I’ve interviewed a lot of bartenders in this city and a common thread among them is that the 1988 movie Cocktail inspired them to bartend. But not Pete Miceli, bartender at Golden Gate. He’s the first one inspired by bartender Sam Malone, from the classic TV show Cheers. “I watched the show growing up and I feel like working at Golden Gate is the closest way I’ll become Sam,” he says.
Miceli was also inspired to bartend after a trip to Las Vegas. “My first trip to Vegas, I saw guys flair bartending at Carnaval Court and I fell in love with it,” says the New York native. So back home in Staten Island, he got a job flair bartending at TGI Fridays; in 2013 he brought his skills back to Vegas and got a job at Golden Gate, the one and only bartending job he’s had in Vegas.
“I really enjoy working here because everybody knows everybody,” he says. “I’m not just a number, not just a brick in the wall. This is very much a family feel.”
You can find Miceli working his craft—he no longer flairs but makes the classics—at Bar Prohibition! “I’ve always said I’m not much of an innovator when it comes to making cocktails, but I enjoy the classics and I enjoy making them right,” he says. And he loves serving them to the regulars that frequent his bar. Yes, even though we’re in a tourist town, Bar Prohibition! is a favorite of locals, too. It’s a bar where … everybody knows your name.
Libation: The Old Fashioned
You can’t get much more classic than the Old Fashioned. The version at Bar Prohibition! is mixed with bourbon or rye whiskey (whatever the drinker prefers), simple syrup, bitters and a splash of water. For that extra touch, Miceli flames an orange rind over the cocktail to give it that slight citrus note.
Benefit: Drink like the Rat Pack—the men frequently visited Bar Prohibition! when in town. (Look for the placard on the bar).
Golden Gate. goldengatecasino.com
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