Any self-respecting bachelor should, ideally, have his own bar. Sure, you could invite your mates back from the pub for a couple of cans of lukewarm supermarket backwash but that won't impress anyone.

Nope, what you really need is a way of making proper, professionally measured beverages – not least because the thought of a 75-25 mix of Jack and coke tastes like week-old battery acid and feels much the same on its way down you throat. So, what to do?

While splashing out for a licence to serve alcohol and your own spacious premises is probably beyond the means of most of us, anyone can set up their own modest spirits rack with our staggeringly helpful Bar Butler.

The Butler holds up to 6 bottles, each slotting neatly into its own optic which dispenses exactly 1½ shots of booze when you push your glass against the spring-loaded mechanism. By god, you'll be mixing them like Tom Cruise in Cocktail before you know it. Lurid 80s neon lighting optional.