Cocktail Culture
Cocktail Culture
Beijo
As served at SushiSamba in the Shoppes at the Palazzo, $12
December 16th, 2010
Getting a little tired of ye olde holiday cocktails? Endless eggnog, drunken ciders, melted butter with a dash of rum or something orange that someone swore “tastes exactly like pumpkin pie!” Us, too. It’s time for a flight. No, not a wine or spirits sampler flight, but the kind that puts you on a plane bound for somewhere warmer than wherever you are right … now. Snowbirds unite in favor of fruity tropical cocktails in winter! Let’s start with Brazil. Read more »
Scene Stirs
Seven reasons to lift up a glass—at the Cosmopolitan!
December 16th, 2010
1. Celebrity chef Scott Conant’s (Chopped) flagship DOCG Enoteca offers 35 Italian DOCG (highest ranking) and boutique wines by the glass as well as access to Scarpetta’s 2,500-plus bottles... 2. Sip on a peaty Macallan 30 while getting fitted for a custom-made suit. Stitched men’s clothier (StitchedLifestyle.com) offers use of the Strip-facing scotch lounge, while you watch your wardrobe come to life in the exposed haberdashery... Read more »
Cocktail Culture
Mise en Place: Cruzan Rum
December 16th, 2010
Nope, not cruisin’—it’s pronounced crew-zhan, so named for the Crucians, the native inhabitants of St. Croix (originally named Santa Cruz, or Holy Cross, by Christopher Columbus), where Cruzan rum has been made for eight generations. CruzanRum.com. Read more »
Cocktail Culture
Board Meetings
Celebrate the life of the Chairman
December 9th, 2010
Francis Albert Sinatra would have turned 95 on Dec. 12. Toast the Chairman with a martini or a slug of his favorite, Jack Daniel’s, at these events: Read more »
Cocktail Culture
DJ88’s Call of the Wild: The Sinatra
December 9th, 2010
Forget about Four Loko and other illicit spiked energy drinks. When DJ88 (a.k.a. Bree Cohen) needs to get up to get down, she calls for The Sinatra—an expertly pulled shot of espresso—single or double, “depending on your needs,” 88 says—and a Jack Daniel’s back. Along with the rest of the Rat Pack, Jack Daniel’s was known to be Sinatra’s close companion throughout his life. To enjoy, cool the espresso, shoot the Jack and chase with the coffee. Read more »
Cocktail Culture
Flame of Love
As served at Sinatra Restaurant at Encore, $15
December 9th, 2010
It’s all in the wrist. Or, rather, the expertly executed twist and burn of the orange peel that adorns this version of Pepe Ruiz’s classic 1936 recipe from Chasen’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills, Calif., a celebrity hangout known for attracting members of the Rat Pack and other celebrities. Read more »
Cocktail Culture
Prohibition Ale by Speakeasy Brewery
$8.50 for a six-pack at Total Wine
December 2nd, 2010
A few stiff gin cocktails and you might not make it through the final episode of Boardwalk Empire on Dec. 5. HBO’s Prohibition-era saga requires all your attention so perhaps lay off the hard stuff and instead lay into a six-pack of Prohibition Ale from San Francisco’s Speakeasy Ales & Lagers. Read more »
Drinking
One Man’s Cave
Michael Morton’s La Cave, built on a foundation of wine appreciation at all levels
December 2nd, 2010
It is difficult to believe restaurateur/nightlife impresario Michael Morton when he sits across from you, humbly proclaiming his relative newcomer status in regard to wine. Seated casually in Wynn’s Terrace Pointe Café, the N9NE Group co-founder did just that before taking Vegas Seven on a tour of his latest project, La Cave Wine & Food Hideaway. Read more »
Cocktail Culture
Holland House
As re-created for Vegas Seven by mixologist Anthony Pullen
December 2nd, 2010
In the pre-Prohibition heyday of the cocktail, 19th-century bartenders reached for Dutch genever as well as rum, brandy and whiskey. A forefather to gin in that both employ juniper, but possessing many of the richer qualities of whiskey, genever is an AOC spirit unique to the Netherlands and nearby, where it’s the No. 1 spirit. Using a rediscovered recipe dating back to the 1820s, Bols Genever (BolsGenever.com, $39) gets much of its characteristic flavor from maltwine, a distillate of corn, rye and wheat. Read more »
Cocktail Culture
Repeal Day: Party like it’s 1933!
December 2nd, 2010
On Jan. 16, 1920, the 18th Amendment went into effect, making it illegal to sell, manufacture and transport alcohol. So booze went underground, taking the party with it, at least until Dec. 5, 1933, when the 21st Amendment repealed the ban. Read more »
