Return of the Cocktail
Man cannot live on wine alone. And what better place to savor mixed drinks than Las Vegas? Writer MICHAEL KAPLAN takes you to all the right spots.
 Vegas is the land of overindulgence. Visit the city and it’s a given that you’ll sleep too little, bet too high, eat too richly, and drink too much. For most of us, that’s just the nature of the beast there. Cocktails have been a Vegas staple for as long as the city’s been a gambling mecca. Back in the day, though, it was all about whiskey sours, Scotch and soda, and the odd vodka concoction. If Frank Sinatra and his Rat Packers were in town, then gin martinis flowed freely.
The fact of the matter, though, is that cocktails in Vegas are currently enjoying their golden age. And it’s not just about being innovative with juices and egg whites. It’s also about sheer quality and quantity.
For me, a guy who loves nothing more than a Scotch selection that is too big to register, much less drink, there is one place that epitomizes Vegas’ bigger and better ethos: StripSteak, executive chef Ben Jenkins’ excellent beef emporium inside Mandalay Bay.
The restaurant boasts around 100 to 120 different Scotches and a touch screen on which you can check out whiskeys by region and characteristics in order to pick the one that seems likeliest to suit you. So even if you don’t know your Speyside from your Lowland, you’ll find something to satisfy your sensibilities. Bellied up to the bar, enjoying a bird’s-eye view of aging Angus that I will soon be ingesting, I start by sipping a glass of Oban 14-year-old single malt. The Scotch is warming and flavorful and sets the stage for an impending dinner of prime beef.
StripSteak’s freest-spending connoisseurs take things a bit further. They splurge on 55-yearold Macallan and 35-year-old Bunnahabhain, ponying up $1,600 and $450 per shot, respectively, to indulge in truly special single malts. Lower-priced options include Glenmorangie Signet for $35 and Auchentoshan for $15. Whatever you opt for, whether you like it on the rocks, straight up, with a splash, or even in cocktail form, drink up in the rich, upscale environment of StripSteak, and you will surely enjoy your tipple of choice all the more.
 Don’t miss the top-shelf hooch at Club Privé, a high-stakes gambling enclave situated inside the casino at Bellagio. Table minimums there begin at $100 per hand of blackjack, but you won’t have to risk anything if you want to lie back and chill out underneath a silver-leaf ceiling and amid the room’s retro ’70s décor, and enjoy the kind of imbibing that will leave you feeling like a high roller.
Club Privé is a perfect spot to hit after dinner for snifters of fine spirits. at the highest end, there is Hennessy Ellipse, which goes for $875 per shot, and Rémy Martin Louis XIII Black Pearl (only 786 bottles were produced, it’s blended from cognacs that are as old as 100 years, and its Baccarat crystal decanter is collectible). The room is so alluring that one popular high roller and his entourage recently settled in and dominated the space for a couple of nights running. Over the course of their visit, they polished off a bottle of 55-year-old Macallan single-malt Scotch, as the whale put millions of dollars at risk, and took a second bottle to go as a souvenir.
Considering that Las Vegas is the kind of town where you never know when you’ll have $10,000 burning a hole in your pocket at 2 a.m., it’s good to know about XS and its Ono cocktail. XS is the recently opened club (run by the same group that made Tryst the hottest spot in town) at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, and the Ono is every bit as luxe and gilded as the XS itself. This $10,000 cocktail is made from rare ingredients (Rémy Martin Black Pearl cognac and Charles Heidsieck’s 1981 Champagne Charlie) and souped-up with jewelry: an 18-karat-gold necklace and a pair of Mont Blanc cuff links. Clearly an over-the-top libation, the Ono is one of those only-in-Vegas indulgences that seems perfectly fitting in a club as lavishly intoxicating as XS.
Some people trace Vegas’ modern cocktail evolution back to the opening of the Bellagio, in 1998, when a mixologist came in to create signature drinks. The idea there was to bring the casino up to speed in a world where bartenders were experimenting with fresh ingredients and would eventually receive a kind of rockstar status.
