The Dark & Smarmy

Oh, how I love discovering a new summer-appropriate cocktail, especially when Valley temperatures have nested in the 100 degree-plus range for almost two months. So when a friend threw a themed dinner party complete with a signature cocktail recently (the theme of the party more or less being, 'It's hot as hell out there, so we're staying inside with cold beverages') I was intrigued.

The night's drink was the Dark & Stormy, which I initially misheard as a Dark & Smarmy, which I think makes a fantastic name for a cocktail. The main ingredients of the D&S are ginger beer and dark rum, although after making a few of the drinks, the hostess became convinced that she had either picked up the wrong type of rum or had botched the proportions of each ingredient. Never having had a Dark & Stormy before, I couldn't really weigh in on how it was supposed to taste, but I did enjoy what she had put in front of me. The ginger beer played nicely off the rum, creating an overall flavor that was somehow reminiscent of cola, but lighter and tangier.

Three days later I found the Dark & Stormy on the specialty drink menu at the Palazzo's Cut (a great place for pre-dinner drinks, by the way) and ordered it, happy to compare it to the possibly botched dinner party drink. As it turned out, my hostess had it pretty much right on the money with her cocktail, but there was one big difference between the two versions -- hers was made with Reed's Ginger Beer, while the Cut D&S was made with Barritt's Ginger Beer. The Barritt's by itself is less sweet and more ginger-y and tangy than the Reed's, and gave the Dark & Stormy just a little more spice and bite. The cocktail was refreshing and less syrupy and sweet than it's cousin, the rum and Coke. Since the cocktails at Cut, I've kept my eyes open for Barritt's to bring home. And if some dark rum somehow finds its way into my ginger beer at home, I guess I have the summer heat to thank.

Banana-rama

Yes, it's fruity beer time here on the drunkymonkey page. After first spotting Wells Banana Bread Beer a few weeks ago, I finally got around to sampling it (twice) in the past couple of days. It's an enjoyable and interesting beer, but I don't see myself ordering it on a regular basis.

One way this beer totally delivers is by managing to capture banana flavor without tasting like it's made with Banana Flavoring. Good banana "flavor" is just hard to do -- most banana flavored things (especially candy) are gross, because the banana flavoring itself has a distinctively odd, unnatural quality. Luckily, the Wells BBB manages to avoid that blunder. The Banana beer smells just like banana bread, and the finish has a nice hint of banana flavor, but other than that, the slightly bitter beer itself doesn't suffer from the added fruit flavor.

Another win for the Wells beer is the absence of sweetness. The BBB smells of banana, and has a hint of banana flavor, but isn't particularly sweet, which I find to be a good thing. It still tastes like a pretty good (if just a bit watered down) brown beer, rather than a novelty.

(Available at Lee's Liquor and LBS at the Red Rock Casino.)

Strawberry Fields

I have long been a fan of the Samuel Smith beers, so I really couldn't help but try it when I spotted Samuel Smith's Organic Strawberry Ale at my local liquor store.

This fruity ale smells strongly of strawberry as soon as the cap comes off the bottle -- you don't even pick up the smell of the actual ale from wafting, you have to get your nose right into the glass.

I didn't know what to expect from this beer flavor-wise, but what I got was still pretty surprising. On first sip the flavor is very strongly strawberry and sweet, but with a rather clean and bright flavor -- not as much like strawberry candy as I expected, but still very much the flavor of cooked strawberries rather than fresh, which was not surprising. After a few sips it is still sweet, though not as sweet as a cider, and the beer becomes increasingly bitter and ale-ish on the finish.

Overall I think this is OK as a summer beer, although I definitely didn't need to drink an entire 550 mL bottle of it (of course, I did anyway.) I think it works best as a one-glass beer, either on its own as something different and interesting or as a stop on a beer tasting flight. It might have some potential cooking applications -- somehow I think it could be incorporated nicely with a meal involving pork loin and a grill? -- but that's an idea best left to the chef in the test kitchen.

(Available at Lee's Liquor, also comes in Raspberry and Cherry flavors.)

