That line between halfway conscious and halfway light-headed after a cocktail or two is an interesting place to be. It’s the bliss point often dressed down by the commoner phrase “buzzed”. In reality, it’s the equivalent to the cloak of invisibility in Harry Potter. The only difference is that the bliss cloak places us in a moment of appreciating life…amidst all the unfortunate realities that plague it. 16: A Handcrafted Experience is that bliss point even way before two-to-three of their own refreshing and boozy elixirs.
To access 16: A Handcrafted Experience, or 16 as we’ll come to refer it, you’ll first have to locate its private and luxe entrance. Its grand first impression is met with a ride up past 16-floors. To your right, you’ll find a reception area in case you’re looking to host an event and to the left is their cocktail bar.
You’re met with a wraparound and mesmerizing view of the valley and once inside towards the back is their outrageous outside lounge sitting on prime real estate: the plush and cushioned seating area faces the Sierra Mountains and the Las Vegas Valley itself.
The fact that it’s at the M Resort makes 16 a leading contender as the new “it” spot of Las Vegas. You can meet with friends, clients, family members, or with a book and wine glass plus your debit card for their ATM Wine experience.
Fashionable and artisanal cocktails is always a plus for a cocktail bar, BUT a cocktail bar with savory and tasty fare usually found at five-star restaurants? Rare. Hashtag very rare. Plus, 16 beats the trek to the Las Vegas Strip and the see and be seen scene that has become Downtown Las Vegas.
It’s one of the first locations that I feel comfortable saying, as luxury journalist whose voice carries weight, that I am genuinely excited for this cocktail bar to exist where it does and at all. 16 is worthy of not just local praise but national and international attention. The staff is very polite and excel standards for a local cocktail bar…that should really be called a lounge because “bar” does not do it justice.
To put it plainly, it sucks that 16: A Handcrafted Experience is currently only open Friday through Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. I wish it were open every day, but that’s going to depend on you. Where there is demand, supply will follow.
16 it’s an unexpected experience outside of the Las Vegas Strip. For the caliber of ingredients, presentation, taste, service, views, and experience like that you’d expect Guy Savoy prices. As much as I support the tantilizating mirage that is the Las Vegas Boulevard, us locals need something to call our own and 16: A Handcrafted Experience is it.