With the growth of cocktail culture, drinking well in Vegas does not necessarily need to be a financial high-wire act driven by single malts, ultrarare cognacs, vintage champagne, and cuff links. Beyond the more pedestrian versions of those sip-friendly liquors, there are lots of mixed drinks available, many of them created in town or at least perfected there. One example is the Cable Car cocktail, which was devised in San Francisco and brought to Las Vegas by its creator, Tony Abou-Ganim. The kicky, rum-based drink has been embraced and adopted by Vegas imbibers.
Additionally, there are plenty of up-and-comers on the horizon. Frank Tucker, who recently opened Bambu Bar, a pool-adjacent, outdoor drinking spot at Mandalay Bay, hopes to make his mark with a steroidal bloody mary. Tucker, a mixologist in his own right, has designed the base for a delicious mary that can be customized, with up to 40 additional ingredients, for each guest. You may want to mix in jalapeños, exotic salts, various olives, and a spice rack’s worth of hot sauces.
Other specialty cocktails at Bambu Bar include the Mango Mojito, which, like many drinks on offer at Bambu Bar, is studded with fresh fruit, totally refreshing, and not at all girly. My personal favorite is the cilantro and cucumber cocktail with vodka and chile peppers (a less utilitarian name is in the works). It’s smooth, slightly herbal, and very refreshing.
 Go a couple of flights up, inside Mandalay Place, and you enter an entirely different world -- literally. If you love vodka, Minus 5 is the place to drink it. Stroll inside its lodge-like bar and you figure you’re in a rustically themed drinking spot. Work your way into the next space, and you get outfitted with a warm coat, UGG boots, and thermal gloves. Go one room deeper and you’re inside an icy wonderland where the temperature is kept at minus 5 degrees Celsius and everything is made of ice: The tables, the benches, a statue of Elvis, and a provocative sculpture of a woman are all constructed from the slippery stuff.
Order a glass of top-end Jewel of Russia vodka at Minus 5 and, as with all drinks here, it will be presented to you in a glass that is made entirely of ice (hold it with both hands, lest it slip loose). There are some fruit-fortified cocktails, which are pretty good, but, in my opinion, it’s advisable to drink the best stuff unadulterated. And, if you’re a bit of an exhibitionist, you can drink from a straw that runs from top to bottom of the aforementioned provocative ice sculpture of a woman as the bartender pours in a stream of vodka that races through her upper torso and directly to your mouth.
It’s fun, but hardly the sort of place where Rat Packers would be drawn. A better example of that is the bourbon bar at the restaurant Switch in Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.
The idea there is to do new takes on classic cocktails. One good example is the Allegheny, a bourbon-based drink that was born in Kentucky and ramped up in Vegas, complete with blackberry liqueur imported from France and three perfect drops of lemon oil. Another one to check out at Switch’s brown liquor bar is Kentucky Tea. Made with single-barrel bourbon, it’s an elevated variation on the sweet tea that is a classic Southern refresher. Of course, you can always go old school (albeit, in a totally upscale sort of way) and simply sip a glass of the excellent Pappy Van Winkle 20-year-old bourbon.
Mixologists at Wynn, though, also know how to keep it simple. One good example from that school is the Indochine, which has become a signature of Daniel Boulud Brasserie at Wynn. Another one to check out there is the Basil Gimlet. It tastes slightly citrusy and is absolutely refreshing.
You’d expect Boulud to serve quality cocktails. American versions of Japanese steakhouses, on the other hand, are not exactly known for refined beverages. Head to BOA Steakhouse, inside The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, and you may be pleasantly surprised. The steakhouse -- with jazz on the sound system, red-filtered lighting, and iconic views of the Strip -- sells cocktails that are smooth and refined.
One of my favorites is the Hendrick’s, which is made with the gin it’s named for, muddled tangerine, lime juice, and cucumber. Another is the Dapper Gent -- constructed out of Gentleman Jack whiskey, ginger ale, cherries, blood orange, and a dash of homemade cinnamon syrup -- which took two months to refine. (It began as an Old Fashioned before slowly evolving into its current form.) And if you’re the kind of person who likes to drink his dessert, check out the Graceland, a liquor-soaked formulation, including Castrie’s cream and Marie Brizard banana liqueur, that’s thick with fresh muddled bananas and cream. I know, not so manly; but, trust me, swallow your pride and try it. This drink is delicious.
