Real Men Make Cocktails. Here Are 5 of Our Favorites.

Cocktails are fun and sexy, especially when you’ve got those stainless steel shakers and fancy glasses. Unless you’re a bartender or liquor aficionado, though, chances are you don’t know how to make a good cocktail, yet alone name more than three (I’m lookin’ at you, Bud Light guy). If you want to up your party host game or get her to stay the night, one hot way to do this is by making a specialty cocktail. Here are 5 painless and delicious cocktails to get you started:

1. Negroni

You just can’t fail at the Negroni, and it tastes a lot fancier than making it is.

For two:

• 2 oz. London dry gin
• 2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 2 oz. Campari

Stir it up, garnish with a pretty little orange peel. Here are a few add-ons to give it your personal twist:

• Make it frisky and fresh with some soda water.
• Make it a Negroni Sbagliato by adding sparkling wine. Sexy!
• Make a Pink Negroni by adding Lillet Blanc and lemon juice. Perfect for spring and summer.

2. Old Fashioned

   

You can’t go wrong with an Old Fashioned. It’s a great end of the workday drink, but you can drink it just about anywhere for any occasion.

• Tiny bit of simple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• Orange peel
• 2 oz. rye or bourbon
• Maraschino cherry

Add everything but the whiskey and stir about twelve times. Add ice and whiskey, and you’re good to go. Top with cherry.

3. Gin and Tonic

‘Cause you’re a classy man and classy men drink Gin and Tonics. This version’s as cool as a cucumber.

For 2:

• 4 shots Gin
• 2 small glass bottles Canada Dry tonic
• 8 thin slices of cucumber
• Juice of a quarter wedge of a lime
• Cup of ice

Fill a high ball glass with gin, add the rest of it, give it a stir. Now drink!

4. Martini

   

Pinky up! Martinis are the most classic cocktails out there. Martinis are great because you can do just about anything to them to make them your own specialty cocktail. And they come in fancy glasses with all sorts of garnishes. Let’s get sipping.

Alton Brown is known for being a food genius, right down to the science and chemistry of mixology. His recipe is foolproof. For two:

• Cup crushed ice
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 4 oz. gin
• 2 olives

Ice up the vermouth in a cocktail shaker then strain it and combine with the gin. Add the olive. Yep, that’s it.

A couple variations:

• Get dirty. Add some brine from the olive jar for a dirty martini.
• Get energized. Add a shot of espresso and garnish with coffee beans. Mmm.
• Get playful. The Cosmopolitan goes in a Martini glass, but it’s made with vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and fresh-squeezed lime juice. Yum.

5. Wild Card: Wściekły Pies, AKA Mad Dog

This one’s from Poland, and if you want to go for something unique, here you go. Mad Dogs are sexy because they’re hot but they’re also sweet. The recipe’s simple:

• 1 oz. vodka
• Drop of raspberry jam
• 5 drops of Tabasco sauce

Sounds weird. Tastes awesome.

Look at you. You’re totally a mixologist now! Cheers!