This weekend, we explored Whisky Attic, and some of the most finely-crafted stuff in the world. And I found myself asking: Would we ever let this go? Will craftsmanship ever die?

THIS WEEKEND

• Go there within this page: Whisky Attic | Or visit their site: whiskyattic.com | 4780 West Harmon Ave, Suite 12, Las Vegas NV, 89103
• Herbs & Rye | www.herbsandrye.com | 3713 West Sahara, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89102
• Glass Craft & Bead Expo | www.glasscraftexpo.com | South Point Hotel & Casino
• Las Vegas Cigar Company | www.lvcc.com | 2510 E Sunset Rd # 1, Las Vegas, NV 89120
• Bad Beat Brewery | www.badbeatbrewing.com | 7380 Eastgate Rd #110, Henderson, NV 89011 |
• Las Vegas Philharmonic | lvphil.org | The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
• F. Pigalle | fpigalle.com | 508 Fremont St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
• For ALL the places we’ve gone in 2016, click here!
  

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Whisky Attic

Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemies.

Frank Sinatra

I heard about this guy who was really successful in food & beverage in Las Vegas, and who invented his own system for tasting spirits that’s been warmly adopted by the spirits community, and I heard about a place that he opened in town where he’ll teach it to you. And that was it. I was sold.

LA born Adam Carmer found himself in Las Vegas in the nineties in order to complete his Bachelor’s at UNLV. To make ends meet, he worked as a maitre’d at Treasure Island. In just a few years time, he was Director of Restaurants and Steve Wynn’s first Sommelier at The Mirage. Well done, sir.

All that changed in 2003, when he quit the biz and opened The Freakin’ Frog, a not-so-college bar across from UNLV that offered hundreds of wines and over 1,000 beers.

The Frog was a different kind of bar for Vegas. It was quiet (except the pianist), and video poker-free. And on account of their selection, instead of ordering your beer from a menu, you were escorted into the walk-in, where you picked it out yourself.

It was a bar for people who were already educated on these topics to go and continue their education. Publications lined up to give The Frog awards (dozens of them).

The story of how The Freakin’ Frog picked up a 2nd floor expansion – The Whisky Attic – goes like this:

The Frog’s fixture pianist, Seth Barkin didn’t wanna be paid in cash. He wanted to be paid in whisky. Always the same whisky – Black Velvet. Not a particularly good whisky.

Carmer, “Seth, you sure you want Black Velvet again?”

Barkin, “It’s what I like.”

Carmer, “What if I let you try something new but similar?”

And so they did. And each bottle that Barkin didn’t prefer ended up going back behind the bar to collect dust. Before they knew it, they had 3o bottles back there. Then 100.

They started offering invite-only whisky tastings upstairs, and the collection grew even more. By the time it was called The Whisky Attic, it was hundreds of bottles deep, and one of the largest collections in the world.

Now, Carmer had been adjunct faculty at UNLV since his graduation there. He’s earned his masters since then, and is going for a doctorate. So the educational aspect of Whisky Attic really appealed to him. And it seemed to appeal to his customers, too, who were paying $50-75 a person for a seminar, or whatever you wanna call it.

In 2014, he shut down The Freakin’ Frog, and moved The Whisky Attic a mile or two away from UNLV. Their whisky collection currently stands at an astounding 2,900 bottles and growing. (Quickly approaching this guy.) It’s worth millions. And yes, it’s insured.

The Experience

Whisky Attic is in this really discrete plaza now. The kinda place you’d go to buy wholesale plumbing equipment or something.

You’d never suspect this overwhelming collection inside. But there it is. 6 shelves of Ireland… 30+ shelves of Scottland… Countless American shelves… Bottles as expensive as $100,000.

The structure of the tasting went like this:

• Whisky 101.
• Define and teach Carmer’s Tasting Method.
• Taste.

Whisky 101 kinda blew my mind. It made me realize how little I knew about this thing I’ve consumed so much of. Expect to learn all sorts of wicked cool shit like:

• What role financiers play in how long whisky ages for.
• Why virtually all whisky makers actually add food dye to their product.
• Why Japanese Whisky is so good now.
• Which country has the MOST whisky distilleries in the world (hint: it’s NOT America, Scotland, NOR Ireland).
• Why Canada makes so much damn Rye.
• Why there’s two ways to spell whisky/whiskey, and why they’ve chosen the former.
• OMG So many more.

