Cosmopolitans and the people who drink them

February 16

Last Saturday, after having dinner at Lily Thai, Birdman and I took the L train into Union Square to drink beer at Heartland Brewery, where we drank IPA, having found the stout a bit too sweet that evening, and spoke of many things.
I don’t know how, but the topic of premium vodkas came up, and it occurred to us that when people order Cosmopolitans they can be really fussy about what type of pretentious vodka is used in it, like there’s that great a difference. But I have never heard anyone ask for or specify any of the other ingredients. Surely whether a bartender uses Contreau or triple sec is more important than the choice of Grey Goose or Stolichnaya. Is the lime juice fresh? If not, what brand of bottled stuff are they using? What about the cranberry juice? What proportion of those ingredients are they using?
Even whether the drink is shaken or stirred, and for how long it is shaken or stirred, surely matters more than the choice of vodka — the longer the drink is in contact with ice, the more diluted it will be.