Cape Codder
Vodka and cranberry juice — Ocean Spray's 1945 Red Devil renamed the Cape Codder in a 1965 New Yorker ad, the Massachusetts cranberry bogs its geographic identity.
- 1Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
- 2Pour vodka over the ice.
- 3Add cranberry juice and stir gently.
- 4Garnish with a lime wedge.
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The Cape Codder traces its commercial origins to 1945, when the Ocean Spray cranberry growers cooperative first published a recipe combining vodka and cranberry juice in their newsletter, calling it the Red Devil as part of a drive to sell cranberry juice as a year-round cocktail ingredient. The Cape Codder name appeared in a 1965 New Yorker advertisement, referencing the Massachusetts coastal peninsula that sits at the heart of American cranberry cultivation — Ocean Spray was headquartered in nearby Plymouth. Cape Cod's distinctive cranberry bogs, which produce a spectacular red landscape during the October harvest, gave the drink an authentic regional identity tied to the ingredient's geographic origin. Its vivid ruby color, refreshing tartness, and two-ingredient simplicity made the Cape Codder one of the most universally appealing vodka cocktails of the following decades.
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