Joining the Mothership

The first time I enjoyed a Mothership Wit was during a celebratory post-half-marathon breakfast at Hash House A Go-Go. Both me and my running mate were borderline delirious after 13.1 grueling miles at Red Rock Canyon, and while the first sips were absolute heaven, I was beyond buzzed halfway through the glass.

A delicate brew in the style of a Belgian white ale, the Mothership Wit has proven itself time and again since that initial, dubious tasting session. The first organic beer from the good people over at the New Belgium Brewing Company, it is crisp and light with just a hint of citrus. The exemplary summer beer, this brew goes down easy -- though my intentions were merely to reacquaint my taste buds with the MW during a recent "tasting session," I found myself accidentally killing three bottles in rapid succession. Oh well. I'm not mad at you, New Belgium.

Super Douche-ville

Let's just call a spade a spade and get on with it. A recent trip to the far end of the Valley finally brought me to the Blue Martini at Town Square. I'll admit, I was curious about the place -- it's marketed like crazy through billboards, print ads, and the never-ending radio commercials for Ladies' Night. Could it actually be awesome?

The answer is a definitive "no" -- the place is utterly douche-tastic. It's also far larger than I imagined, and the interior is very '80s -- the perfect venue for a hair-band revival show. Yes, cheesy. There are three sprawling inside rooms, each featuring a bar (and one with a stage, hence the imagined Poison/Nelson/Whitesnake show) but the night I was there, only one of the three was open. There's also a large patio, complete with a large, oval shaped bar and the heavy stench of desperation. The place is a super meat-market, basically the Kona Grill of the Southwest valley.

Just down the hallway from the Blue Martini, the Cadillac Ranch awaits. This bar is heavily cowboy themed, another sprawling space with several large bar areas, a stage and dance area for live music, and of course, a mechanical bull. Cadillac Ranch is basically the amped up bastard offspring of the Roadrunner and Dylan's. On the plus side, the evening happy hour meant $2.75 Blue Moons, which were good. If I had to kill time at one of these two establishments, it would be Cadillac Ranch. The cowboy theme may not be my cup of tea, but the place could be fun with the right group of people, and the overall attitude was a lot more laid-back and comfortable than at the Blue Martini.

Going to the South Side

To this drunkymonkey's way of thinking, the best thing the M Resort has going for it (aside from the gorgeous interior design) is the balcony seating adjacent to its Lobby Bar, which overlooks the pool, and farther out, the city of Las Vegas. It is well-worth the $8.50 for a specialty drink (about half of what you'll pay for the same drinks at a lot of places on the Strip) to kick back on the balcony and take in the views. The interior of the Lobby Bar also delivers. Sleek, inspired by the local landscape in earth tones and marble, it's a very inviting space.

But back to those $8.50 specialty drinks.

First up was the Honey & Ginger (top right), a mix of Jose Cuervo, ginger liqueur, fresh ginger, lemon juice, pure honey, mint leaves and ginger ale. It seemed equally feasible the mix would lead to either a refreshing, unique cocktail or a syrupy, bland cocktail. Happily, refreshment won out. The honey is used to rim the glass, giving the drink a touch of sweetness without sugar overkill. It also has a slight bite of ginger, which intensifies with each sip and plays well with the hint of honey and mint flavors in the drink.

At the bartender's suggestion I also tried the Seedless Watermelon (bottom right, Ketel One Citroen, fresh lemon juice, Midori and fresh watermelon juice) one of the Lobby Bar's most often ordered specialty drinks. The Seedless Watermelon smelled like a Jolly Rancher, and wasn't quite as refreshing as the Honey & Ginger, although the watermelon juice did taste fresh. On the whole, the drink was sweeter than anticipated, probably because of the underlying Midori, which was just a little too overpowering for the watermelon juice. A fine idea, but this drink doesn't quite live up to its potential.

Beyond the Lobby Bar, the M Resort offered a couple of notable, beverage-related treats. First, there are self-serve refreshment stands sprinkled about the casino offering complimentary soft drinks, water, coffee and tea. Why didn't someone think of this sooner? Second, the sports book bar touts a seriously good selection of beers, among them Ephemere, Duvel and Chimay. Someone at the M Resort deserves a pat on the back for that.

