Let’s take a trip in the way-back machine, traveling back to a time roughly ten years ago when every other major city in the country—from New York to San Francisco, Portland to New Orleans, Denver to Detroit—was in the midst of a craft cocktail renaissance. As bartenders—nay, mixologists—around the country were re-discovering century-old classic cocktail recipes dating back to the pre-Prohibition days, developing their own twists on those classics with house-made bitters and tinctures and shrubs, hunting down dusty old bottles of long-forgotten boutique liqueurs, incorporating them into their creations, and creating cocktails that were as beautiful as they were innovative and interesting, Vegas was still sticking sparklers in Grey Goose bottles.
Okay, so Vegas still does that, but now Sin City finally has a cocktail scene befitting its reputation as a place people visit to enjoy some adult beverages. After all, not everyone who comes here is looking to get Vegas-wasted on frozen yard-long daiquiris. For the more sophisticated and discriminating drinkers, check out these excellent cocktail bars both on and off the Strip; some of them are truly #OnlyVegas.
Mama Rabbit at Park MGM
Renowned mezcalera Bricia Lopez hails from a long tradition of mezcal craftsmanship and restaurateurship. The “Oaxacan Princess,” a nickname given to her by an L.A. food critic, is originally from Oaxaca, where her family has been in the Mezcal business for generations. Her family moved to L.A. when she was still a child, and there her father opened the popular Oaxacan restaurant, Guelaguetza, famous for its mole. It was here that Lopez began her crusade to bring mezcal to the U.S.—quite literally, as it was nearly impossible to find the drink anywhere in America at the time—and built her reputation as one of the world’s foremost authorities on mezcal. Mama Rabbit inside the Park MGM is her first venture outside of L.A., and it is a shrine to all things agave. It has the largest selection of agave-based spirits in the country—over 500 labels in total—and a cocktail menu that emphasizes their outstanding selection of tequilas and mezcals. (There are also non-agave spirits for those who “don’t do tequila.”) Because Mama Rabbit is also a nightlife and gaming destination—if you go around the bar to the back you’ll find a DJ booth, poker tables, roulette, and lounge seating—they offer bottle service with dozens of bottles of tequila and mezcal on offer, as well as tableside margarita cart service. The artwork and design details are incredible: the focal point mural in the front of the bar was created by Spanish street artist Okuda, and there is an installation of 400 rabbits honoring the bar’s namesake Aztec goddess Mayahuel, the goddess of agave and fertility who gave birth to 400 rabbits she nourished with mezcal and tequila.
MR. COCO at The Palms
Vegas has made great strides in the right direction for cocktail and spirits enthusiasts, but there previously weren’t really any bars here that could compete with the truly extraordinary cocktail bars found in cities like Chicago and London. MR. COCO aims to be that bar. Located on the third floor of the Fantasy Tower inside the totally revamped and reinvigorated Palms Casino Resort, MR. COCO is all about luxury and refinement. Your experience of MR. COCO starts with a cocktail amuse bouche at the elevator before being whisked up to this elegant space. There, you might find yourself a bit underwhelmed by the relatively small cocktail menu that leans towards the familiar—negronis, daiquiris, mojitos, espresso martinis, Irish coffee, and they don’t shy away from the vodka that has been the fuel of Vegas nightlife for decades now—but once your drink arrives, you’ll realize you were wrong to ever doubt the place. The presentations are absolutely exquisite; the flavor profiles artistry. This is a bucket list cocktail bar for those who live far beyond Las Vegas.
The Dorsey Cocktail Bar at The Venetian
Before the Dorsey opened inside the Venetian in 2016, you could count on one hand the number of places on the Strip that had legitimate cocktail programs, and almost all of them were inside the Cosmopolitan. The Dorsey changed all that, and ushered in a new cocktail era for the Las Vegas Strip. It also ushered in a series of cocktail bars inside the Venetian and Palazzo—Rosina Cocktail Lounge and Electra Cocktail Club, both also worthwhile and fantastic—all operating under the banner of “The Cocktail Collective.” The Dorsey is a jaw-dropping space, full of dark leather, red and blue velvet, gilded brass, French oak, dramatic statement lighting, and a marble fireplace. This isn’t a stuffy cocktail joint where you’re expected to sit perched with a poker-straight back and pinkies out; DJs spin classic hip-hop to keep things lively. (If you’re looking for a quieter, more intimate experience, the Library space within the bar is perfect.) Sip on an expertly crafted cocktail or order a disco punch bowl for your group and enjoy the unique vibe and décor of the Dorsey. If you’re a real cocktail nerd, try to make it to one of their Dorsey Sessions events: guest bartender pop-ups featuring startenders from across the country.
Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesars Palace
Reality TV star and seasoned restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump has brought her particular brand of girly glamor to Caesars Palace with the infinitely Instagrammable Vanderpump Cocktail Garden. It is fabulous! You’ll want to take pictures of every inch of this stunning space, but don’t forget that the cocktails themselves are the real stars of this Real Housewives IRL endeavor. What could have easily gone the way of gimmick has proven to be a true cocktail oasis. The cocktails are as thoughtful as they are colorful, playful, and Instagrammable, and the small plates menu is simply a lot of fun. The interior of the space is exactly as advertised: a cocktail garden, a tucked-away oasis located just off the casino floor, though you would never know it as you’re sitting surrounded by chandeliers and greenery. The cocktail menu makes generous use of Vanderpump’s eponymous vodka but in refreshingly creative ways. But Vanderpump is British. As a native Brit she is obligated to love gin, and gin certainly gets some love on this menu, too. Order the English Garden or Velveteen Rabbit for a well-constructed and balanced juniper-forward cocktail, or go a bit simpler and a lot flashier with the vibrant purple Giggy Tonic.
Velveteen Rabbit in the Downtown Las Vegas Arts District
Velveteen Rabbit is a craft cocktail and beer bar located in the Downtown Las Vegas Arts District. It has the distinct ability to claim that it was slinging cocktails in DTLV and generally just being a trendy bar in an area that, at the time, mostly just looked like a ghost town at night before it was cool. Now, cocktail bars are legion throughout DTLV, and the Arts District is probably the most exciting neighborhood in Vegas at the moment. It is absolutely bursting with new bars, breweries, restaurants, retail, arts, and events. Velveteen Rabbit is right there in the thick of it. The cocktail menu is completely remade each season, and reprinted on collectible menus that double as chapbooks featuring the works of local artists (they issue a new call for art every season when it’s getting to be about time to switch things up). The sexy space is full of vintage furniture—appropriate, since the Arts District is known for its vintage and antique shops—and local art, and they also have a patio outback with DJs and live entertainment. The cocktail menu is an ever-evolving lineup based on a new “theme” for every season and featuring a variety of boutique spirits and house-made infusions for some of the most unusual cocktails in Las Vegas. Hang out during a themed music night like surf rock or dark synth, or for an immersive burlesque event with Tease & Tails.
The Chandelier at the Cosmopolitan
One of the most impressive and Instagrammable sites in Las Vegas is the three-story crystal structure, known simply as “The Chandelier,” in the center of The Cosmopolitan. The 10,000-square-foot space is covered in 21 miles of crystal bead curtains containing a total of seven million crystals. It is a jaw-dropping site to be sure but, even better is that there are three bars inside the Chandelier, each with its own unique vibe and specialty cocktail program. Head up to the “secret” level 1.5 for the best cocktails of all, and order the We’re All Mad Here, a trippy ode to Alice in Wonderland that changes colors and flavor profiles, or the Verbena, which only changes flavors but is still pretty cool. Bourbon lovers can’t go wrong with the Whiskey Business, their fun riff on a Manhattan available on the casino floor-level bar. It’s worth noting that the bars inside the Chandelier were pushing forward cocktail culture years before the rest of the Strip really caught on in earnest, and they still continue to impress and excite. There simply isn’t a more beautiful space in the world to enjoy a cocktail than from within a three-story chandelier.
