Okay, this is the date night move nobody else is making this week. On Wednesday, November 18, CUT Las Vegas throws out the wine list for one night and lets a cocktail run every course.
The dinner is called Beyond the Vine. It starts at 6 p.m., it happens exactly once, and it lands right in the middle of Grand Prix race week.
No Wine. The Cocktail Is the Pairing.
Beyond the Vine was created by Byron Puck, president of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. The idea is simple and a little brave.
Instead of building a tasting menu and then picking wines to support it, the kitchen and the bar build together. Each cocktail is developed in tandem with its dish, with equal creative weight on both sides.
That is the fresh insight here. At most pairing dinners, the drink is the backup singer. At this one, the drink gets co-headliner billing, and the food has to share the stage.
The dinner is part of Culinary Crossroads, The Venetian Resort's signature dining series, presented by DoorDash Reservations. It is timed to the Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix Race Week.
The Bar Flying In Topped the World List
Byron Puck's partner for the night is Eric van Beek of Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City. Van Beek is the bar's co-owner and lead mixologist.
His resume is not quiet. He won the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition in 2018, then co-founded Handshake in 2021.
Handshake then took the No. 1 spot on The World's 50 Best Bars list in 2024. It was the first bar in Mexico to top that list.
So the date math is easy. One of the most decorated bartenders on the planet is pouring inside a Wolfgang Puck steakhouse, on one Wednesday night only.
The evening is presented in partnership with MUJEN Spirits, a Japanese shochu brand. Shochu is a distilled spirit, which is why it can sit in a cocktail the way gin or vodka usually does.
Find CUT at The Venetian Resort, 3325 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109.
Book It Before Race Week Eats It
Do this one like you mean it:
- Book now through DoorDash Reservations, from The Venetian Resort's Culinary Crossroads page. One night only means there is no second date to fall back on.
- Ask about the price when you book. No ticket price has been published on the resort's listing, so confirm the full cost before you commit.
- Plan for a 6 p.m. start and a race week Strip. Leave early, because Grand Prix week traffic does not care about your reservation.
Skip the predictable steakhouse date where you already know every beat. This one has a real question built into every course.
Can a cocktail carry a dish the way a great wine does? On November 18, you get to judge that yourselves, course by course.
