Gambling in Vegas? These Casino Cocktails Are a Sure Bet
Not long ago, ordering a cocktail at a Las Vegas casino meant getting a Jack-and-Coke from a waitress squeezed into a pageant-esque uniform. But as with everything, the best Vegas resorts have made major strides when it comes to libations. Today, casino bars offer signature cocktails, hand-selected craft spirits, and, in the high-limit big-spender areas, some of the rarest bottles you'll find anywhere. Whether the drinks are complimentary or not depends on a number of factors (unofficially: how much you're gambling, most of all), but either way, if you're going to put money on the line, you might as well sip in style. These eight cocktails are the ones you'll want, whether you've just beaten the house, lost the kids' college fund, or—it happens!—pretty much broke even.
Dylan + Jeni1/8Pre-Prohibition Menu, Monte Carlo's Hit Bar & Lounge
Hidden in plain sight, this casino-within-a-casino (a separated gaming lounge within the casino floor) offers classic cocktails on a menu full of entertaining histories—some perhaps more fanciful than others, but all great fodder for drinks trivia in between deals. Feel free to order a La Floridita or Clover Club (pictured here) with confidence. After all, the recipes are in the menu, too. Look for a particularly wide selection of Willett bourbons, as well.
Dylan + Jeni2/8Peruvian Love, The Palazzo's Fusion Mixology Bar
Set right in the center of The Palazzo's casino floor, Fusion may be the one bar where gamers are encouraged to order from a menu of seasonal handcrafted cocktails and infused spirits. The Peruvian Love combines mango-infused La Diablada pisco with Cointreau, cranberry and lime juices, rock-candy syrup, and lavender bitters. The elegant and balanced cocktail is served with an edible flower garnish.
Biondo3/8Whiskey in the Jar, MGM Grand's Whiskey Down
In this new gaming lounge, you'll do well to choose from the list of creative but affordable sips, like Whiskey in the Jar (mint-infused Old Forester bourbon, fresh watermelon, lime juice, ginger beer). Unless you just hit a flush—in which case order the Macallan 30-year. What's $230 a glass when you're riding high?
Courtesy Hard Rock4/8Japanese Dream, Hard Rock Hotel's Luxe Bar
Socializing and gaming mix deftly at this circular bar anchoring the Hard Rock's newer HRH Tower casino floor. This revision of a classic julep combines Hibiki whiskey from Japan with muddled fresh mint and house-made peach syrup. It's a deceptively simple drink, perfect for a hot Vegas night.
Courtesy The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas5/8The Secretariat, The Cosmopolitan's Talon Club
The Cosmopolitan has always made a big deal about offering handcrafted cocktails everywhere on the property—even from the waitresses circling the slot machines. But if you really want to step up your cocktail game, find the semi-hidden high-limit Talon Club, where you don't necessarily have to make four-figure bets in order to enjoy cocktails like the Secretariat (Courvoisier L’Essence, Grand Marnier Cinquantenaire, five-spice syrup, lemon juice, orange zest, and star anise garnish), but you do have to pony up $250 to drink it.
Courtesy Caesars Entertainment6/8Up in Smoke, Caesars Palace's Apostrophe Bar
Bridging the original casino floor, the Bacchanal buffet, and the Garden of the Gods pool area, Caesars' new Apostrophe Bar may look like any other place to get your video poker fix, but it serves the sprawling resort's most interesting mixtures. Up in Smoke is a heavy-hitting combination of Knob Creek smoked maple bourbon, Carpano Antica vermouth, and Ancho Reyes chile liqueur, with a few blueberries on top—just so you don't mistake your smoke-and-fire-filled glass for the ashtray.
Courtesy Palms Resort7/8Social Misfit, Palms' Social Bar
Want to not fit in? Order this Bulleit rye, Disaronno, and Nagomi white peach purée cocktail in a take-it-to-go embossed aluminum flask that's sure to provoke comments in between swigs. Those more conventionally-minded folk at the Palms' revamped casino center bar can choose from a smart selection of American whiskeys, or even the shameless list of "Top 10 Girls Night Out" martinis. Carrie Bradshaw, your Skinny Cosmo is waiting for you.
Tony Tran8/8Passionate Cocktail, Encore Beach Club
Most of the creative cocktail program across the Wynn/Encore resorts is reserved for the restaurants, but at the open-air casino of its upscale day club, you can slurp on this fruity Mojito riff, balancing the mint leaves with Belvedere mango passion vodka, pineapple juice, and passion fruit purée for a true "Hawaiian punch."
