About a decade ago Gary Schneck’s bartending career consisted of mostly serving up craft beers at a college bar in Indiana. When a friend urged him to move Las Vegas and try his hand at slinging drinks, Schneck says he was introduced to a whole new world.
When he came to Vegas in 2008, he worked his way up the bartending ranks, working at various bars on and off the Strip. “Some of the bars I worked at I worked with some of the best mixologists out here,” Schneck says. “I came from a college bar, watching these guys make cocktails, I was like, ‘What is going on here? These guys are blowing my mind,’ and that got me very inspired to learn more.”
And, learn he did; Schneck absorbed all he could from his colleagues as well as keeping up on the latest beverage trends and continuing to educate himself with literature from top beverage websites and publications. “I love the creativity and that challenge of making cocktails,” he says. “Just give me some ingredients and it’s like a canvas and I just run with it.”
Schneck now brings all that knowledge to his current position as property mixologist for The Mirage. For four years, Schneck has helped put together cocktail menus for many of the property’s bars, lounges and restaurants, including Parlor Cocktail Lounge, Center Bar and the 21-and-over pool club, Bare Pool Lounge.
“I love shocking people,” he says. “You know they come in and order a drink and they sip the drink and it goes from just tasting a drink to ‘I had absolutely no idea you can do something like this.’ You’re blowing people’s minds on something. You’re giving people extravagant, amazing drinks. We constantly do it with food—so why not cocktails?”
Mexico City Flyby
For the cocktails at Bare Pool Lounge, Schneck says the menu is a mix of tropical, simple and full-flavored cocktails that keep guests refreshed and pumped up to party (thanks to many of the cocktails using Red Bull). A popular pick on Bare’s summer cocktail menu is the Mexico City Flyby—a blend of Avion Silver tequila, pineapple juice and Red Bull Yellow Edition. “We wanted to keep it tropical-tasting with a hint of tequila,” Schneck says. “A simple recipe but full-flavor taste. Plus, a little bit of energy from the Red Bull is always good to make it through a day at the pool.”
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