Vices2 will admit it, bigger usually is better. And Smokin’ Hot Aces, located between The Palazzo and The Venetian, only proves our point. The poker-themed bar has a casual rocker vibe, complete with pool and beer pong tables, and a minimal industrial color palette of gunmetal grey and dark reds adorning the room. Certain nights, the lounge hosts live band karaoke as well as a weekly ’80s night. Though the bar itself isn’t one of the biggest spaces on the Strip, its drink list certainly has flavors big enough to satisfy the needs of Vices2.

The cocktail list for this rock ‘n roll bar has something for every taste. Designed and perfected over a three-month period, each drink has four ingredients or less. When developing this menu, it was important that the drinks were tasty, but didn’t require a lot of muddling, which adds to the easy-going nature of the lounge. The Dragonberry Dream, for example, uses fresh blackberries with Bacardi Dragonberry rum, but the act of shaking the cocktail breaks down the berries the same way muddling would, but in less time.

The Smokin’ Hot Ace is the brainchild of General Manager Marty Helfand, a veteran of Vegas nightlife. When coming up with the bar’s signature cocktail, Helfand’s demand began simply: “I wanted something red and smoking.” Eventually one of his purveyors presented him with the 48-ounce martini glass, and it all fell into place. Finlandia Grapefruit Fusion vodka is combined with Alize Red Passion, blood orange simple syrup and fresh lemon and lime juice and garnished with slices of either blood oranges or ruby red grapefruit, depending on availability. The smoke wafting from the glass comes from dry ice, which vaporizes as liquid is poured over it.

When the drink is crafted, the dry ice goes into the glass first because patrons obviously don’t want their lips touching it. The liquids are added, et voila, a red and smoking drink. Because of the sheer size of it, the cocktail list recommends sharing it with a friend (unless you truly feel like drowning your sorrows all by yourself into a giant red cocktail).

So Vices2 enlisted the help of a pulchritudinous friend who, like a trooper, hopped on the other straw in the glass. Maria, one of the bartenders, says that once people see the drink, it causes a domino effect of other guests wanting their own Smokin’ Hot Ace. As we sipped the fruity libation, the dry ice continued to bubble and smoke. The fruity nuances of the drink reminded us of punch served at our parents’ dinner parties (before it was spiked and we were sent to bed), but this version definitely packs the punch we never got back then. The alcohol is indiscernible, and the smooth, crisp flavor of the drink only has you sipping it faster.

Thanks to the dry ice, the drink remains cold all the way to the last drop. We weren’t faced with a room temperature puddle of watered-down booze towards the end, which is helpful when trying to finish a drink that sometimes feels like it’s going to finish you. And Vices2 has to say, that even with two professional drinkers working on the Smokin’ Hot Ace, it took us awhile to get to the bottom of that glass. But, as we reminded our drinking companion as the finish line was in sight: “Go big or go home!”