The method is one Carmer devised himself over the early days of The Whisky Attic. He calls it the C-STEM Method (Carmer Spirits Tasting Enhancement Method). It’s arguably the first of its kind – a way to systematically taste and enjoy spirits like you never have before. I won’t go into it because you really gotta go do this for yourself. And it’s proprietary.

The actual tasting went like this. He went around the room asking all 9 of us a series of questions about our taste preferences. He then devised a personalized tasting experience for each of us based on how we answered. WTF. So cool.

My birthday just happened to have passed recently. Laura’s too. Someone leaked this information at the tasting. As a result, he added a 6th taste just for us, also customized (smiley face): 25-year Macallan for me, and 20-year Pappy for Laura. Those aren’t cheap, so that was pretty cool that he did that.

If you like whisky, even just a little, please go to the Whisky Attic. (Set up an appointment first.)

Herbs & Rye

After the tasting, we had dinner at Herbs & Rye. Herbs & Rye is a little steakhouse just off the strip (Sahara + Valley View) with a prohibition-style bar program and a happy hour that discounts the food, not the drinks. That’s just the kinda place this place is.

Their food is pretty good. Their service is great when you can get them. But their drink program is amazing. Probably the best in town.

They’ve got this ridiculous drink menu, but fear not – your bartender or server is happy to walk you through it, or listen intently to your preferences, and the bartenders will pick one or craft up something special just for you. Our server Mark recommended the Vieux Carr’e, which involved rye whisky, cognac, Benedictine, sweet vermouth, and bitters, an old fashioned with a twist.

The Las Vegas Strip has some of the best eating and drinking to be had in the world. What’s the result of all of those hundreds of Strip restaurants and bars and thousands of Strip employees and 40 million annual tourists eating and drinking on the Strip? A vacuum for talent, arriving in Las Vegas from all over the world every day. And inevitably a spillover effect OFF the strip that all of us locals get to benefit from.

Bartenders and servers that are world-class, almost wherever you go in the valley. Top chefs spinning out of Michelin-quality kitchens and opening up a mom & pop on Eastern Ave… 30% of this town works in hospitality RIGHT NOW. It’s in our bones. We’re good at it. And we all know it and appreciate it and demand it. It’s one of the best things about living in Las Vegas.

Glass Craft & Bead Expo

On Saturday, I swung by the South Point for the Glass Craft and Bead Expo. Oh man. First of all, can I just say… what is happening with the size of these new slot machines? They’re HUGE! What a pissing contest. Where does it end? Casino ceilings are like 30 feet up – this could go on forever!!!

How do Slot Ops employees know when to service this thing? I mean, why would you even put a service light on top when no one can see the fucking top of the thing?

Maybe we’re living inside Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Buffalo Stampede is actually here to usher in an epic transition in human evolution.

Anyway, apologies. Glass Craft & Bead Expo.

Am I really into glass crafting? No. Am I into glass beads? No. But this sounded like a really great opportunity for a hit-or-miss afternoon.

As it turns out, I accidentally stumbled into a whole other universe. (Maybe the monolith slot machine sent me there? I kept looking for my reincarnated baby self, but never found it.) A universe you probably didn’t know existed. One full of people that are really into this shit.

And a couple of hours later, I think I might have been really into it, too.

There was definitely the kind of B2B shit you might expect at an expo. People selling equipment for beadmaking, giant kilns, cutters, raw materials, etc. A bunch of shit that made me feel like I might be in the wrong place. But then you turn this corner and the art comes out.

Okay, so now, I’m gonna do some shit that I’ve NEVER done in the HISTORY of this blog: I’m gonna show a bunch of pictures and shut the hell up for a minute. Ready? Here it goes…

  Yes, I bought something. Okay, moving on.

Las Vegas Cigar Company

After that, Ryan and I went to go check out Las Vegas Cigar Company. I had heard they rolled in-house, but as it turns out, they outsourced that a little while back. Cuban tobacco. Dominican-made. I’m not sure what makes them “Las Vegas” at that point, but still a good time.

It’s in a plaza at Sunset + Eastern. Sometimes it feels like EVERYTHING in Las Vegas is in a plaza. I’ve seen churches in a strip mall here. Pottery place… middle-eastern restaurant… church… movie theater… Nothing to see here. What is our fucking obsession with plazas?

