If there’s such a thing as a Las Vegas celebrity bartender, Tony Abou-Ganim is it. Known as the Modern Mixologist, the Michigan native developed his first signature cocktail menu—including the iconic Cable Car—at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco before landing in Vegas in 1998 to put together the cocktail program at Bellagio. He has since won many awards, appeared on national TV dozens of times, published recipe books, branded his own bar tools, formed what is now the second largest chapter of the U.S. Bartenders' Guild in Las Vegas and created the annual multi-day For the Love of Cocktails fundraising event.
“We’ve seen in the last five to 10 years a lot of bartenders at the national level gaining a certain level of acclaim and going on to establish their own free-standing places,” Abou-Ganim said in January. “But as far as the celebrity mixologist, we haven’t really had the same opportunities that chefs have with something like the Food Network, to be in front of people all the time.”
It would be easier if such a celebrity mixologist had his own venue to spotlight his liquid cuisine. Very soon, Abou-Ganim will have such a venue. He’s teaming with James Beard Award-winning chef Shawn McClain (Sage, Five50 Pizza Bar) to open Libertine Social this summer, a next-generation gastropub at Mandalay Bay.
Abou-Ganim has been looking for the right fit for his own Vegas venue for years and believes he’s found the right recipe with McClain and MGM Resorts. Libertine will be open for dinner and offer a combination of small and large plates, the menu inspired by traditional American bar food blending fresh ingredients and unexpected methods. Abou-Ganim’s drink program will include his “swizzle” cocktails—icy, frothy drinks made tableside with five-pronged swizzle sticks—as well as artisanal shots, wines on tap and craft beers. Inside Libertine, the more intimate Scratch Bar will celebrate the art of elaborate cocktails made from scratch in a jewel-box atmosphere.
Before Libertine arrives, Abou-Ganim’s other mega-project will. He has partnered with Levy Restaurants and T-Mobile Arena to create customizable craft cocktail and food experiences at the new Las Vegas Strip arena, opening early next month. The objective is to offer event-goers the personalization of a boutique bar on an arena-wide scale, featuring artisanal ice, signature cocktails and punch service, and venues including a whiskey lounge and Scotch bar and a Goose Island Brewing bar.
“People come from all over the world to experience Las Vegas mixology and dining,” Abou-Ganim said. “We’re bringing that level of precision and hospitality to T-Mobile Arena, giving each guest a Vegas-worthy experience.”
