ETHANOL

VODKA CRANBERRY

Ocean Spray, 1940s–60s.

HIGHBALL
ETHANOL 19 G131 KCAL FROM ETHANOL6.56 OZ SERVED

SPEC

2 oz · 60 mlVODKA40 %
4 oz · 120 mlCRANBERRY JUICE
¼ oz · 8 mlLIME JUICE

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

METHOD

  1. 01FILL HIGHBALL WITH ICE
  2. 02ADD VODKA, TOP WITH CRANBERRY JUICE
  3. 03GARNISH WITH LIME WEDGE

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

STRENGTH // WORKED

Pre-batch6.25 oz mixed with ice, 0.8 oz of it pure alcohol
MeltBuilt in the glass: +5 % of the pre-batch, +0.31 oz of water
Served6.25 + 0.31 = 6.56 oz in the glass
Strength0.8 ÷ 6.56 = 12.2 % ABV as served
Ethanol0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone

IN THE GLASS

FURFURAL

FROM VODKA GRAIN TRACE · the toasted/caramel note

Formula
C₅H₄O₂
Mass
96.08 g/mol
IUPAC
furan-2-carbaldehyde

The toasted-almond / caramel note in aged port, madeira, and amontillado sherry, formed when sugars in the wine slowly oxidize during long oxidative cask aging. Also in roasted coffee, baked bread, and any food that's been browned through Maillard chemistry. The deeper the toast on a bourbon barrel, the more furfural extracts into the spirit; the longer the madeira sits in the estufa, the more accumulates.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Vodka Soda · Screwdriver · Bloody Mary · Bloody Caesar · Black Russian · White Russian · Lemon Drop · Kamikaze

MALIC ACID

FROM CRANBERRY · the apple acid

Formula
C₄H₆O₅
Mass
134.09 g/mol
IUPAC
(2S)-2-hydroxybutanedioic acid

The acid that puts the bite in green apples, unripe stone fruit, and rhubarb. Wine carries it from the grape, but most reds lose it during malolactic fermentation, where bacteria convert the sharp malic into the rounder lactic, swapping "tart" for "creamy." Whites that skip MLF (most Sauvignon Blanc, most Riesling) keep the malic edge as part of their crisp identity.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Sea Breeze · Cape Codder · El Diablo · Kir Royale · Kir · French Martini

CHEMISTRY

Vodka, cranberry and lime, known as the Cape Codder. Cranberry's proanthocyanidins and quinic acid drive the tart edge. The fructose load masks perceived strength, but the ethanol load is unchanged.

PROVENANCE

Ocean Spray printed a vodka, cranberry and lime recipe called the Red Devil in 1945; by the 1960s the pairing was sold as the Cape Codder, also called the Cape Cod. Lime is the usual garnish; straight juice and vodka over ice is the simpler default.

VODKA // NEARBY

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