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Cozy up to a cocktail in wintry atmosphere of Cosmo’s Ski Lodge

Las Vegas might be charbroiling now, but at Ski Lodge in The Cosmopolitan, every day is a snow day.

The bar lies behind an unmarked door, speakeasy style, just inside Superfrico, the Italian restaurant meets whacked-out house party meets art attack in the Chelsea Tower of the property. Ski Lodge hits all the right wintry notes: windows framing bosky views of falling snow, a crackling fireplace with a hearthrug and stone surround, leather couches plumped with pillows, and coffered wood ceilings.

But there’s whimsy here, too, in this mountain cabin. Ski resort stickers stuck higgledy-piggledy (“Ski Tahoe Bro,” reads one), a soffit populated with ski trophies and board games, a glass-front cabinet displaying a colony of ceramic penguins, like kitschy netsuke. The other evening, two sequined minstrels burst into the bar to play a quick song on the ukulele and sax.

Ski Lodge has been designed, of course, but it also feels authentically cozy, and far less contrived than many bars on the Strip.

Signature “slopeside sips” include the Southside Snowplow, a citrusy gin cocktail served in ...
Signature “slopeside sips” include the Southside Snowplow, a citrusy gin cocktail served in a light-up glass. (Ski Lodge)

Celebrated mixologist Leo Robitschek, a James Beard Award winner, developed the bar program at Ski Lodge, which mixes signature cocktails, seasonal pours and several “izakaya” drinks featuring Japanese spirits.

Vodka, Aperol and Punt e Mes Italian vermouth star in a gently bittersweet Salty Sled Dog with a salted rim. Gin, Cocchi Americano aperitif, kumquat, lemon, cucumber and mint join for a gusty herbaceous Southside Snowplow. Soto, a top-grade sake, and Roku gin, crafted with a flurry of Japanese botanicals, come together in a Shiso Saki.

The current menu also offers a quartet of square pizzas, including a carne asada pie (well, square) made with Creekstone Farms skirt steak, house mozzarella, cheddar, cilantro and roasted jalapeño pineapple salsa.

Ski Lodge opened in September 2021, then expanded to daily service just before New Year’s Eve 2021.

It’s a powder day at Ski Lodge. Don your Moncler, then head over.

www.superfrico.com/skilodge

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