The Cabinet of Curiosities is a unique adventure on the Las Vegas Strip

With so many quality options in Las Vegas, in practically every category of discretionary spending it’s hard to find things to do that are truly unique. Enter The Cabinet of Curiosities at Horseshoe Las Vegas. The 21-and-over-venue combines drinking and immersive entertainment, making the experience curiouser and curiouser. Brought to life by Imagine Exhibitions—a company with a huge portfolio of creating traveling and permanent exhibitions and attractions that allow guests to be transported to different worlds of wonder—The Cabinet of Curiosities captures the imagination and the thirst for tasty cocktails the minute you slip through the glass doors.

Guests will be enveloped in a bar and lounge that exudes dark, gothic and alluring vibes, decorated with a mashup of Victorian and bohemian furnishings. Here, the word is “explore” in both content and cocktails. Start with the many interesting-looking pieces inside the many curio cabinets placed throughout the space. Each piece is assigned a number, and you can find out its name and story by scanning a QR code with your phone. Look up No. 4381, the Mystical Typewriter, where folklore claims a tale composed with this typewriter will make its author famous but with some irksome caveats. Or how about No. 6641, the Copper Watering Can, once owned by Lucretia Spatz, who used it to water her prize-wining begonias, but the neighbors had no idea what she was grinding up in her basement to use as fertilizer. There’s also No. 8251, the Dancing Squid, once belonging to the breeders of competitive show-jumping squids. There are so many more eye-catching and strange tchotchkes to explore, and we suggest before adventuring on that you pay a visit to the bar, where the mixologists are serving up an abundance of incredible cocktails.

The Cabinet of Curiosities has garnered a reputation for its stellar cocktail program, both at the main bar and The Lock (more on that later). Might we offer our suggestions to get you started? Check out the signature cocktails, beginning with the Peachtree Sweet Tea, a great cocktail to kick off what will no doubt be the first of many orders. Be careful, though—it’ll get you feelin’ fine in no time with its blend of gin, rum, vodka, peach liqueur, yuzu and sweet tea (think a dressed-up Long Island Iced Tea). If it’s early enough and you’re still yearning for another coffee to give you more pep, try the Flea Market Martini, a totally delicious mix of vanilla vodka, coffee liqueur, fresh-brewed coffee, sweet condensed milk and cinnamon fire syrup.

Tequila lovers, go after the Pink Stone Egg, a tropical, slightly carbonated treat with tequila, lime juice, coconut purée, passion fruit liqueur and ginger beer. And for lovers of sprit-forward cocktails, the Festival of Lights has been a mainstay on the menu for its smooth and bold mix of bourbon, vermouth, orangecello, lime and honey syrup.

Wines and beer on draft and in bottles, a mocktail menu, top-shelf spirits and a happy hour menu (1-6 p.m. daily) help round out the offerings at The Cabinet of Curiosities. But if you’re itching for a next-level cocktail journey, make a reservation for the bar and lounge’s speakeasy, The Lock.

You can’t miss the entrance to The Lock—it’s that big door that looks like the entrance to a bank vault. But can you get inside? You’ll have to pick up the phone and see if someone answers, after which you’ll have to go through a series of riddles once you make it inside the antechamber. But it’s all worth it once you step inside the space. You’re immediately transported to the Prohibition era, as the intimate room is decorated in period pieces and throwback tunes flow through the air. (Secret: there’s a speakeasy inside the speakeasy!)

The Lock serves up its own menu of Prohibition-era cocktails, but a bonus here is getting to build your own cocktail based on your preferences; you fill out a little card for the bartender to gauge your likes, tastes and personality.  The menu here changes often, but inquire about our two favorites we had on our last visit. The Smoke and Mirrors is the perfect sipping cocktail with tequila, mezcal, violet flower liqueur, lemon juice and hibiscus syrup, and the Key to My Pink Heart (one of this writer’s fave cocktails on the Strip!) with rum, crème de almond, crème de cocoa and oatmilk is one cocktail to write home about.

Coming up on Aug. 29-31, The Cabinet of Curiosities invites guests to a special event, Prohibition Cocktails: Crafting Classic Libations From the Speakeasy Days. For more information on the event, to make a reservation for The Lock and to book the Mixology Class, visit thecabinetlv.com, email [email protected] or call 833.855.2888.

Mixology Class

It’s Cocktails 101 inside The Lock as the speakeasy and The Cabinet of Curiosities offers a mixology masterclass several times throughout each month (this week includes Aug. 29 and 31). Running the class is master mixologist Daniel Ponsky, a man overflowing with knowledge when it comes to all things spirits and cocktails, and he’s more than happy to share that knowledge. “The best part of this class is that at the end of the day you’re going to learn a little something about making cocktails,” says Ponsky.

You’ll fill your brain with tons of cocktail factoids. You’ll learn some history about spirits and cocktails, how to stir a drink so you don’t bruise the alcohol, the difference in the types of ice, how to properly shake and pour a cocktail, what the difference is between juices, syrups and elixirs, how to activate the sugars in dehydrated fruit resulting in more caramelly flavors ... the list goes on and on.

You’ll also get to craft three different cocktails, like the Apricot Manhattan, with all the tools provided. On the bar a cornucopia of spirits, mixers, garnishes, syrups, bitters, tonics, fruits, spices and juices wait for your own creativity, as the third cocktail will be a build-your-own recipe.

Horseshoe Las Vegas. thecabinetlv.com

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