I know zero about cigars. Which is why I wanted to do this in the first place. And I thought it would be really awesome, because I would learn the basics, which would be a HUGE improvement on cigar knowledge for me. But it turned out to be really awesome for a different reason. A reason I totally didn’t expect.

I mean, check out the buying experience. Awesome, right? WTF?? Dude, your backstock is showing. And what’s with those empty shelves on the right.

If you’re gonna phone it in, at least dial the weather line and pretend to carry on a conversation.

Okay, I guess I get it. He sells mostly online. You’re not really even supposed to know this place exists. And I’m pretty sure the whole operation is somehow a cover-up for something super illegal or something.

But still. If you’re gonna phone it in, at least dial the weather line and pretend to carry on a conversation.

We asked the proprietor about his selection. He’s got like 11 kinds of cigars, named things like “The Excalibur.” The exchange went kinda like this:

Me: Tell me about these.

LVCC: The dark ones are stronger. And the ones that say ‘sweet’ are coated in sugar water.

Me: Is that a normal thing? The sugar water thing?

LVCC: Nope [sly smile of pride for his unique proprietary concept].

Me: How do you recommend I decide on one versus another?

LVCC: Look, you gotta smoke whatever one you’re comfortable with. [Picks up a giant cigar that’s like as long and thick as Jack Napier’s dick] Like this one. YOU wouldn’t be comfortable with THIS one.

Me: Got it.

As we paid, we asked him if he has anything to drink. Water or something. He says, “I got beer in the fridge.” Yep, he did. Bud light, actually. We both grabbed a cold one and tipped him $5.

Then there’s the “lounge” area of this place. Oh boy, the lounge. Shuffleboard, wrapped in plastic. Billiards table, covered in stacks of junk. An old ceiling fan screwed into a plyboard. Chairs that were salvaged from a redo of a casino sports book in the ’70’s. Shit everywhere. This place looks like the real owner moved out years ago, and these guys have been squatting and stealing cigars and watching basketball ever since.

We definitely walked in on 4 dudes that know each other very well. Because they’re here all day, every day. Oh, and every once in a while, someone comes in for a cigar. And ONE of them has to get up and pretend to be a cigar proprietor.

Like I said, I thought that WHAT I would enjoy about this experience was a little tiny education in the cigar craft. Instead, I learned something else.

I learned that maybe the world of people trying to enjoy the finer things often gets brim with a certain compulsion. A certain over-analyzation. A contest to out-do some previous experience, or impress others. To “live life to its fullest” or some bullshit like that. I learned that sometimes, enjoying the finer things in life ISN’T about connoisseurism. What matters most is simple: that you’re comfortable. That you enjoy the experience. Relax. It’s just a cigar.

Oh, and everyone’s taste is different. So there’s no wrong answer. Even at the whisky tasting at Whisky Attic, our instructor tailored our tasting to OUR taste. So yeah. Don’t try to smoke the 12-inch cock. Duh.

Bad Beat Brewery

Ryan and I finished our cigars and most of the Villanova game and pushed on to the Henderson brewery district. That’s right – it’s in another plaza. But this one looks more like it used to be a bunch of dilapidated warehouses. And now, it’s this small collection of craft breweries. We went to Bad Beat.

Bad Beat has a fun tasting room. Darts. Big Jenga. Shuffleboard. (And beer.) They pour about 3 of their own, and they have some guest taps as well.

I remember when the microbrewing industry in Las Vegas wasn’t really a thing. And it kinda still isn’t. But it’s getting there! And there are finally enough brewers now to where it’s inspiring others to give it a shot.

And so new ones are popping up every day. Lovelady JUST opened in March. Banger opened up not too long ago. Stay tuned everyone; it’s just starting to get good.

Saturday evening involved watching the Final Four at the Masse’s. (Am I allowed to call it that, NBA Legal Team? Doesn’t matter, I guess. I mostly just drank beer and ate pizza anyway. Oh, and won my bracket.)

Rhapsody in Blue

On Sunday, four of us went to the LV Phil’s performance of music from the Jazz Era. But to me, it might as well have just been called the Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue concert, because that was hands down the best piece of the afternoon, and Cabrera knew it. God damn, I love that piece of music!