Tiki Heaven

All too often, the thing that's missing in Vegas bars is character. In the land of a thousand PT's Pubs, swanky hotel ultra-lounges and look-alike sports bars, a watering hole that pulls off a unique (and interesting, or just plain comfortable) identity of its own is a rarity. And this is what makes Frankie's Tiki Room such a treat. Located in the not-so-sexy downtown area of Charleston and MLK, Frankie's is a teeny-tiny place owned by the same people responsible for the Double Down Saloon, a bar that pretty much has nothing but character to boast about.

The outside of the place is innocuous enough, but upon entering Frankie's patrons will find themselves in a tiki wonderland. They also will find themselves temporarily blinded by the darkness if they venture in during daylight hours, as I did. (It's worth mentioning that once you've regained your sight and situated yourself at a table with frosty beverage in hand, it's pretty entertaining to watch others walk in and then fumble in the dark while waiting for their eyes to adjust. Just remember, that was you only a brief time ago.)

But back to the tiki wonderland -- Frankie's is indeed one small room, resplendent with little, wooden chairs and tables that appear to be carved from tree stumps, tiki statues, thatched roof, theme-appropriate surf guitar soundtrack, a vice tester carnival game and all manner of strange old beach party clips running on TVs over the bar. The room is comfortably kitsch-y, theme-y and fun without feeling like a Disneyland property.

The drink menu offers the standard Tiki fare (the Zombie, Mai Tai, Lapu Lapu, Pikake) and an assortment of original rum-based creations. I sampled the Malekula, a tasty mix of coconut rum, Tuaca, melon liqueur and pineapple juice, the Bearded Clam, basically a mojito with a splash of passion fruit, the Ninth Island, a mix of gold and silver rums, 151 proof rum and pineapple juice, and the Zombie, a tart, pleasing mix of rums and juices. The mixers used in each tasted fresh, an important detail for these types of drinks.

Between its happy, lived-in ambiance and its heaping spoonful of character, Frankie's Tiki Room is a place I want to frequent. I want to go back to Frankie's for drinks with my local friends, I want to take my out-of-town friends to Frankie's when they come to Vegas and want the local experience, and I can't wait to introduce Frankie's to my various friends who have moved away temporarily, but are on their way back home.

And isn't that the ultimate endorsement for a locals bar in Vegas?

A Cocktail in the Sun

As it gets hot outside, a young drunkymonkey's thoughts turn to cool refreshment. I've spent several recent weekends searching for what will likely become my go-to summer watering hole and cocktail, and so far the search has proven fruitful.

The first great summer find was the Spanish Trampoline at the Mirage's Rhumbar. YES. I will certainly return often to enjoy this fine establishment's delicious libations and lovely patio area.

The second great find is the Cucumber Gimlet, a delightful concoction you will find at T-bones Chophouse inside the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa. Comprised of four muddled cucumbers, Hendrick's gin, rock candy syrup and fresh lime juice, the cucumber gimlet isn't overly sweet and has a nice touch of citrus-y tartness. It also has a nice overall essence of cucumber, a flavor that works well in combination with the unique flavor of the Hendrick's gin -- unsurprising since Hendrick's' unique flavor is acquired through infusions of Bulgarian rose and, yes, cucumber. The cucumber gimlet is refreshing, light and crisp. My first occasion for the cocktail was a stop for pre-dinner drinks on the way to somewhere else (the much loved Hachi where, by the way, I very much enjoyed the Hyuuka, another perfectly good gin/cucumber concoction, but unwisely let the bartender talk me into trying the Sake-tini, a deplorable example of the dreaded whatever-tini craze. Putting crap in a martini glass --some sort of promotional vodka and sake flavoring in this case -- does not a martini make. But I digress.)

A return trip a few weeks later proved the cucumber gimlet to still be delicious, and possibly even more so when enjoyed in the afternoon sun on the T-bones patio. A spacious area overlooking the pool, the patio has plenty of comfy couches and chairs and laid-back atmosphere. If the thought of a cucumber gimlet doesn't quite float your boat, the T-bones bar also serves up a super booze-y, generously portioned Old Fashioned and a nice classic martini featuring the most delicious blue-cheese stuffed olives I've found in Vegas.

