Drinks: Destinations of Distinction
Craft cocktails and custom experiences create memorable beverage moments
Visitors to Las Vegas increasingly want a custom experience based on recommendations. They want aspects of classic Vegas mixed with something special not offered by every resort, especially when it comes to libations. Speakeasies, special presentations, craft cocktails, happy hours, hors d’oeuvres and hot teas contribute to the evolution of the food-and-beverage scene of the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas as do the concept innovators, design visionaries, bartenders, hosts and servers whose efforts and expertise combine to create memorable moments for guests.
Those moments are created vie presentation and panache at Barry's Downtown Prime, which lists its drinks cart at the top of its extensive cocktail menu and wine list. Named for head chef and co-owner Barry Dakake, the handsomely designed Circa Resort and Casino steakhouse assembled much of the team that helmed legendary N9ne Steakhouse and it’s heir Scotch 80 Prime at Palms Casino Resort but added the mobile cart that allows expert mixologists like bartender Sam to make Old Fashioneds and Manhattans tableside.
“Over the years we traveled a lot [for research and development],” says co-owner Yassine Lyoubi. “You always want to go out, try new stuff, and one of the restaurants that was on our list for the longer time was Eleven Madison.”
Manhattan’s critically lauded Eleven Madison Park had four-star fine dining and drink cart service that Lyoubi fell in love with and inspired the amenity at Barry’s. Precision mixing of regular or top shelf selections, including a tequila variation, in the dining room stokes curiosity among guests who wind up ordering tableside service themselves.
Curiosity is what leads guests of the Bellagio to find The Vault, an upscale and sophisticated speakeasy hiding in plain sight on the casino floor. There are no signs, but there is a symbol on the entrance’s exterior that guests with reservations are directed to. The interior is dark, intimate, and luxurious with sophisticated music playing through the sound system at conversation-friendly levels.
It’s a setting worthy of the heavy-bound menu of craft cocktails and caviar written by an anonymous author with Pulitzer-worthy prose. The Vapor Trail Old Fashioned made with Japanese whisky is served in a translucent cover filled with maple smoke and poured in a spinning glass: “Like a mystery unveiled, the enclosure lifts to reveal an enthralling elixir, meticulously crafted to deliver a richly satisfying multi-sensory experience.”
After exploring the multi-sensory experience that is Omega Mart, the surreal grocery store with a fantasy backroom area inside Area15, visitors have the option to stop in Datamosh, a cyberpunk’s vision of a speakeasy with a menu of specialty cocktails, spirits, beer, wine, hard kombucha and mocktails.
Datamosh’s Meowjito blends white and golden rum with guava for its spin on the mojito. Vodka-based Happle Juice keeps the doctor away with apple liqueur, apple juice and apple blossom bitters. Paloma Pop!! Mixes Tequila with grapefruit while Orange Dream mixes vodka or mezcal with orange juice and vanilla whip. Enjoy in the bar or take a drink along on for more Omega Mart exploration.
Immersive visual venue Arte Museum eschews alcohol for the options provided by its Arte Café. After traversing the floor-to-ceiling, animated digital works of the Eternal Nature, Soundscape and Scent areas a teahouse experience awaits. Drinks and desserts are served in a relaxing environment on tables that double as media art, with images that move and react with the motions of a teacup.
For a sky-high drinking experience there no beating Happy Half Hour at the High Roller, where an open bar can be reserved and imbibed on as the observation wheel makes it’s 30-minute rotation. Up to 25 people can be served in a cabin that reaches an altitude of 550 feet and provides unparalleled views of the Strip as well as a drinking experience that is truly distinctive.
