Las Vegas: Repeal Day Party Recap

In the United States, people could not legally drink from 1919 to 1933. On December 5, 1933, Prohibition was repealed and since then December 5 has become a very special holiday for tipplers. This year, I headed to Las Vegas to check out the Repeal Day Party organized by Bar Magic‘s Tobin Ellis and Social Mixology at the Cathouse at the Luxor Hotel. Guests were asked to wear red (naughty or nice) but they didn’t have to dress in classic 1930s garb that is so popular with other Repeal Day parties. This is Vegas after all.

Social Mixology was intriguing to me as it’s a traveling cocktail bar pop-up. They can be counted on to throw a fantastic party. This party drew local Las Vegas talents such as Patricia Richards of the Wynn, Max Solano with Emeril Lagasse restaurants, Christian Oldan, flair bartending champ and Mariena Mercer of the Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

Tobin Ellis also assembled Mathias Simonis from Distil in Milwaukee, Brent Jones from Aspen, Chris Bostick from the Varnish in LA, Kate Grutman from Sotto in LA and a bevy of Lynyrd Skynyrd  BBQ & Beer dancer-bartenders to bartend.

The Cathouse, despite its name, was quite classy with vintage naughty pictures, sumptuous velvet lounges and pretty decor.

When you first walked into the Cathouse, you were greeted with the Royal Ruby Punch (Hendrick’s gin, Solerno blood orange liqueur, Lillet blanc, hibiscus tea, lime, pineapple syrup).

Then you had a choice of going in the tiny elevator made tinier by the Stoli Elit martini bar or up the stairs. If you took the stars, you were serenaded by a guy with a sax. Guest had fun riding the elevator for drinks.

Once upstairs, the first cocktail was Kate’s “I’m on a Boat!” I detail the behind-the-scenes of this cocktail here on LA Cocktails. I loved this Sailor Jerry’s, pineapple juice, lime, unsweetened coconut milk, Angostura bitters and Orange Crush soda drink. The misted Angostura bitters was a hit.

Next to Kate was Chris making his Desert Rattle (Milagro reposado tequila, Averna, ginger syrup, lime, honey, soda, bitters). Chris brought bottles of ginger syrup with him on the trip as well as the marigold flowers to garnish. I loved this cocktail and it was probably the one I picked up the most.

I also really loved Max’s Lion’s Whiskers (Hendrick’s gin, Luxardo maraschino, orange marmalade, fresh lemon, homemade bitters). I askedk Max what was in his homemade bitters but there were so many ingredients, I couldn’t them all. I’ll have to visit Delmonico to get a taste of his other cocktails.

Patricia’s My Chai featured the Indian whiskey, Amrut which I’ve had before most notably at Lukshon. The drink also had lemon, agave and Angostura bitters. I’d probably cut back on the agave a tad to taste the whiskey more.

Mariena’s been experimenting with molecular drinks as seen in this video promo for the Cosmo. For VIPs, she mixed up an Old Fashioned. It was like an adult icee!

In the other room, we watched the Lynyrd Skynyrd dancers-bartenders’ show and I also had Mathias’ Old Fashioned. Here’s a vid.

At the end of the night, I discovered Chris had brought his swizzle stick. Ah, swizzles! I love swizzles. What a great tool to swizzle with.

I hope Social Mixology pops up in LA soon!

Check out my flickr set for more pics!

Cathouse

Luxor Hotel, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd S., Las Vegas, NV 89119 – (702) 262-4228