David Laird, Lord of Balvenie Scotch: My favorite Las Vegas haunts for whisky and food

In the RJ’s Sunday Life, we’ll have his story of the 100 new restaurants and vineyards that have sprung up north of Ensenada in Mexico. Donald Trump isn’t the only one to visit! We’ll continue with guest columnists until Robin’s full-time return.

Today, Dana Beatty, The Venetian and The Palazzo horticulture director, lets us in on her green thumb secrets, and David Laird, who we’ve nicknamed Lord of Balvenie Scotch, keeps our watering holes well supplied with his favorite beverage. Here’s David, whose story has gone from cliche to appreciation:

By David Laird

In my 20s, I would arrive in Las Vegas with a little money in my pocket, dreams of all-night parties and taking down the house. Today, I come to Las Vegas because of what the house has to offer: the restaurants, bars and music. This city has everything, and it is the reason I try to return as often as possible.

As The Balvenie ambassador, I spend a large part of my life traveling from city to city experiencing the best whisky bars and restaurants the United States has to offer. These days, in just about every city, you will find numerous bars that carry amazingly fine scotches.

But in very few other places is there such a concentration and opportunity to find some of the best whiskies ever released as there is in Las Vegas. People, including yours truly, travel to Las Vegas to try something that they can’t experience anywhere else.

I love the atmosphere that a whisky bar develops, but sometimes I want to enjoy the sophistication of a nice lounge and rare scotch. The Talon Club in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is tucked away, but, once discovered, you can experience rare and hard-to-find scotches in quiet surroundings.

If you have won big, you might want to head up to The Talon Club to celebrate with a glass of Balvenie 50-year-old, which will run you a cool $3,400. This is one of the rarest whiskies ever released and worth every dollar. But Las Vegas doesn’t have to be so extravagant.

When I’m looking for a great meal with a solid bar program, I fancy Morels at The Palazzo for a 14-year-old Caribbean cask that goes amazingly with oysters; Strip House at Planet Hollywood; and off the Strip to Ferraro’s. A 21-year Portwood with tiramisu is one of the best pairings in the world and a luxurious end to a meal.

I also like to host my own dinners, and days ago I was at Bardot Brassiere in Aria for a Balvenie-paired meal. We told the story of our unique whisky, tasted rare scotch and shared a terrible Scottish joke or two. Hopefully, we will see some of you next time!

While Las Vegas offers me the opportunity to try some of the best whisky and food in the world, it also allows me to visit some of the best bartenders in the world. Some might scoff at a Balvenie single malt cocktail, but in the hands of the team at Herbs & Rye and the private 365 Tokyo club on the second floor of Inspire Theater, you are with masters.

At both spots, I just let them know what kind of mood I am in, and they take it from there. They haven’t missed yet! Everyone has their own definition of a late night in Las Vegas, and for me no whisky night is complete without a smooth cigar from Casa Fuente inside The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.

Don’t be put off by the mall location. Enter the well-ventilated cigar lounge, sit back and relax. There’s a reason why it’s still going strong after a decade of business. While you are enjoying a fine cigar, you also can choose from one of the 100-plus whisky selections on the list.

My other frequent late-night spot is The Blind Pig. We all get hungry for a late-night bite, and the kitchen stays open until 2 a.m. The bar is always open. On the days when I am in the mood for a truly different side of Las Vegas, I head Downtown to Atomic Liquors.

Not only is it a true local hangout with an amazing whisky selection, but it also is the oldest standing bar in Las Vegas. You will often see celebrity chefs, but they are off work, so admire from afar.

Anthony Bourdain, the narrator of The Balvenie’s Raw Craft series, is among them hanging out there when they want to disappear from the Strip. It’s a Las Vegas institution, and everyone needs to have a drink or two on their next visit.

To finish any visit, I like to return to my roots, and my favorite way of drinking whisky is in a bar with friends watching football. When there is a big match on, I will often be found at Crown & Anchor enjoying the atmosphere and yelling at the players thousands of miles away.

Maybe I will see you there? Just don’t ask me about whisky. I am off duty until the end of the match. Slainte mhath!

Be sure to check out our other guest column from Dana Beatty, who has a green thumb that puts a bloom on the floral displays at The Venetian and The Palazzo. Robin has wrapped up his interviews in Macau with Franz Harary and Rio de Janeiro with Amy Purdy for stories from the Asian gaming capital and Paralympics, respectively, that we’ll have in Friday Neon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.