Las Vegas' new cocktail bar 'The Vault' offers spirits from the '30s – if you can find it
The Bellagio’s new cocktail club – an intimate, inconspicuous venue just off the Las Vegas resort’s casino floor – is set to open Monday.
But making it inside won’t be easy.
There’s no website offering reservations. No markings on the door. There are only two ways to get inside The Vault if you don’t know the right people: check availability from the link in its Instagram page bio or hope for an open seat if you stumble upon the entrance.
For many customers, they will "have to know somebody to get in,” said Craig Schoettler, MGM Resorts International's executive director of beverage. "We want our highest-end customers."
The Vault starts off each visit with a complimentary aperitif and amuse-bouche of elevated bar snacks including fried spaghetti, cheese bites and stuffed olives.
Every bite is a build up to the cocktails, which are the real star of the show.
Specialty cocktail offerings include the Doves & Devils Margarita ($55) made with pomegranate, prickly pear and Mexican lime and topped with a cardamom-ginger foam tableside.
The Vapor Trail ($60), an old fashioned made with Japanese whisky and housemade syrup, is served in a smoke-filled glass cloche.
And Liberty’s Torch ($55) brings a bit of flare to the table, with servers torching a sachet of rosemary and orange tableside, allowing the citrusy smoke to waft into the glass before pouring in the Manhattan.
If you’re looking for something a little more classic, the lounge also offers vintage cocktails made with spirits from the mid-1900s. The drinks are labeled at market price, as the spirits rotate based on what the club can source.
"Once I run out of the 12 bottles of this (spirit) that I have, it’s going to be something different," Schoettler said. "It may not be Bacardi, it may be a Cruzan from a vintage time frame."
When USA TODAY visited, The Kennedy daiquiri was mixed with Bacardi rum from the 1960s and the Captain’s Sidecar with Rémy Martin cognac from the 1930s. Schoettler likened the experience to "drinking liquid history."
"It’s truly a unique expression of a product that no longer really exists,” he said.
Guests aren’t limited to what’s on the menu. Schoettler said the club is willing to make whatever the customer desires, whether it’s a cocktail with vintage spirits or a Jack and Coke (although Schoettler said even that would be made special at The Vault with Mexican coke).
The cocktail club also offers a variety of foods including wagyu nigiri; small bites like a miniature croissant made with Yukon gold potatoes topped with caviar and lemon creme fraiche; and caviar served with crispy potatoes and toasted brioche served on top of creme fraiche.
The Vault's grand opening is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 28. The venue is open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Secret cocktail club at Las Vegas resort Bellagio to open Monday
