Work hard, play hard… It sounds cliché, but after a busy work week, a little bit of fun and relaxation is definitely more than welcome. Don’t know where to go or what to do? No problem! We have the perfect suggestion: what about a trip to our beautiful capital B?

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June 21 has passed and summer if officially here and that means only one thing: the holiday madness breaks loose! While hordes of tourists cross the borders to places where they leave their towels and reserve a chair at the pool, you get a far better deal. How so? You can choose a tropical destination that is situated around the corner and that is still hidden from mass tourism. Sounds like it’s too good to be true? Discover it for yourself and have a cocktail at the VIAGE cocktail bar: a hidden gem in our casino.

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Daiquiri, Negroni, Manhattan… Do you think spontaneously of swaying palm trees and white sandy beaches, of warm summer evenings and parties with friends? Then you’ve definitely caught the cocktail bug, just like us. Cocktail lovers around the world unite!

Iconic cocktails

Cocktails and the film world: still a golden combination. Think of James Bond, who is inextricably linked to the Martini. The Big Lebowski was crazy about White Russians. And Marilyn Monroe shook her Manhattan in a hot-water bottle in the classic film Some Like it Hot. Need more examples? Sex and the City immortalised the Cosmopolitan. And Don Draper poured countless Old Fashioneds in Mad Men.

Shaken or stirred

And talking of 007. How do you prefer your cocktail: shaken or stirred? There are four basic techniques for making cocktails:

• build: you pour the ingredients straight into the glass, to create layers.
• stir: you stir the ingredients gently, so they remain clear.
• shake: you shake and crush the drink for a cloudy result.
• blend: you mix the drink and ice in a blender or mixer.

Become a doctor of mixology

Mixology is the art of making cocktails. Do you like to set to work yourself with a bar spoon, spirit measure and shaker? Then you should definitely get yourself a copy of the Bar-Tenders Guide from 1862, by Jerry Thomas, the forefather of all barmen. In the 19th century, he travelled around America with a spectacular cocktail show. His signature drink was the Blue Blazer, a drink in which he set the whiskey on fire and poured it back and forth between two cups. Don’t try this at home.

Most expensive cocktail in the world

Do you think €10 is a bit much for a Margarita? Imagine paying €1,100 for the same drink at the London Bar in New York. At the London restaurant Gigi’s, you will have to dig even deeper in your pocket to cough up €11,500 for a cocktail with gold leaf. But the world’s most expensive cocktail can be sampled on the 45th floor of the Ritz Carlton building in Tokyo. Here you will pay €14,000 for a cocktail with vodka and… a diamond. Drink carefully is the message!

Cocktails at Viage

You don’t have to be a world-famous star to order a cocktail at our Cinna-Bar. Because, on Friday and Saturday evenings, we offer you three €7-cocktails to celebrate the weekend. Taste our Belgian Caipiroska with Kriek, Friday the 13th with Schweppes Agrum and Black Jack with Four Roses Bourbon. Is your mouth already watering? Cinna-Bar is a paradise on earth for cocktail lovers. Arrange to meet some friends and discover our divine drinks soon.

There’s nothing like kick-starting your summer basking in the sun with a cocktail in one hand and a page-turner (or your partner’s hand) in the other. But if you’re a sucker for style and originality, you are perhaps fed up with your run-of-the-mill margaritas and Bloody Marys. Luckily, there’s no shortage of alternatives. Read on to discover some less conventional cocktails that won’t fail to surprise your guests!

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