It's cocktail nirvana at The Cabinet of Curiosities Bar and Lounge in Las Vegas

Oct 09, 2023

Photo: Christopher DeVargas

To find the Cabinet of Curiosities Bar and Lounge, head down an escalator from the casino floor, where you’ll also find REAL BODIES at Horseshoe Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Monorail Horseshoe/Paris monorail station. Traffic is brisk and constant, giving the cocktail lounge decorated with small antiques, bric-a-brac and objets d’art a high level of exposure.

It’s a destination, though, with most visitors having heard about the Cabinet’s inner sanctum and not-so-secret speakeasy, The Lock.

Anyone 21-plus can walk into the Cabinet beginning at noon daily and get signature craft cocktails, top-shelf tequila or off-menu improvisations. Revealing a predilection for bourbon may inspire mixologist Caylor (we’re on a first-name basis here) to concoct an Old-Fashioned variation, made with Skrewball peanut butter whiskey, that tastes like a dessert. Signature drinks include Curious Cosmopolitans, Pink Stone Eggs, Berry Dreamies and Flea Market Martinis, but the most popular menu item is the bourbon-based Festival of Lights homage to flying lantern festivals.

The drink menu is accessible via QR code, as is an online catalog of the curios. Peruse the collection before entering The Lock: Punch a tag number into a smartphone and learn a little about the Authentic Animal Teeth Necklaces (No. 1323), Mystical Typewriter (No. 4381), Carved Figural Mask (No. 8181) and Carved Soapstone Cats (No. 1629). It is possible that creative liberties may have been taken with the explanatory captions, or that the author(s) were inspired by Festivals of Lights, or both.

The outer entrance of The Lock (which requires a reservation) looks like a wall safe, with confirmation made through an adjacent, old-fashioned phone. Once giving the password and entering a vestibule, the 2020s gives way to the 1920s, and a puzzle must be solved to get the access code. Remember to pay close attention to details of the door host’s bootlegger stories.

Photo: Christopher DeVargas

The Lock sends visitors back a century with brick walls, vintage ceiling tile and Charlie Chaplin movies projected onto one side of the room. Lounge chairs and low-volume old-time music create a perfect ambience for conversation and cocktails, with a different set of signature drinks on the QR code menus. Even better, a Secret Menu provides the opportunity to fill out personal specifics regarding one’s current mood, flavor preferences, favorite destinations and zodiac sign.

The result may be an indescribably delicious bourbon concoction or whiskey sour infused with banana that creates a frothy surface for mixologist Gabby to drizzle syrup on the three-cherry garnish before dropping it in the glass. Take that drink and look closely at the walls for signs of another passageway, another door to the inner sanctum’s inner sanctum.

That room is furnished with more comfy chairs and walls festooned with illuminated paintings depicting scenes and figures of the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. A mirrored ceiling creates an infinity effect, and the sound system is Bluetooth-accessible, so guests can play music from phones.

There are other speakeasies in Las Vegas, but there are no other speakeasies with a room like this. The Cabinet of Curiosities Bar and Lounge and The Lock are escape rooms of a different kind where one can relax, reset and experience an atmosphere truly unlike any other on the Strip.

Horseshoe Las Vegas, thecabinetlv.com

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