nice with the Lemon Squares, same with same. And I wanted to use vodka, so why not make this recipe based off the Cosmopolitan? And that is how The Spicy Metropolitan was born! Refreshing, delicious and a little spice from the ginger, this is a must try!

The Spicy Metropolitan Recipe Notes & Substitutions

2 Recipes Below– I present two recipes below for the main reason that The Spicy Metropolitan was created to be served with The Best Vegan and Gluten Free Lemon Squares. Basically, a dessert. When pairing drinks with a dessert the drink should be as sweet if not sweeter than the dessert. Otherwise, you will emphasize the bitter and alcohol of the drink and reduce the fruitiness. However, when I want to just enjoy this drink on its own, I do not make it as sweet. So I figured why not present both recipes because it just depends on how it is being served. You do not need to make both cocktails, choose the recipe you want to follow based on your tastes or what you want from the drink.

Hibiscus and Ginger Tea– The recipes uses dried hibiscus (also called jamaica) and dried ginger. Feel free to use fresh ginger instead of dried if you want a little more potent gigner and spice. You will likely need a little more fresh ginger but it will be great! Use dried hibiscus. This is really the only thing that can get you that tartness needed. Hibiscus tea can be found online or at a hispanic grocer. The hibiscus also adds the gorgeous color to the cocktail.

Vodka– Vodka is the best spirit here because it is neutral and allows the other flavors to shine. If you would like to switch it out, you can try gin or white rum. Tequila would also work with the flavor profile, but would create a VERY different drink, and I would likely switch up the proportions a bit.

Triple Sec– Orange liqueur, use your favorite or the one you have on hand. It helps mimic the Cosmopolitan and also adds a beautiful sweet orange flavor. You could go classier and use Grande Marnier, but any will do. Substituting orange juice could work in a pinch, but is not ideal and will change the flavor of the drink so it is best to stick to orange liqueur.

Lemon– Here lemon or lime would work in the drink. If I was making it to just serve by itself I would interchange and be fine. If making it to serve with the lemon squares, use lemon.

Why this pairing works.

The Spicy Metropolitan is incredible on its own. That said, pair it with a lemon square and the flavor really comes alive! First, the sweetness. As I mentioned above the drink must be as sweet or sweeter than the dessert to pair, otherwise the balance is thrown off. Luckily, The Best Vegan and Gluten Free Lemon Squares do have a nice tart punch, so the drink doesn’t need to be syrupy sweet. However, the needed sweetness for The Spicy Metropolitan comes from two main places. First, the sweetened ginger and hibiscus syrup. And second, the triple sec. These two combine to make a beautiful bridge to meet the sweetness of the dessert.

Next, the star of the cocktail, the ginger and hibiscus syrup. Both of these flavors perfectly pair with lemon. Often, when I make hibiscus tea lemon is what I reach for. Lemon and hibiscus are such natural pairing partners, because they complement each other since like pairs with like. Both of these ingredients are tart, fruity and a bit floral. Hibiscus has the obvious floral components from being a flower. The tartness and fruitiness is expressed as cranberry. With lemon, tartness is the name of the game, but the beautiful floral character expressed in the lemon rind helps it complement the hibiscus even more.

Finally, bringing in the ginger into the syrup adds a nice spice component that is subtle, but present. Ginger adds tat nicely earthy dimension that brings depth to the hibiscus and lemon and also helps to balance the sweetness of both the cocktail and the lemon squares. It also, helps the cocktail pair with the buttery crust of the lemon square. But don’t just take my word for it, give this cocktail a try! Seriously, the next time you find ourself with a lemon square, why not fancy it up with The Spicy Metropolitan.