Growing up, my dad had a handcrafted wooden hutch that was the focal point of our living room, partly because it held his collection of booze. After he opened the double doors, the stereo would come on and he’d start taking orders and pulling out bottles. That’s how you knew a party was starting.

In university, we kept our empties on display like trophies we had gathered throughout the year and stacked to circle the room or board up our windows. Not yet being of legal drinking age in our Canadian city, we used them as “fuck you”s to our Floor Advisors and as signs that we knew how to party.

Over the years, our empty bottles began to fill up. Valid IDs, full-time jobs, and better tastes came together to create well-curated apartments where our booze was a collection of tasteful decisions rather than a paean to boastful binge drinking. Smirnoff was upgraded to Belvedere, Beefeater to a bottle of Hendrick’s.

With our top-shelf appetites fully whetted, along came shows like Mad Men and a nostalgia for bygone days when hosting really meant something and people knew what to do with a martini shaker. Because let’s face it – there’s something undeniably attractive about a guy who can whip up a Martini or an Old Fashioned, and any gentleman worth his salt should be equipped to entertain.

This does not mean that he has to be a professionally trained bartender or has to throw six-course dinner parties on the regular. He should, however, be prepared to mix a drink on the occasion that he is hosting a party – whether it be a birthday, pre-drink, or Sunday Brunch.

With the help of Norm Owen, a bartender at Salt Wine Bar in Toronto, we broke down the bottles and basics you need to start your own bar cart as well as some drinks to master. With “good gin, good bourbon, sweet and dry vermouth, [and] good rum,” says Norm, “plus a few adjuncts like bitters and/or maraschino liqueur, one could make a lot of good cocktails.”

But being a bar-cart owner doesn’t end with stocking the goods. Presentation and talent are also a necessary part of the equation. Lucky for us, bar equipment is relatively cheap and aesthetically pleasing. So feel free to leave your shaker, pitcher and stirrer, jigger, and bottle openers on display.

Old Fashioned

Small teaspoon Simple Syrup (a muddled sugar cube will also do)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 strip orange peel
2 oz good quality bourbon
1 maraschino cherry

In a glass, combine simple syrup and bitters. Fill glass with ice, stir several times, and then squeeze orange peel over glass to extract oils. Add the peel and bourbon to the glass. Stir until drink is cold. Garnish with cherry and serve.

Martini

½ oz dry vermouth
3 oz good quality gin
1 strip lemon peel
1 to 3 green olives

Combine vermouth, gin, and ice into your cocktail shaker. Shake or stir until well chilled. Strain into martini glass (bonus points if it’s been chilled first). Squeeze the lemon peel over the glass, making sure that oils fall into the glass, then discard the peel. Skewer olives, place in drink, and serve. You can serve the olives on the side as well.

**Both recipes were confirmed on epicurious for exact measurements but some creative liberties taken.