Ewwww?

So there I was, minding my own business, when my bartender brother-in-law announced he had a bottle of Three Olives Cherry Vodka and a can of Red Bull, and it was time to combine the two into a Cherry Bomb and sample it. Granted, this sounds gross, but who am I to refuse to at least try this potentially terrible creation?

The verdict? On first sip it was actually pretty good, considering I expected it to taste exactly like cherry cough syrup. The flavors became increasingly more harsh and syrupy on the next three sips (our drinks consisted of 1 1/2 oz. of vodka and 2 oz. of energy drink, a more than generous serving of this particular concoction) and I realized that this is only "good" in the way Flamin' Hot Cheetos are "good." Which is to say not good at all, but sometimes oddly satisfying.

As I started to doubt the Cherry Bomb was even drinkable, the b-i-l reminded me it's all about perspective with a drink like this: You have to compare it to other cocktails made with energy drink. Compared to a gimlet? Not good. Compared to a Jager bomb? Delicious!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Occasionally an old aphorism does wonders to sum things right up: The more things change, the more they stay the same. True unless, of course, they don't stay the same at all. In the past two weeks I've hit up two favorite old haunts, and the experiences stood in complete contrast to each other. First up was The Griffin, and it was just as awesome as ever. Dark and cavernous inside, with a decent selection on its handful of taps and the same cool ambiance as ever, it was just as it was the last time I stopped in for a drink, maybe eight or nine months ago. There are two reasons I really like this downtown bar; one is the energy and overall ambiance. The place opened a few years ago, during the height of the buzz about the Fremont East District, and the hipster charge to make downtown cool. The Griffin's feat was in transcending the trendy side of the hype. It is classically cool, sidestepping that sad fate of being on the cutting edge for a year, then hopelessly dated forever.

The other is the drinks themselves, and the knowledgeable bartenders. The drinks are always good, very reasonably priced and poured with a slightly heavy hand, which I will never, ever complain about. And if you go in the early evening (before the place gets crowded) and sit at the bar, the bartenders will talk to you about their wares and make suggestions. This was the case when I first tried a martini with Hendrick's gin a couple of summers ago. Now I see Hendrick's all over the place, and sometimes request it. So thanks, Griffin. Thank you for the Hendrick's and for continuing to be awesome, even though I've been gone for a few months.

The flip side of that coin was discovered last weekend during a stop at the Green Valley Ranch. When I was just a young Henderson-dwelling girl several years ago, the Green Valley Ranch Resort was home to what were without doubt the most exciting lounges in the city, Drop Bar and Whiskey Sky. At the time they were very cool, and very different for Henderson. Whiskey was not only a lounge, but also had a bit of a club-y vibe, and by way of its then-ownership (Mr. Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber) was probably the only place in Henderson that ever has or will count George Clooney among its patrons. During my recent visit the place was closed, and based on what I could see by peeking through a crack in the door, under renovations. Surprising? No. The true surprise was still ahead of me, lurking at the Drop Bar.

Granted, though I use to hit up the GVR for booze and entertainment at least once a week, I haven't been back in at least a year, so the "new" Drop Bar is probably not actually all that new. What was once the epitome of mod cool, an all-white, minimalist interior (a round space, the circumference was ringed by white booth-style couches surrounded by small white cocktail tables and ottomans) has gone polar opposite. It's like the GVR hired Saturday Night Live's Jon Bovi to create a concept. Where the lounge was once white and futuristic, it now looks like a vampire lair/super-goth palace in shades of black with touches of purple. The former clean lines have been replaced with ornate wood and brass cabinetry, extensive wrought iron work, including a mind-boggling chandelier dripping with clear, black and purple crystals, a dropped faux ceiling in mirrored black, and dramatic velvet couches ringing the walls. My date may have summed it up best when he said the whole thing reminded him of Disneyland's Haunted House ride. At one time the lounge was tended by cocktail waitresses and bartenders clad in white tube tops, skirts and go-go boots. No more. There were no waitresses present during my visit, but the female bartender wore a simple, stiff black suit. Frankly, I was surprised she wasn't decked out in something reminiscent of Prince, circa Purple Rain. It would have been more fitting.

