Resident DJs have been a fixture on the Las Vegas Strip for more than a decade. Resident headliners rule showrooms and theaters from Planet Hollywood to the Wynn. But behind-the-bar talent has largely been immune to the residency trend in Las Vegas. Bartenders might battle against each other at occasional competitions or work side by side at special events, but rarely do they step behind the stick at someone else's bar and show off their skills as a guest.
That's the idea behind a series of recently announced bartender residencies at On the Record, the new nightclub at the Park MGM from the Houston Brothers. For a few nights at a time, drink slingers from New York, San Francisco and elsewhere in Las Vegas will pour, mix and shake inside the venue's Vinyl Parlor, an intimate space for up to 25 guests dedicated to the founders' love of music.
Guest residents like Josh Harris of the Bon Vivants group in San Francisco and Jillian Vose of Dead Rabbit in Manhattan will design song-inspired cocktails for On the Record's seasonal menus and create drinks for customers based on the track spinning in the lounge.
"These are the rock stars of the cocktail world," said Craig Schoettler, MGM Resorts' corporate mixologist, via press release. "Interacting directly with guests in such an intimate space, these top beverage professionals will help create an elevated and entertaining cocktail experience that you won't find anywhere else in the world."
Over the next few months, Ivy Mix from Brooklyn's Leyenda, Ryan Fitzgerald from ABV in San Francisco and Alex Day and David Kaplan from Death and Co. in Manhattan will each take over the Vinyl Parlor, along with some of Las Vegas' best mixologists like NoMad's Leo Robitschek and "Modern Mixologist" Tony Abou-Ganim.
Even after they head back to their own bars or companies, visitors to the Park MGM nightspot can taste their liquid contributions to the lounge -- a new kind of Las Vegas residency at a new kind of club.