Las Vegas used to be a place where flavored-vodka-and-soda cocktails reigned supreme. It stayed that way for quite a long time, even after the craft cocktail movement had taken off everywhere else in country. Hey, Vegas is a big ship and big ships are slow to change course, the you know? Thankfully, the days of Grey Goose-and-juice dominance are over, and there are legitimately excellent cocktails to be found all over the Strip and throughout the city. But, because this is Vegas, we like to do everything in the most absurdly over-the-top ways possible. If you’re looking for a unique, only-in-Vegas cocktail experience, look no further than these often outlandish but always outstanding creations.
‘The Underground Old Fashioned’ at The Underground at the Mob Museum
The Underground at the Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas is located literally underground, in the basement of the building, and serves as an immersive Prohibition history exhibit space with an operating distillery (they make their own moonshine and you can buy a bottle to take home) and speakeasy, a fully stocked bar that serves classic pre-Prohibition cocktails. While 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. Several of the cocktails here come out in particularly fun presentations, but their signature Old Fashioned, the classic bourbon cocktail served in a glass flask hidden inside a hollowed-out book, is the bee’s knees, if you will.
‘We’re All Mad Here’ at The Chandelier
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 the fact 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. This color- and taste-changing cocktail is served as two separate components: inside the small carafe, the cocktail mix is made with apple saffron rosewater lemon juice, chardonnay cardamom ginger syrup, lychee liqueur, and St. Germain. Served alongside that, a small bottle of violet-hued butterfly pea blossom-infused gin labeled with a tag that reads “drink me.” With those, you will receive an empty Bordeaux wine glass (it’s a big glass for a cocktail, but all the better to see what’s happening inside of it) with a single ice sphere inside of it. The rim of the glass is adorned with a sliver of dried pineapple labeled “eat me.” As you pour the liquid contents together into the glass, the mixture changes color from indigo to light pink. While drinking the cocktail, nibble on the dried pineapple, infused with the essence of a “buzz button” (a flower bud that causes a tingling sensation), and notice how the flavor profile also seems to change. Welcome to Vegas!
‘Creole Punch’ at The Dorsey Cocktail Bar
The Dorsey Cocktail Bar was the first of now-three cocktail bars operated by the Cocktail Collective to open inside the Venetian and Palazzo. The Dorsey’s arrival completely changed cocktail culture on the Strip. Their seasonally rotating menu of inventive craft cocktails is always full of expertly crafted, eye-catching selections, but in Vegas you should really go big or go home, which is why the Disco Punch Bowl—which serves four to six people, allegedly—is the way to go. It’s served in a mirror-encrusted disco ball punch bowl loaded with fresh fruit accoutrements, and there are several punch options from which to choose. The Creole Punch is particularly special: a rum-based punch with pineapple and citrus, is familiar to the tiki family, but the addition of ginger, allspice, and nutmeg, provides a different kind of kick.
‘Smoked at Mayfair’ Supper Club
What a glorious, over-the-top, #OnlyVegas spectacle the brand-new Mayfair Supper Club inside the Bellagio is! This place takes the concept of “dinner theatre” to a whole new level in ways you wouldn’t even imagine, from the non-stop live entertainment happening all around you at all times to the theatrical presentation of nearly every drink and dish on the menu. There are many excellent cocktails to choose from here, but the simply-named “Smoked”—an Old Fashioned made with Glenmorangie 10-year Scotch, ginger-infused maple, and Japanese bitters, presented in a wooden box and smoked tableside—is the most dramatic.
‘The Crystal Cranberry’ at Favorite Bistro
Favorite Bistro, located on the LINQ Promenade, is a French bistro with American flair, and that flair comes out the most in their over-the-top drinks, from macaron-topped milkshakes to Bloody Marys stuffed with mini burgers and chicken wings. As fun as all of those are, the signature Instagrammable cocktail here is the Crystal Cranberry, a summary patio sipper made with raspberry vodka, grapefruit cream, and cranberry juice served in a crystal teardrop ice sculpture.
‘The Espresso Martini’ Service at MR. COCO
It might seem completely counterintuitive to go to such a high-end cocktail bar like MR. COCO, which is truly a master class in mixology, and order something as basic as an espresso martini, but hear this out: at a place where your experience starts with an amuse bouche cocktail while you wait for the elevator to take you up to this luxurious cocktail haven tucked away inside the Fantasy Tower of the Palms, you can rest assured that the most basic of beverages is anything but “basic.” Gather up some friends and order the espresso martini service, a gorgeous tableside presentation that rivals any elaborate absinthe or tea service.
