Firewater Friday . . . Cher’s Berry Cosmo

Everyone is familiar with Cosmopolitan Magazine . . . but what you may not know is that when it was first published in 1886 it was meant as a family magazine.  Originally, the content included articles about fashion, home décor, recipes, child rearing, etc.  Also included in the early versions of Cosmo was a section for the children of the family.   It was meant to have something for everyone. Within a year Cosmopolitan had a circulation of 25,000.

Two years later, the magazine found itself with a new editor and a new format.   The updated style of the magazine incorporated serial fiction, book reviews and colour illustrations. Contributers included Theodore Dreiser, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London and Edith Wharton.   Even H. G. Wells had two of his books, The War of the Worlds (1897) and First Man in the Moon (1900), serialized in the magazine. Cosmopolitan soon became of America's leading magazines.

 

Hearst publishing purchased the magazine 1905.  With the hiring of renowned journalists Charles Edward Russell, David Graham Phillips and Alfred Henry Lewis, the monthly transformed into a source for topical political analysis and social commentary.  By the 1930s the magazine had a circulation of 1,700,000.

The next few decades the magazine changed from strictly articles to short novels and stories.  During the more serious times brought on by two world wars and the Great Depression, the demand for fiction dropped.  Although the magazine’s readership dropped it was still profitable.

In the 1960’s the magazine got a whole new makeover.  The new Cosmo tackled previously unmentioned topics like birth control, sexual malfunction and social diseases.  The magazine was as much about feminism as being feminine.

Cosmo has matured into a sexy, sophisticated guide for women where it seems no topic is off limits.

Cher’s Berry Cosmo

~ 1 Oz Blueberry Vodka ~

~ ½ Oz Triple Sec ~

~ ½ Oz Rose's Lime Juice ~

~ ½ Oz Cranberry Juice ~

Shake vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice vigorously in a shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass, garnish with a maraschino cherry, and serve.