Rhapsody in Blue is probably one of the best examples of music from a time when classical composers were first dabbling in jazz. The piece is fun and tongue-and-cheek and moving and intense all in one, down-to-earth jazzy yet symphonically grand, catchy yet virtuosic. It’s probably one of the best pieces of American music ever written (sorry, Kanye).

If you don’t think you know this piece, you probably do. If you REALLY don’t, listen to it. Here’s a Lenny B version for you to listen to. No, I’m serious. It’s only 17 minutes long. At least just put it on in the background.

We attended a talk with 2 of the featured musicians beforehand about their craft, how they got into it, all that. That was pretty cool.

F. Pigalle

After the show, we checked out this new fondue restaurant that opened downtown, F. Pigalle. We didn’t stay for fondue because it was weird and our timing was off, and we didn’t want to have to work for our meal, and still leave hungry.

This place was REALLY picturesque though, and not in a way that’s good or bad – in a way I can’t explain, so I couldn’t help but to expose you to the next few images.

Apparently it’s themed for the Parisian sex district of the same name. (Make a visit for yourself to learn why they serve bottomless wine out of a baby’s bottle.)

Sometimes some of the bars and restaurants downtown make me think they’re doing the shit they’re doing just to get guys like me to be enamoured, take lots of pictures, and talk about them in a blog.

  

It’s another form of craftsmanship, I suppose.

Craftsmanship

Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.

Johannes Brahms

I love craft. I’m a craftsman. But all I seem to ever hear about lately is that the collection of crafts that man (and woman, duh) has spent thousands of years creating are systematically being replaced by machines, one-by-one. It’s true for everything I’ve done this weekend.

• It’s true for alcohol. Have you ever seen how Opus One is made, one of the most well-made wines in America? It’s more science than art.
• Have you toured most large breweries in this country?
• Titos “Handmade Vodka” got taken to court for in fact NOT being handmade.
• It’s true for cigars. Las Vegas Cigar Company moved their cigar rolling to the Dominican, but that’s only because the labor is cheaper there. As soon as a machine can do it cheaper than a Dominican, you know that’ll be how it’s done. Most cigars are already machine-made.
• It’s true for music. Music is mixed, produced, and finalized entirely on machines. And increasingly, as the sound quality of machine-generated sound gets better and better, MORE music is CREATED on machines – never a music instrument in the studio. It’s slowly creeping its way through genres, from EDM up to classical. Humans play a lesser and lesser role. And yes, artificial intelligence is already good enough to write symphonies, if you were wondering.
• It’s true for food. MOST of our food is machine made. It’s just a matter of time before machines are sophisticated enough to do EVERYTHING. Don’t believe me? Have you seen this robot? He’s real. It’s not smoke in mirrors. It’s not a trick. It’s a fucking ROBOT that COOKS SHIT. Just program in whatever you want (recipe file), and this robot will make it for you. Perfect. Every time.
• It’s true for sex. Yep. Sexbots. Google it. I dare you.

Is there any other kind of craft I witnessed this weekend that ISN’T about to be eliminated off the face of the Earth by machines?

It makes me wonder. It makes me nervous. Because the magic of human creativity flowing out through our hands and mouth to create something beautiful is essential to who we are and what’s so great about us. Without that, we ARE robots.

The magic of human creativity flowing out through our hands to create something beautiful is essential to who we are and what’s so great about us.

But then I think back to the Glass Craft & Bead Expo. I think about how all those people spend their days doing something that already HAS been replaced by machines. And yet they do it anyway. Why? Because they enjoy it. And because other people enjoy the fruits of their work. And across 50,000 square feet of convention space and a couple hundred expo booths, that didn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon.

I think we’re all craftsman (at something). And we always will be. If not glasswork, or food, or drink, or music, or smoke, then something else. Maybe it’s the bulletin board at the school where you teach. Maybe it’s the art of conversation. Maybe it takes the form of a beautiful Excel spreadsheet. Maybe even something that doesn’t even exist yet. Like where smart phones or video games were just a couple of decades ago.

We’re all craftsman at something.

This simple truth is what binds all of humanity together. It’s how we contribute to the world. And exactly which craft we all choose is what makes us each the unique individuals that we are.

What will your craft be? How will you contribute?

For all weekend recaps, visit maketheweekend.com.

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