Risa Weaver-Enion is a professional photographer based in Sacramento, California. Through her company
Risa James Photography, she specializes in food and beverage photography, specifically cocktails. She works with small distilleries, wineries, and purveyors of cocktail accessories to create beautiful imagery for them to use in their marketing efforts. Her book,
Cocktails for Everyday Drinking, was published in 2022 and is available at all online booksellers.
When she’s not photographing cocktails, Risa and her husband love to travel, both within the United States and internationally. Many of their trips have been wine-focused, but they’ve visited their fair share of distilleries around the world as well.
Anyone who wants to reach out to Risa to ask questions about photography, cocktails, or anything else, can find her on Instagram
@risajamesphotography, on the web at
risajamesphoto.com, or over email at risajamesphoto [at] gmail.com. She’s always happy to answer questions and give advice.
Everyone loves a vibrantly colored cocktail, and purple is easy to achieve without artificial coloring. You simply use dried butterfly pea flower to infuse your spirit, and you can achieve varying hues of purple. Combining the purple spirit with lime or lemon juice changes the pH to turn it a different shade of blue/purple.
TIME (ACTIVE) | 10 M
TIME (INACTIVE) | 30 M
TOTAL | 40 M
1 SERVING
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
JAR WITH A LID
CHEESECLOTH
FUNNEL
COCKTAIL SHAKER WITH STRAINER
JIGGER
Simple syrup is an equal parts mixture of granulated sugar and hot water. Mix equal amounts together, stir to dissolve sugar, and let cool before using. Simple syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to about 3 weeks.
If you are vegan you can substitute aquafaba (the liquid in a can of chickpeas) or an artificial foaming agent for the egg white.