‘Cucumber Cooler’ at Juniper Cocktail Lounge
There’s a new-ish gin joint in town, and it is wholly dedicated to all things juniper. Juniper Cocktail Lounge inside the Park MGM is a small but stylish cocktail bar located right off the casino floor, but before you dismiss it as just another casino bar, know this: it boasts the largest gin collection in Las Vegas, and is really the only gin-centric lounge in town. They have several drinks that are as much fun for the eyes as the taste buds, but since this is gin country, order the Cucumber Cooler. Made with Hendrick’s Gin and Yuzuri yuzu liqueur, the Cucumber Cooler is served in a glass orb with cucumber and lime slices and rose petals, looking more like a statement centerpiece at a high-priced designer wedding than a drink.
‘Golden Knight’ at SkyBar
Located high atop the Waldorf Astoria hotel tower, SkyBar offers one of the absolute best views of the Las Vegas Strip. As you watch the flashing neon lights from 23 floors up, sip on their signature Golden Knight cocktail, made with Toki Japanese whisky, Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, Aperol, and Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur. This drink is a tribute to the record-breaking Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL team that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season and skated their way straight into the hearts of newly christened Vegas hockey fans. When in Vegas, go Knights go!
‘Notes’ from Gordon at Hell’s Kitchen
The massive restaurant and kitchen stadium located in front of Caesars Palace is the world’s first Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen restaurant, and it is a fitting tribute to the man who got famous for tormenting kitchen workers on TV. As a curious pop culture tourist, don’t miss the Notes from Gordon cocktail, made with Plymouth Dry gin, green tea, lemongrass, peach, and lemon, and served with a special “message from Gordon”—they aren’t love notes or fortune cookie aphorisms—printed on a British flag scroll. Just be sure to make a reservation or get there early, because this place regularly has hour-long lines to get in.
‘Southside’ at Libertine Social
Libertine Social inside Mandalay Bay has one of the most playful and colorful cocktail programs on the Strip, and, boy, do their bartenders love purple! The cocktail offerings frequently change with the seasons and the bartenders’ whims, but the vividly violet Southside bottled cocktail is a mainstay. A simple cocktail made with only three ingredients—Empress Gin, spearmint, and fresh lime—the Technicolor purple hue comes from the Empress Gin, which is tinted with butterfly pea blossom. They use this gin in a LOT of their cocktails, including their variations of classics such as the Negroni and the Corpse Reviver #2, so if you’re feeling #purplevibes, ask what else they can mix up for you.
‘The Vanderpink Margarita’ at Vanderpump Cocktail Garden
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, and 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. Get the signature Vanderpink Margarita, made with tequila, fresh lime, hibiscus, white peach, and orange liqueur, in a vibrant shade of pink befitting this ultra-girly, posh space. Vanderpump approves.
Whatever the signature ‘CrazyShake’ of the month is and add booze to it at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer
Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer is actually something of a national chain with several locations in New York, one in Downtown Disney at Disneyland and this Strip-facing location inside the Venetian. Including it here feels a little like cheating. But their signature CrazyShakes—you’ve seen them on Instagram, guaranteed, regardless of where you live—have developed such a cultish social media following that it would be wrong not to feature one of their crazy CrazyShake creations. These towering milkshake concoctions are known for their colorful candy-coated foot-tall glasses heaping with whole slices of cake, ice cream-and-cookie sandwiches, churros, choco tacos, clouds of cotton candy, mounds of whipped cream, and whatever their mad milkshake scientists come up with for their flavor of the month. For Thanksgiving, the pumpkin pie shake came with a slice of pumpkin pie on top. In December, it was a slice of white chocolate macadamia nut cheesecake atop a cheesecake shake. For Valentine’s Day, it was a red velvet cake batter shake topped with a slice of red velvet cake. No matter the month, there’s always an off-menu creation just waiting to be Instagrammed. You can even kick the craziness up a notch further by adding your booze of choice to it because, why not.
‘XS Ono’ at XS Nightclub
Okay, this one is stupid, but this wouldn’t be a proper Vegas cocktail list without something utterly ridiculous: If you want to be extra-flashy in a Vegas nightclub—to “excess,” if you will—then why not drop $10,000 on a single cocktail? Available only at XS Nightclub inside Encore, the XS Ono is made with Remy Martin’s Louis XIII Black Pearl cognac, Charles Heidsieck “Champagne Charlie” (only five vintages still exist, and they’re all older than your average club-goer…by a lot), Sence Rare European Rose Nectar, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and apricot purée. This cocktail-for-two is served with two gold-rimmed Baccarat Champagne flutes and gold-rimmed shot glasses along with his-and-her gifts, a pair of custom-designed jewelry pieces: a set of gold-and-leather Mont Blanc cufflinks for him and an 18K gold necklace with a Tahitian black pearl and a diamond for her. It’s ridiculous, but so is Vegas.
