If you imagine that great photographers are made of the same stuff as great cocktails, you’ll conjure up a host of pitcher-perfect pairs. Consider Ansel Adams: His cool, austere landscapes are the ultimate complement to the iconic martini – glacial and unyielding to a century’s whims. Robert Mapplethorpe’s rousing, raunchy images of flowers warrant a similarly florid accessory: a Chrysanthemum Cocktail, bound to get your stamen wiggling. And Annie Leibovitz? Her celebrity shots scream Cosmo, the definitive late-century celluloid sipper. Flash to the Sour Cherry, a sanguine snapshot inspired by our own moment under the darkroom bulb. Sip slowly, close one eye and start composing.

Sour Cherry

• 1 1/2 oz white tequila
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz cherry brandy
• 1/4 oz crème de cassis
• 1 splash syrup
• 3–4 sour cherries

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker full of ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Martini

• 2 oz gin (or vodka if you must)
• 1/2 oz dry white vermouth

Stir thoroughly with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive or a twist of lemon. Don’t be afraid to add the proper amount of vermouth!

Chrysanthemum Cocktail

• 2 oz dry white vermouth
• 1 oz Benedictine
• 1 drop Ricard or other pastis
• 1 dash fresh lemon juice

Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Run a lemon wedge around the rim of the glass and leave it as a garnish.

Cosmopolitan

• 1 1/2 oz citron vodka
• 1/2 oz Cointreau
• 1/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz cranberry juice

Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. (This is Dale DeGroff’s recipe from his book The Craft of the Cocktail.)

Simple Syrup
Combine two cups of white sugar and one cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

ADD YOUR COMMENTS > letters@enroutemag.net

Chris Stearns is one of Canada’s best mixologists. You can sample his wares at Decca77 in Montreal and reach him at cstearns@enroutemag.net.