Vol. 4, No.9, September 2008
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Glitz and Glamour
Upscale lounge serves up substances with style
In a bar like Downtown Cocktail Room, atmosphere is everything. The mystery begins when you try to step inside, because the door is hidden in plain sight. Regulars often chuckle watching newcomers press on the glass partition that separates the lounge from the busy street.
Downtown Cocktail Room’s small, intimate core is deep and dark with scarlet walls and reading chairs clustered around small, black tables. Sheer, wine-colored curtains cover the bar’s lone glass wall and surround the center grouping of tables, creating a rosy haze. The music is pulsating, even during the day, and at night evokes a drum and bass club in the alleys of Manhattan.
If the bar’s mood is distinctly metropolitan, then so are its drinks. The menu is comprised entirely of original cocktails dreamed up in-house, and the specialties change every four months. This season, Downtown Cocktail Room’s beverages are decidedly summery, with citrus flavors and sweet liqueurs the unifying theme.
There is a cocktail for every taste on Downtown’s menu, ranging from light and fruity to the dark and steamy, a classic drink that blends rum with ginger beer. The bar also caters to the health-conscious, using several organic brands of alcohol and fresh produce in its mixers. The ginger kumquat caipiroska melds organic vodka with fresh kumquats and white ginger, while the prickly pear is a blend of organic tequila, natural pear liqueur, organic agave nectar and lime.
A few classics are included on the menu as well, but with a Downtown twist. The Mai kind of daquiri is a refreshing mix of organic white rum, natural orgeat syrup and fresh lime juice, while the dill bloody mary combines gin, cucumber, lime and the lounge’s signature Downtown Bloody Mix.
The mixture of fresh ingredients and organic liquor creates smooth, somehow healthy-tasting drinks that are flavorful without being overpowering—well worth the $10 price tag. The careful bartending is also a contributing factor in Downtown Cocktail Room’s delicious drinks; it seems like every ingredient is carefully measured, every concoction hand-tailored just for you.
Typical Las Vegas bars line up glasses of alcohol and hose them down with mixers, but Downtown Cocktail Room harkens back to the days when sitting down and having a drink was an occasion, not just another Friday night.
Those in the mood for a quiet rendezvous will enjoy Downtown Cocktail Room’s weeknight happy hours from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. There are always plenty of open tables and discounted drinks. But don’t be fooled by the low-key, late afternoon vibe. On weekends, Downtown Cocktail Room parties with the best of them, often playing host to DJs and private parties and offering absinthe by the bottle. The classically hip Downtown Cocktail Room manages to combine the best of old and new, providing Las Vegas locals with an upscale ambiance this urban valley often lacks.
Buzz Worthy: Mary Pickford
A combination of:
Bacardi rum
Luxardo maraschino liqueur
Sonoma pomegranate grenadine
Pineapple juice
One of Downtown Cocktail Room’s specialty signatures is a sunset-colored cocktail that seamlessly blends the fruity flavors of cherry, pineapple and pomegranate with a healthy dose of Bacardi. Garnished with a lemon peel twist, the Mary Pickford is a perfect summer drink.
111 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Hours
Monday-Friday 4 p.m. to close
Saturday and Sunday 7 p.m. to close
702-880-DOWN
