The Cape Codder is the kind of cocktail you make to pay homage to Reagan-era drinking. Standing on a dock in boat shoes, cardigan thrown around the shoulders, salty Massachusetts breeze in the hair and trickle-down economics on the brain—that kind of thing. It's totally harmless on the outside (it is like, two steps removed from a vodka cranberry) but a bit lethal at its core, by virtue of being so easy to down and follow up with another. With lime, cranberry, and club soda doing their fair share of masking in hint of the vodka, the Cape Codder (also known as the Cape Cod) is a bring and cheery drink, one that's tailor-made for coastal summer evenings.
A Little Background
A fair number of Cape Codder recipes are literally just vodka crans—maybe with a lime wedge garnish, maybe not. This recipe, though, is a little more interesting. And it can be traced as far back to the 1940s, when a cocktail book included a recipe for a "Cape Cod Collins" with cranberry juice, lime, and club soda, but rum instead of vodka. That sounds quite nice, too. The late-Nixon, early-Reagan era saw it become a regular in the yuppie New England bar scene. Not too many places have a classic cocktail named after them, so the geographical association is extra strong.
If You Like This, Try These
To stick to a theme, that theme being somewhat dated vodka cocktails that are somewhat cheesy in nature, a Cosmopolitan is quite similar to the Cape Codder. Same goes for a Sea Breeze, which pairs vodka and cranberry with grapefruit juice, as well as a vodka-and-orange-juice Screwdriver or a vodka-and-grapefruit-juice Greyhound. For a different spirit with a similar attitude, look to the Tequila Sunrise.
What You Need
Here’s what you need to do a Cape Codder justice, beyond what you might be able to dig out of the fridge or cupboard.
Cranberry Juice
Collins Glasses Set
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