Xania Woodman
The Bacon & Bourbon Manhattan
As served at Delmonico Steakhouse (the Venetian) and Emeril Lagasse’s Table 10 (the Palazzo), $15
“Other than bacon being a rumored cure for a hangover,” says mixologist Max Solano, “there is really no significant history or relationship between bacon and cocktails.” Until now. And since this is Bourbon Heritage Month, you can celebrate not only our country’s native spirit but this beverage evolution, too, by calling Delmonico/Table 10 to see if beverage manager Solano has whipped up a batch of his delectable bacon-washed bourbon recently. Then run—don’t walk!—to try it neat or in bourbon-loving cocktails such as the classic Manhattan or the Maple Leaf.
Read More »Got bacon?
Widely credited with bringing the fat-washing process from culinary to beverage, renowned molecular mixologist Eben Freeman tells you how to porkify your bourbon:
“Next time you are frying up some bacon at home, why not make some bacon bourbon to go along with it? Some folks are using all kinds of fancy, locavore (locally produced) bacon to flavor their hooch—which is fine by me—but it really doesn’t require any special equipment you don’t already have at home. Just follow these five easy steps to add a new dimension to your drinking pleasure.”
Read More »Vegas on Manhattans
Bellagio bartender Sean Bigley recently went out on the town with Vegas Seven in search of the city’s bourbon barometer. Here are our top finds:
Read More »Is It the New Disco Ball?
Neil Sater’s Aurora dramatically updates the nightclub focal point
At rest, it looks like a priceless sculpture. Or an avant-garde birdcage. Or the world’s largest Christmas tree ornament. But artist/sculptor Neil Sater’s Aurora could very well replace the disco ball as the new heart and soul of nightclubs around the world. And soon! Custom-made in about three months at the artist’s studio in Solvang, Calif., the Aurora is a spinning metal sculpture—“kinetic art,” Sater says—based on the spirals of DNA. The design proportions are flexible, allowing the artist to fashion the chandelier-style or pedestaled pieces on a grand scale (think 90 feet tall at the center of a Strip casino’s fountains or with acrobats inside during a Cirque show) or petite, such as 12-inch tabletop lamps. But the Aurora will most likely make its debut in a Vegas nightclub in the place of honor traditionally held by the disco ball.
Read More »Once more unto the Grotto, dear friends!
For the highly anticipated 2008 vintage of Rock ‘n Roll Wine’s The Grotto, Vegas-based winemakers Chris Hammond and Sonny Barton have flipped the script (or rather, the cuvée) on the grapes that comprise the luscious red California blend. Whereas the 2006 featured grenache, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel, the 2008 blend relies mainly on zinfandel and syrah, plus just a five percent blend of petite syrah, cabernet sauvignon and petite verdot to express Rock ‘n Roll Wine’s mission of making wine more accessible. As the cépages (grape varieties) change with each vintage, the guys simply call it “Chris and Sonny’s Proprietary Blend.”
Read More »The Foxtail
As created by mixologist Thomas Kunick and served at Rumor Resort, $12
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, Bénédictine … The liqueur has just turned 500 years young, and its 27 secret herbs, seeds and spices don’t look a day over 200. While you might pick up lemon, mace, hyssop and cardamom as well as myrrh, coriander and cinnamon, the exact Benedictine formula is a closely guarded secret.
Read More »Death on a Beach
Although hot in the ’80s and still popular on college campuses and, well, beaches, the Sex on the Beach is a cocktail that has enjoyed a long and fruity life. Too long in many bartenders’ eyes. Consequently, the Sex on the Beach (in general: vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, cranberry juice and a garish array of garnishes) was officially “buried” in a traditional New Orleans jazz funeral procession during Tales of the Cocktail 2010.
Read More »Mandatory Reading
Yes, you absolutely could pool all those $25 gift cards your relatives send you each birthday and purchase the $1,350 first edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) for sale at Bauman Rare Books (the Palazzo). Of course, you’ll faint the first time you accidentally spill something on it … Far better that you should enhance your classic cocktail education with more affordable reading material.
Read More »Crown Takes the Center Square
Crown Theater and Nightclub at the Rio, which opened in late May, has just signed an agreement to host the new, live, onstage production of the beloved TV game show The Hollywood Squares, complete with audience participation for cash and prizes, five afternoons a week, beginning in mid-October. Robert Burke of Benner Productions acquired the rights to the show from CBS and is in negotiations with a comedian host, as well as a celebrity to grace the famous center square and possibly be the face of the show.
Read More »The Black Shrubb
Created by Darby Kelly, bartender at Wynn Las Vegas
Richards and Kelly paired the Black Shrubb cocktail with Brown’s pan-seared grouper, jambalaya couscous and wilted greens. “I thought the nectarine and elderflower would add delicious flavor notes to the mild grouper while the couscous would complement the spicy notes of the cocktail,” Kelly says. And did it ever! Making exceptional use of Creole Shrubb orange liqueur and going so far as to incorporate it into the cocktail’s name, the Black Shrubb displayed a perfect balance of sweetness, acidity and heat. The drink’s intriguing complexity simply rolled out the red carpet for Brown’s refined regional cuisine. How’s that for Southern hospitality?
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