This Is How Much An Average Cocktail Costs In Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — unless you're talking about the dent a visit there could leave in your bank account. This doesn't just include the world-famous gambling, but another facet of Sin City that goes hand-in-hand with that and all the other facets of the destination's glitzy nightlife: cocktails. Las Vegas boasts some of the most iconic cocktail bars on the planet, but how much will a drink from one of them actually set you back?

In Vegas, basic mixed drinks like a rum and Coke or whiskey ginger may go for around $12 to $15 from your average bar, with prices climbing if you request a particular brand of spirit. If there's no menu, you'll find a bar's well liquors on a steel shelf behind the bar; those house standards will usually be cheaper than, say, Patron tequila or Belvedere vodka. 

Generally, the more costly the mixers and the more ingredients a drink includes, the more expensive it'll be, with cocktails ranging anywhere from $20 to $30. Where you get said cocktail — be it a higher-end cocktail bar inside of a luxury hotel or casino, or something more casual — will also influence what end of that range it will lean towards. Essentially, where you fall on the average $12 to $30 scale depends on what you're drinking and where.

Naturally, Vegas has outliers on both sides of this range. At legendary dive bar, Double Down Saloon, you can get their famed bacon martini for only $7; and during happy hour, well drinks are just $3. Part of what makes Vegas magical, though, is its extremes — from the most gloriously gritty dives to the most extravagant luxury. At some of the most expensive spots to drink in Vegas, you'll need to be a high roller. 

The Wynn's XS nightclub, for example, has the Ono (perhaps named for the sound you make when you see the check?), a tipple for two made with posh champagne, rare cognac, custom glassware, and an 18-karat gold necklace garnish that rings in at $10,000. There's also a $100 espresso martini at Mandalay Bay's Skyfall Lounge, and a caviar martini for $75 from the Petrossian Bar at the Bellagio. 

There are still luxe, quintessentially Vegas spots where you can imbibe deliciously without feeling like you were cleaned you out. At The Chandelier inside the Cosmopolitan, cocktails are price more reasonably around the $20 range, and the hip Close Company bar at The Venetian serves $19 cocktails. To get a real feel for the city and why it's a cocktail destination, venture beyond the strip and avoid breaking the bank at some of the hidden Vegas gems locals love.