How to make:

POUR ingredients into ice-filled glass, ideally using vodka from a freezer and chilled juices. (Citrus fruit should be stored in a refrigerator prior to juicing.)

Review:

Dry and refreshing but not particularly interesting.

Variant:

Without lime juice, this is a Cape Cod. Lengthened with soda becomes the Cape Cod Cooler. With orange juice it becomes Madras. The Cape Codder is also related to the Harpoon; Seabreeze and Bay Breeze.

History:

Basically a "vodka cranberry" with a splash of lime, the Cape Codder is named after the Cape Cod resort on the Massachusetts coast. This is where some of the first Europeans settled in the US and found cranberries, the indigenous North American berry, the juice of which is mixed with vodka and a splash of lime to make this drink.

The same combination of ingredients went by the earlier name "Red Devil" this faded soon after the name Cape Codder emerged. The Cape Codder quickly become a popular drink, reaching the height of popularity during the early 1980s. Victor Bergeron includes a similar "Rangoon Ruby in his 1972 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide as one of his own creations.

RANGOON RUBY
½ lime
1½ ounces cranberry juice
2 ounces vodka
Club soda
Squeeze lime juice over ice cubes in a 12-ounce sling glass; save shell. Add cranberry juice and vodka. Fill glass with soda. Stir gently. Decorate with spent lime shell, fresh mint, and fruit stick.

Victor Bergeron, 1972

Nutrition:

One serving of Cape Codder contains 161 calories