Let’s talk about cocktails in the movies. Not vodka martinis, cosmopolitans or white Russians – all too obvious. Instead, I’m going to take you down memory lane if you are of a certain age or perhaps introduce you to some classics – both movie and spirited.

Starting with the drink I’ve been on a quest for of late, an old fashioned. In current media I wouldn’t look any further than Crazy Stupid Love – I mean really, if only that cocktail could make me as cool as Ryan Gosling … sigh. No wonder they’ve become an incredibly popular drink again – I’m totally blaming him and Mad Men. If you’d like a different spin on this venerable cocktail, look no further than It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World –remember it’s the only way to fly.

Speaking of flying, check out Roger Thornhill ordering a Gibson in North by Northwest – I certainly think he rivals Ryan Gosling for suave. And while we’re on Cary Grant (yes, he played Thornhill) his popular choice across several films was the stinger. It’s his drink of choice in The Bishop’s Wife, Kiss Them For Me and he orders up a stinger for Katherine Hepburn’s character in The Philadelphia Story.

But perhaps the best pairing of film and cocktails is The Thin Man in which William Powell instructs his bartender on the art of shaking. “The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you always shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time.”

A lesson for us all.