CleverRoot

f a l l 2 0 1 8 | 6 1 The drama of this technique is heightened even further at Jean Georges Steakhouse at Aria, where a spirits cart laden with super-premium Scotch and Japanese single malts, as well as bourbons and Cognacs, is brought tableside. After guests are asked if they'd like any of the selections "smoked" for a nominal upcharge, their spirit of choice is poured into a crystal decanter, which is then filled with mesquite, cherrywood, hickory, or applewood smoke. The selected smoke is then bubbled into the liquid with aBreville|PolyScience Smoking Gun Pro. A similar device is used to infuse cherries at Lago by Julian Serrano in the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, lending a hickory-smoked accent to the restaurant's Rose and Rye cocktail. Down the Strip at Park MGM's Primrose restaurant and cocktail lounge, Bev- erage Program Director Emily Yett presents guests who order her Bombay Sap- phire–based Smoked Bijou with a glass box filled with thick applewood smoke: When the door is opened, the smoke literally rolls out to reveal the cocktail. A nearly identical presentation is used at Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen at Caesars Palace, where a cherrywood smoke–filled box is used for the Woodford Rye–based Smoke on the Boulevard cocktail. My tour de smoke ended at MGM Grand's China Tang restaurant, where the bar staff uses the aforementioned PolyScience Smoke Gun to smoke a mixture of Roca Patrón Reposado, OM Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Liqueur, chocolate bitters, hoisin sauce, and rhubarb absinthe with applewood chips for the Kow- loon Old Fashioned. Regardless of locale, it seems the term "a smoking gun" has taken on an entirely new meaning for mixologists. At MGM Park's Primrose restaurant and cocktail lounge, the Smoked Bijou cocktail appears through a cloud of applewood smoke. PHOTO: PATRICK MICHAEL CHIN Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen at Caesars Palace uses a box thick with cherrywood smoke to house its Woodford Reserve Rye–based Smoke on the Boulevard cocktail. ■cr

• Cover