Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/11486
VEGAS Puffs and Pours T Above: Oliver Guiua, General Manager of Rhumbar at The Mirage, enjoys a smoke on the patio. RHUMBAR AT THE MIRAGE MIXES SMOKE AND SPIRITS here’s no shortage of good cigars in Las Vegas. But no other club can match Rhumbar at The Mirage, with a 40-plus cigar menu that ranges from the Vintage Pre-Embargo for $150 to a Padron 3000 for $9. “For some cigars, we have the only box left in retail existence,” says Oliver Guiua, General Manager of the club with a 3,000-square-foot patio bordered by palm trees and The Mirage’s signature volcano attraction. Owned and operated by Drive This! Entertainment and opened in March 2009, Rhumbar has found success in holding regularly scheduled events. On Bubble Wednesdays, with the purchase of every cocktail customers receive one “bubble” filled with a chance to win an array of prizes from The Mirage. On Puff ‘n’ Pulse Thursdays, guests enjoy reggae music and fine tobacco in hookahs or cigars. Behind the bar is an assortment of fine rums from around the world, including Pyrat Cask 1623 for $55, Old New Orleans for $11 and Rhum Barbancourt Estates Reserve for $11. Accounting for 85 percent of sales, the rum cocktails include: the Samba Swizzle, made with Zaya rum, Domaine de Canton, lime, sweet coconut, cane sugar and orange bitters; the 1944 Mai Tai, made with Appleton Reserve rum, lime, orange curaçao, rock candy syrup and French orgeat; and the Hemingway Daiquiri, made with Depaz rum, lime juice, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, grapefruit juice and Ruby Red grapefruit wedge. Those menu mainstays nicely complement the seasonal cocktail menu, which mixologist Kristen Schaefer uses to highlight the current rum sponsor. For spring, Schaefer created The Cooler, made with Bacardi O, fresh grapefruit, orange, lime and a hint of mint, for $12. “We design drinks for the season,” Schaefer says. “We don’t want to overwhelm the guest, so we have to keep it real in Vegas.” june 2010 / the tasting panel / 87