This Saturday, October 8, is the Milestone Cranberry Bog and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s 13th Annual Cranberry Festival. If you’re in Nantucket, you can head out to the festival grounds and watch the berries being harvested, learn about the history of cranberry farming on the island, and participate in a number of activities, including a cranberry kitchen party with Sarah Leah Chase, author of New England Open-House Cookbook.

If you don’t happen to be one of the lucky ones on Nantucket, you can just drink to forget it! We humbly suggest whipping up a batch of the “Cape Codder” cocktail Sarah will be be demoing at the festival (recipe excerpted below).

Nigel’s Cape Codder

Whenever we entertain, Nigel prides himself on inventing a special, welcoming cocktail to suit the occasion. At some point I suggested that I would love for him to create a straightforward Cape Codder cocktail but find a way to make it better than any he had ever been served. Nigel took to the task with far more speed and relish than my more frequent culinary requests of peeling substantial amounts of garlic or seeding tomatoes and jalapeño peppers. Suffice it to say, there was nothing menial to bog (pun intended) him down and the task was accomplished with exemplary craft-cocktail expertise.

Serves 1

• Generous 2 ounces vodka
• 4 ounces cranberry juice
• 2 ounces Nigel’s Cranberry Syrup (recipe follows)
• Ice cubes, for serving
• 1 lime wedge, for garnish

Place the vodka, cranberry juice, and cranberry syrup in a tall mixing glass or beaker and stir to mix. Pour the cocktail into an ice-filled highball glass and garnish with a wedge of lime.

Nigel’s Cranberry Syrup

The popular Cape Codder cocktail usually consists of three ingredients: vodka, cranberry juice, and a squeeze of lime. Nigel decided to make a homemade cranberry syrup to replace some of the standard cranberry juice and the resulting cocktail was elevated to a whole new stratosphere.

Makes 1¾ cups

• 1 cup whole fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Place the cranberries, cranberry juice, sugar, lime juice, and lime zest in a small nonreactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have softened and burst open, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the cranberry mixture from the heat and let it cool for at least 10 minutes.

Transfer the cranberry mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Store the syrup in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use. The syrup will keep for at least 1 week.