By Hairee Lee
Carrie: Hi, I’d like a cheeseburger, please, large fries, and a Cosmopolitan.
Need I say more? I mean, this is my kinda a gal. Carrie Bradshaw, the heroine in the acclaimed television series played by Sarah Jessica Parker–who made wearing underwear in public high fashion, one-night-stands an amoral imperative, and loyal-to-a-fault girlfriends the must-have in any urban woman’s survival kit–is someone I can totally see myself sipping cosmos with while wolfing down a burger. And talking about sex.
Sex and the City remains one 
of my favorite TV series and whenever I order a cosmo at a bar, I get nostalgic about the show’s four NYC women, and pay silent, sipping homage to what they did for girl talk, sex talk, and relationship talk.
The days of it’s influence, say some like Stephen March of Esquire, are long gone. “From Tina Fey’s fake prude to Sarah Palin’s real power play, here’s why strong women just aren’t that into having sex with you anymore.”
Perhaps that’s true. Although I have to question the competency of someone named Stephen, that is, a man, telling me what precisely was the influence of Sex and the City on women with respect to their perception of female sexuality, female friendships, and female independence.
Nevertheless, the drink made famous by the show endures. It’s strong, sweet, and sophisticated, everything modern women continue to be. Like the four women of Didriks pictured below.
I ask them who of the four women they would be from the show. I realized that this game assumes women are types, that the characters are types and so there are really only four types of women in the world. Sure, it’s silly. That’s why it’s a game. Play on, sistah.
“Melissa is definitely The Charlotte York,” I say.
Kristina and Kristin–both blond, both cute, both New Englanders, which makes their blond significantly different from the tired stereotype–agree.
“I’m the red head, The Miranda Hobbes,” I volunteer.
Not because I’m an out-of-the-closet lesbian like the actress who played The Hobbes, I explain, but because, “I can be kind of . . . masculine.”
That leaves The Samantha Jones, my personal favorite, and The Carrie Bradshaw, both blonds.
“So who’s the sex maniac? And I mean that with all kinds of props.”
Kristina and Kristin turn their golden heads to look at one another. Silence. (Is golden?) I should shut up sometimes.
Cosmopolitan
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) citrus vodka
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon simple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cranberry juice
- 1 cup ice cubes
- Garnish: lemon or orange twist. But we decided to forego the twist of citrus rind. The line around the Kosta Boda Eclipse Marini EXTRA LARGE glasses added the swirling flourish without having to deal with an inedible garnish.
Directions
- In cocktail shaker, combine vodka, orange liqueur, lime juice, simple syrup, and cranberry juice.
- Add ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds.
- Strain into chilled martini glass and serve immediately.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
Photographs by Nathan Brescia.