The Underground at the Mob Museum in Downtown Las Vegas
The Underground at the Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas is literally located underground, in the basement of the building, and serves as an immersive Prohibition history exhibit space with an operating distillery where they make their own moonshine (you can buy a bottle to take home) as well as a fully stocked speakeasy that serves classic pre-Prohibition cocktails. Although the whole “speakeasy” theme is a bit played out these days, here it makes perfect sense—you can’t talk about the history of the mob in America without talking about Prohibition, and the addition of The Underground in 2018 has made the experience of the museum all the more well-rounded. Entry to The Underground is included with museum admission, but you don’t have to pay to visit the museum to enjoy the bar—there is a “secret” entrance around back where you can give “the password” (“I’d like to go to the cocktail bar” seems to work every time) and get in just as you would a regular bar. Once inside, order something off their menu of century-old cocktails, and note that some of these drinks come in particularly creative, um, “vessels”—the Bathtub Fizz is served in a mini ceramic bathtub mug, and the Underground Old Fashioned is delivered in a glass flask hidden inside a hollowed-out book. Extra points for creative spins on historic authenticity, there!
Juniper Cocktail Lounge at Park MGM
Juniper Cocktail Lounge inside the Park MGM—one of many outstanding new venues that recently opened while the former Monte Carlo underwent a full overhaul to transform it into the Park—could easily be dismissed as just another casino bar, since it is open to the casino floor. But this posh cocktail lounge, all decked out in jewel-tone velvets, brass, oak, and marble, is home to the largest gin selection in Las Vegas, with bottles from around the world, from the obvious (the U.K.) to the unexpected (Mexican agave gin?!?!?!). Order the Carnival or A Little Birdie for an extra-fun drink presentation, and take advantage of their happy hour every Sunday through Thursday from 5-8 p.m.
The Golden Tiki in Chinatown
We’re mostly sticking to the Strip, Strip-adjacent, and downtown areas on this list, all the places popular with tourists where you are most likely to visit, but we would be remiss if we did not include the Golden Tiki, located in Las Vegas’s underrated Chinatown. The Golden Tiki is of that new wave of tiki bars that came up alongside the craft cocktail movement of the last two decades, where they still embrace the mid-century Polynesian kitsch popular with tiki bars of yore while elevating their cocktail program to pre-1950s palates with the booze-forward tiki drinks popularized by the likes of Don the Beachcomber in the immediate aftermath of Prohibition, and not the syrupy sweet stuff that our parents and grandparents drank in shag-carpeted living rooms. These are classic tiki cocktails in a kitschy environment that includes the shrunken heads of numerous local Vegas celebs and has a particular preoccupation with a certain male body part… Order up a Dole Whip float with dark rum; turn any cocktail into a shareable double by making it a “Kuuipo,” served in a hollowed-out pineapple for two; or split a Scorpion Bowl with friends.
Ghost Donkey at The Cosmopolitan
Ghost Donkey started as a cocktail bar in New York specializing in mezcal, tequila, and “nachos especiales.” They opened a second location in Las Vegas inside the Block 16 Urban Food Hall at the Cosmopolitan—basically the Cosmo’s food court but with cult-favorite brands from across the nation. Ghost Donkey is “hidden” in the back of the food hall behind an “Exit” sign with a donkey painted on it, but that hasn’t stopped anyone from finding it—the space is teeny-tiny and is always crowded. This place is well worth seeking out, whether you are on the hunt for a killer Mezcal Negroni or are just in need of some reprieve from the craziness of the casino. Do order up a plate of nachos while you’re there—Ghost Donkey elevates the humble nacho to gourmet heights; one plate is enough for two to share.
Downtown Cocktail Room in Downtown Las Vegas
The Downtown Cocktail Room in DTLV is the OG of Las Vegas cocktail bars, having opened their doors in 2007—waaaaaaaaaaaaay before (like, by nearly a full decade) the rest of the city really caught up in any kind of meaningful way. They are not only the oldest; they are also still among the best, slinging a rotating lineup of 10 fun and inventive cocktail creations that change every season alongside select staple classics and shareable punches. They’ve also got a nice selection of absinthe, for those who might be interested. Hit them up during their extremely generous “Halfy Hour” every Monday through Saturday from 4-7 p.m., when absolutely everything is half-off. While you’re there, also check out their little sister low-brow neighborhood bar in the back, Mike Morey’s Sip ‘N Tip. Note: neither of these bars have entrances that are easy to find, though Downtown Cocktail Room does have a (not super-immediately-obvious) sign. The Sip ‘N Tip is accessed via an entrance in the alley that runs alongside DCR.
