Some could say that Eric Kroeker has his dream job, general manager of beverage for T-Mobile Arena. “I love hockey; it’s my No. 1 sport,” says the Ohio native. Kroeker also loves creating flavor profiles and cocktails. With his culinary school background and many years working as a pastry chef (he even competed on Food Network’s show Candy Land), he’s now transferred that knowledge to cocktails.
“I took my skill set from pastry to the flavor profiles of beverage,” he says. All this combines for Kroeker at his job at T-Mobile Arena, where’s he’s worked for the past five years.
Every season, Kroeker and the beverage team, which includes world-renowned mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim, create the cocktail program that guests of T-Mobile Arena get to enjoy.
“This is Vegas, and this is just not a sports venue,” he says. “We couldn’t land flat and be like, ‘Here’s your beer!’ while they’re doing this over-the-top showcase that Vegas is known for. That’s what makes T-Mobile Arena
so amazing.”
While fans of the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team are enjoying that housemade margarita, it’s Kroeker and his team behind the cocktail magic. Fans that attend the games have come to know Kroeker, making sure to slap him a high five as he roams the arena floor checking up on his beverage team.
“We see our hockey fans 41 games a year minimum, so we can’t be stagnant,” he says. “We can’t give them the same thing over and over. You have to give them a little surprise, new cocktails every season.”
Libation: The Golden Knight
Listening to arena fans’ wants, Kroeker added a whiskey cocktail to the menu this season—and it’s a huge hit! The Golden Knight is a play on the classic whiskey sour. It’s a mix of Jameson Irish whiskey, Cointreau, cold-pressed pineapple, lime and orange juice, nutmeg, Angostura bitters and ginger beer.
Benefit: Find the Jameson-branded bars in sections one and 20 and order the off-menu Orange You Lucky cocktail!
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