Why Are Alcoholic Drinks Called Cocktails?

H.L. Mencken said, “A cocktail today consists essentially of any hard liquor, any milder diluent and a dash of any pungent flavoring.” It is a slang term – reportedly in print by 1806 as ‘spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters’ – with a lost origin. There are many, many theories about the word’s etymology, but none has been agreed upon. It could be a combination of the words cock (perhaps as in ‘tap, faucet’) and tail, but at this point all agree that the word’s origin is really unknown. American initiative and imagination continue to show themselves in the making and naming of cocktails!

Have any tasty and original cocktails? Email us your recipe, bar info, picture (optional) and we’ll feature your drink on our website! vegasmixology@gmail.com

Ice Luge at Azure Luxury Pool in Las Vegas

Ice Luge at the IHG mixer at Azure Luxury Pool in Las Vegas. Check it out!

VM Ware’s Cloud Tini Created at V Bar Ultra Lounge

With all of the tech industry going crazy over cloud computing, a leader in the industry, VM Ware had a private event held at V Bar Ultra Lounge in the Venetian Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV a couple weeks ago. One of the advertised goodies included for VM Ware employees an d partners in attending this event was tasting the Cloud Tini cocktail created by V Bar’s GM and Beverage Manger. The cocktail was a hit at the mixer being reorders repeatedly by guests and after seeing the ingredients we can see why:

Cloud Tini
Mix: Vanilla Vodka, Creme de Coco, Sweet Creme, and Dry Ice in a Chilled Marini Glass

The Vegas Key

Recipe:

1.5 oz Stoli Vanilla Vodka
.25 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1 oz Rock Candy Syrup

Shake and Strain Ingredients Into a Graham Cracker Crust Rimmed Martini Glass.

Summer Thyme

Summer Thyme Pisco Sour by Steve @ fusion Mixology Bar in the Palazzo

Ingredients:

Muddled Thyme and Rock Candy
Macchu Pisco
Fresh Watermelon Juice
Egg Whites
Lime

Fiji Goes Big in Vegas

This week Fiji water went big displaying a colossal advertisement of their water bottle on the side of one of The Venetian’s Venice-Style monuments! Perfect timing!

This massive image of a Fiji water bottle is sure to make an impression on the millions of visitors who will walk down the hot Las Vegas Strip this summer. Hats off to the Fiji marketing team in charge of Nevada – now I think I’ll go have a Fiji.

Ditch Friday @ Palms Pool

So I got to Palms Las Vegas and noticed it’s usual bad ass ambiance was intact. I met up with my boy who’s Miller Lite beverage rep invited us (we both pour and manage bars here in Vegas) to hang out and see how they market their products during Ditch Fridays @ The Palms Pool. It always feels good when you don’t have to wait in line to get in on a major pool scene in Sin City. Anyway, we got to the Miller Lite and 98.5 KLUC booth right outside of the pool entrance inside the casino, and to my surprise I saw an old college buddy – Jon Goldman running the promo booth for the radio in conjunction with Miller Lite! If I remember correctly, Jon works for the radio station 98.5 KLUC – and he hooked us up with our special coupon style free-drink wristbands from Miller Lite and a separate Ditch Fridays wristband for entry to the Palms Pool. It was packed because that’s just how Ditch Fridays is and on top of that T-Pain was making an appearance plus we had free drinks so I was stoked!

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We got in within a minute! We walked right past the lines to meet up with the Miller Lite beverage rep who invited us. The epitome of spring break quickly stimulated all of my senses: The music was fresh and bumpin loud, the people were sexy, a sweet Hawaiian Tropic aroma brought back fond memories of similar situations, a cool mist from up above landed refreshingly on my face and and shoulders, and the taste of an ice cold Miller Lite was inevitable. It was a Vegas afternoon at it’s finest and I was in the center of all the action – Let’s just say I had a great time, especially since I had VIP access to Bungalow Three. If I was a few years younger I would have called in to work and partied my ass off all night at the Palms! Over the years, though, I’ve learned in order to have longevity in the Vegas Industry you’ve gotta get in, get out, and avoid certain temptations – and that’s exactly what I did while still having a great time and networking with some major players in the Vegas beverage industry! All in all a successful day for this @Vegas_Bartender.

Wild Tea Absolut

:DP Cucumber Martini

Add 1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice 1oz Rock Candy Syrup, 3-4 Cucumber Slices w/o the skin into a 16oz pint glass (sometimes referred to as a mixing glass) and muddle those ingredients to get your base. (optional: add 1/2 oz. of ultra pasteurized egg whites to get a satin or silky texture and a foamy top).

After you have your base it’s time to add the liquor. For this particular recipe I prefer a high end potato vodka like Chopin.

Add 1.5 oz of Chopin
Add .5 oz of St. Germaine

Fill mixing glass with ice then
seal the mixing glass with a mixing tin and shake the ingredients.

Strain contents into an ice cold martini glass then add a couple drops of aromatic bitters to the top foam of this cucumber flavored cocktail and garnish with a cucumber slice.

Mintrus Blossom

Hendrick’s Gin
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
Sugar
Mint Leaves
Fresh Sour

Inspired by Chris Isham