The Pipeline Lounge Dirty Martini @SandsReno

A few weeks back my good friend Ali of Raven and Rabbit agreed to meet up and see a Utility Players Show.  She and her business recently moved from Denver to the Reno area, and I couldn't be more happy to have a friend from my old digs.

When I got the diet talk from my doctor, she told me I had to go low carb.  I was sad of course, but I managed to look up some low carb cocktails and see that a dirty martini was the only one I was interested in.  I'm in for any drink that also comes with a small snack.  I was a little spoiled in Vegas when I tried my first one at Studio 54, and it was delicious.  The next best one was at GoldSpike, although their glasses were always just a tad too dirty for my taste. It's not the glassware that is supposed to be the dirty part, to all you dirty martini beginners.

After all that Vegas Neon, the Sand's is a little more colorful of a casino than I'm used to.  Let me put it this way...their ceilings are really low.  The filtration system could also use some work.  That being said, they have an awesome show in the Utility Players, and a nice bartender at the Pipeline Lounge.  I'm not much of a beer person, so I ordered a dirty martini with a pink tinge to my cheeks.  He didn't even make fun of me, he just asked if he could serve it in a regular glass, as they didn't have any martini glasses.  I was relieved that I wouldn't stand out with an obnoxious glass and wholeheartedly agreed.

As if to remind me that I was no longer in Viva Las Vagueness, an awesome retired gentlemen offered to pay for our drinks.  Ali and I ended up talking with him for bit while we waited for the doors to open to the show, and my cocktail was pretty darn good.  It's pretty easy to screw up a dirty martini, but this man was sitting up and paying attention in bartender school. Had I been wearing a hat, I would have tipped it to him.

Since it is one of my favorite drinks, I'd love to consider it for our state drink.  However, it does not have a local ingredient.  In fact, growing an olive tree is actually not that cool here.  Seeing as how olives pretty much make a dirty martini, it looks like the search continues.

Sands Regency Hotel & Casino
345 N Arlington Ave.
Reno, NV 89501
775.348.2200
Open 24 Hours

The Rules

Rules were meant to be broken of course, but it is good to have some ongoing guidelines to make sure I'm sticking to some sort of protocol.

According to Wikipedia, "Official" State Beverages are not always alcoholic.  In fact, around 20 of them state that their official state drink is milk.  Alabama is the only one that just goes for the gusto and goes with booze.  So with that, the number one rule is:








1. The State Drink Does Not Have to be Alcoholic 

Although I'm sure not ruling it out.  I think we are a cool enough state to graduate from just milk.

While going through my research I found this article about state related drinks to check out. Nevada had a "Desert Scrub" with repasado tequila, grapefruit juice, and Italian sparklingly white wine.  I really like how the name of the bar is called Sage, even if it is located in Las Vegas.  It's important to me, and I think ALL Nevadians, that the state drink be as "local" as possible.  That being said, the second rule is:

2. The State Drink Should Have at Least One Local Ingredient, or Have Local Origins.

When I was making these rules, I asked the Reno Foodies Facebook Group what qualifications they would put to the Official State Drink. James, a member of the group, stated that it should be "At least 80 proof AND is less than $13.99 a 1.75L."  He also said it should be PBR.  I strongly disagree, but he had a point about the price.

This was one thing that always got me in Vegas.  You can't get a cocktail for less than $12.00, and none of them are great.  Our drink should not only be tasty, but it should not cost you more than a meal of All-You-Can-Eat Sushi.  That means the third rule is:

3. The State Drink Must Be Affordable

I'm going to intentionally leave that vague, because sometimes the price is worth it if it is a great drink.  However, with my current pay grade it's not likely I'll try that Golden Opulence Sundae or The Five Star anytime soon.  If you'd like to buy me a drink, click on the donate button in the sidebar.

This is all I have so far!  I'll update this as I get more suggestions from everyone.  Feel free to leave a comment or email me at drinknevada@gmail.com if you have an idea!