Many bartenders, however, continue to use a standard unflavored vodka — this alternative would undoubtedly be historically consistent with any of the supposed predecessors of this drink that were popular in Ohio, Provincetown, or Minneapolis during the 1970s, or in San Francisco during the 1980s.

The origin of the cosmopolitan is disputed,[7][8] with some histories tracing it from the gay community in 1970s Provincetown, moving west to Cleveland and Minneapolis, and landing in San Francisco.

Cocktail historian Gary Regan credits bartender Cheryl Cook of the Strand Restaurant in South Beach, Florida, with the original creation.

[17] Cook's original recipes called for "Absolut Citron, a splash of Triple sec, a drop of Rose's lime and just enough cranberry to make it oh so pretty in pink.

Cheryl Charming's The Cocktail Companion credits a bartender named Patrick "Paddy" Mitten with bringing the drink to New York City from San Francisco in October 1987.

[19][7] According to Sally Ann Berk and Bob Sennett, the Cosmopolitan appears in literature as early as 1993 and derives from New York City.

[24] Dale DeGroff explains that after the singer was spotted drinking one in 1996, overnight he received calls across the globe, "as far away as Germany and Australia" for the recipe.

[25][26] It was later frequently mentioned on the television program Sex and the City,[14] in which Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carrie Bradshaw, commonly ordered the drink when out with her girlfriends.