Signs on each coffin-shaped cocktail table inform customers that Drop Bar now turns into a Hookah Lounge at 7 p.m. nightly. I'm not big on hookah, but I stopped in during the early afternoon hours and I'm curious to see this place at night, in all its goth glory. In any case I'm pretty much forced to go back, because I'm still too shocked by the extreme changes to decide if the new Drop Bar is awesome or awful.

The Breakfast of Champions: Tequila edition

From time to time it can be entertaining to try something new that you know is going to be kind of gross. That line of thinking led me to order shots of Patron XO Cafe yesterday morning, a move that indeed turned out to be kind of gross, although it did reveal the potential for some tasty mixed drinks.

The Patron was served as a room temperature shot, and smelled like the devil's breakfast drink. The coffee essence was strong, and was interesting combined with the tequila flavor, but the XO Cafe is also incredibly sweet, so much so that sipping just an ounce of it was cringe-inducing. (Since I planned to sip this in order to get a feel for the flavor, I did make a mistake by not ordering it on the rocks -- however, even icing it down wouldn't make up for the extreme sweetness.) Regardless, I'm not ready to write the stuff off altogether because I suspect the XO Cafe would be magical combined with Baileys or Kahlua, or as an ingredient in a booze-laden milkshake.

Get Ready to Rhumbar

Don't be fooled by the wall of booze-slurpy machines just outside of Rhumbar -- the cocktails served up inside this new establishment are seriously good. The interior of the place (all white glass bar, all white barstools, floors and walls and strange looking shiny silver alien-robot things in glass cases along the top of the bar and the ceiling) combined with the music (mostly latin-flavored world music while we were there) give it the feeling of a tiki bar. In the future. In outer space.

But it's the drinks that really drive the tiki feeling home. Our visit started with a Spanish Trampoline (pictured right) and a Daiquiri, and for me, it was love at first sip. The Spanish Trampoline is a magnificent concoction of tangerine, mint, pure cane sugar, lime and Sagatiba cachaca. It may be my new favorite cocktail, the one I've been waiting my whole life to find. The drink was perfectly balanced, light, fresh and citrus-y, and went down like a tangerine-infused mojito. I normally dislike overly sweet, sugary drinks, but the Spanish Trampoline was so refreshing I believe I could drink 100 of them.

Likewise, the daiquiri was perfectly balanced, and much to our great happiness was not a blended drink, but a simple and tasty mixture of rum, lime and syrup over ice. Maybe I haven't been looking hard enough, but I haven't found many bars serving up a true, classic daiquiri.

For our second round, we went with the Spicy Lover and the 1944 Mai Tai. As a fan of (almost) all things spicy, I was pleased with the combination of tequila, cucumber and Tabasco sauce in the Spicy Lover. It goes down smooth, the cucumber and tequila mix nicely, and the spicy kick at the end is a treat. My date wasn't quite so enthused with the spicy-tequila-cuc combo, but his deliciously booze-y Mai Tai (again, not too sweet or fruity but well balanced) made up for it.

We didn't sample any of the establishment's cigar offerings, although the people next to us at the bar indulged. Early in our visit, the bartender had explained the three-week old bar's fancy air filtration system, and sure enough, I barely noticed the smoke from just one stool over. Unfortunately, slightly chilly weather also kept us from venturing onto Rhumbar's outside patio, but it looked like an excellent place to pass an hour or two. I will certainly be returning to the Rhumbar, and when I do I'll take on the Zombie.

The favorite beer. Period.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, people. I guess it's time to commit it to a random corner of the interwebs. It's called Ephemere (green apple variety, please). It's made by a brewery called Unibroue, which may just be Canada's single greatest contribution to humanity. I've yet to taste something Unibroue put out that I didn't like (other tasty offerings include Blanche de Chambly, Fin du Monde, Maudite and Trois Pistoles) but without doubt, the king of them all is the Ephemere. It's a crisp, light white ale with the essence of green apple, but without the overbearing sweetness of a cider or even a Lindemans lambic. You can find it in Vegas at the Freakin' Frog, LBS at Red Rock Casino and Resort, the Yardhouse, or Lee's Liquor. Try it.