Want to immerse yourself in Las Vegas’ downtown cocktail scene and its supporting cast? The place would be Corduroy, and the person to visit with is bar manager Chris Gutierrez.
Born in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Gutierrez says he was raised all over the country, anywhere that was a gaming town—Atlantic City, New Orleans, Detroit—as his father was in the gaming business. Vegas was the last city they landed in, and it’s where Gutierrez began his career in bartending more than 15 years ago.
Gutierrez is an integral part of downtown’s renaissance, spending time behind the bar first at Gold Spike and helping to relaunch the hot spot when Tony Hsieh and the Downtown Project, now known as DTP, injected money and a rebirth of arts and culture into the area. Gutierrez then went on to open Oak & Ivy at Container Park and then, three years ago, Corduroy.
“I think Las Vegas is the coolest for cocktails,” he says. “Vegas is positioned in an awesome place where we can essentially show what we can do to the world, because the world walks up and down the street right here.”
At Corduroy, “Our drinks and the quality of them are a cool addendum to what’s already a fun experience,” Gutierrez says. He’s right. There’s so much to see and experience inside this one-of-a-kind, ’70s-inspired bar.
Gutierrez is such a big part of Corduroy’s honest charm. When speaking with him, you can easily feel his love for not only making cocktails, but his love for the bar and the streets that surround it. After all the years of creating cocktails, teaching the next generation of bartenders and helping guide downtown into its resurgence, Gutierrez remains humble and shows immense pride for his craft and industry.
“I try to be as approachable and relatable as I can be,” he says. “If I don’t come from the heart with what I’m doing, it’s never worked out for me.”
Gnar Gnar Coco
There’s a long story behind this cocktail, so ask about it! In short, it’s mixed Appleton Estate Reserve Blend rum, Cynar liqueur, coffee, brown butter, lime and pineapple—basically like a bulletproof coffee tiki cocktail. “PBR, Modelo on draft, local sour beer, stout from a brewery that is now defunct, super-weird tequila, classic Rittenhouse rye whiskey,” says Gutierrez. “The menu reads Pornstar Martini, then Old-Fashioned. It’s kind of a weird collection. It’s what we believe in—we believe it’s the best of all worlds.”
Benefit
Order the Sex on the Beach or the Jameson pickleback, check out local artworks and visit the light box room.
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