When it comes to chilling out and enjoying a good cocktail, my favorite drinking spot in town is an alfresco table at RHUMBAR in The Mirage. It’s a gorgeous sliver of space that opens up onto a surprise patio where a great, eclectic mix of music plays from the sound system.
Sitting below one of the white oversize lamps (adorned with cutouts of fighting roosters -- an ongoing, Cuban-inspired motif there), sipping a signature cocktail, puffing on a cigar (smoking is definitely encouraged by proprietor Michael Frey, who also owns Casa Fuente Cigars at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace), and chatting with friends is a great way to spend an hour or two away from the gaming tables.
Obviously, RHUMBAR has a fabulous selection of the alcohol for which it’s named. Those fine brown liquors are made for sipping and that is definitely one way to go. But my favorite RHUMBAR cocktail is called Bridget Got Her Groove Back. It’s monickered for one of the lounge’s waitresses and is set off by gently pressed sage, which gives the drink a very fresh taste.
This is a terrific spot. It’s a place where Frank and Sammy and Dean, sitting at a rear table, flirting with the servers, and enjoying Cuban cigars, would feel right at home. It’s a good bet that you will, too.
STOCKING THE ULTIMATE AT-HOME BAR
 It’s not always possible to be in Vegas swilling cocktails. With some of the suggestions from Ray Srp, master mixologist at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, here are the ingredients for perfect do-it-yourself cocktails.
Vodka:
GREY GOOSE. An ultrapremium brand that’s great for mixed drinks
LEVEL. A martini’s perfect mate; also enjoyable straight up
DRIPPING SPRINGS. A Texas vodka made with Artesian Hill Country spring water
TITO’S HANDMADE VODKA. An award-winning spirit that’s reasonably priced
Gin:
TANQUERAY NO. TEN. Lots of citrus accents, and good to have for gin martinis
HENDRICK’S. A refreshing flavor; this gin is good in cocktails containing cucumber
RIGHT. When you want a sweeter gin with a richer palate
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE. A crucial bar ingredient that’s perfect with tonic and a twist
Scotch:
GLENMORANGIE THE LASANTA. A 12-year-old single malt that’s rich and full-bodied
CHIVAS REGAL 25 YEAR OLD. Sniff, sip, and enjoy the undertones of peach, orange, marzipan, and nuts
THE MACALLAN 18 YEAR OLD. A single malt that’s smooth and fat
Bourbon:
KNOB CREEK. A superpremium Kentucky straight bourbon that’s aged nine years and
is rich and complex
WOODFORD RESERVE. The brand that’s the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby should be on your shelf
PAPPY VAN WINKLE’S FAMILY RESERVE. A delicious aged bourbon; they bottle just 3,000 per year, so find one and savor it
Tequila:
HERRADURA BLANCO. It’s smooth and sweet, and helps to make a mean margarita
JOSE CUERVO RESERVA DE LA FAMILIA. A so-called “super añejo,” with vanilla and cognac flavors
CASA NOBLE SINGLE BARREL AÑEJO. This premium tequila is refined and smooth; savor it by itself
Rum:
MONTECRISTO. Sip it straight, with nothing more than a cigar for accompaniment
ZACAPA 23 YEAR OLD. Complex, well-balanced, and a superior tipple
PYRAT XO RESERVE. Can double as an after-dinner drink; goes well with creamy desserts
After-Dinner Drinks:
JACOPO POLI PO’ MERLOT DI POLI GRAPPA. Sweet grapes smooth out the rough taste usually associated with grappa
KUBLER SWISS. Get a little naughty and enjoy the strong licorice flavor of this 105-proof absinthe
COINTREAU. Sure, you’ll want it instead of triple sec for delectable margaritas, but enjoy it on its own for something truly special
Round things out with sodas, fresh juices, lemons and limes, simple syrup, cocktail onions, and bottles of sweet and dry vermouth. Be sure to have a two-piece cocktail shaker, bar spoon, and a jigger for measuring liquor. And don’t forget the martini glasses!
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