Specialty Cocktails Make Vegas Restaurant Shine

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love myself a good drink. Beers, cocktails, premixed margaritas out of plastic jug - You name it, I'll enjoy it.  

This weekend I was on a quest to find a new watering hole and I think I found it at Herbs & Rye on the corner of Sahara and Valley View.

There are three main reasons I love this place:

- The drinks were superb

- The bartender was fantastic

- It's close to work

Okay, so number three sounds like I need a quick alcohol fix on my lunch break. Nothing could be further from the truth. I need a looooong alcohol fix on my lunch break.

While the restaurant and bar serve pretty much everything, it's the specialty cocktails that make this place stand out. If your tired of the same crappy pear and raspberry martinis for $15, this is the place for you. The ingredients may seem unusual and unheard of... but the combinations were fantastic. Even the drinks based with scotch or gin, which I am not a fan of, tasted delicious.

The drinks are sepearted into eras.. like the "Old School Age of American Bartending" and "Prohabition". I started with a drink called the Clover Club, made with gin, lemon, raspberry Syrup and egg white. The menu says the drink was Created at the Bellvue-Statford Hotel in Philadelphia, and named after the men’s club in the city by the same name…… It was delish!

Later I tried the Aviation which is my new favorite drink, not that I'll ever be able to replicate it at home. The Aviation is made with gin, Maraschino liqueur, lemon, and creme de violette. It also came with a real Maraschino Cherry, not not those bright pink things soaked in food coloring.

The place is nice, but not stuck up, so you feel comfortable asking the bartender plenty of questions. Our bartender was great and explained each drink. He even showed us the bottles of liquor and mixes. It was certainly a learning experience.

If I remember correctly, the martinis were about $9, which considering you're actually getting a real drink and not some sugared down alcohol mix, it was totally worth it. And if you're local, it's a great place to take people from out of town - It's "away from the strip" but still close enough that people won't get bored on the drive there. And it truly feels like some hidden gem that only locals know about.

I will definitely be stopping by again, but after work of course.