John Bristowe took this pic at the lobby of the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
If you ever pass through that hotel, do make a point of stopping by Chandelier, one of bars at the Cosmopolitan. Ask your server for the Verbena Lemon Bud, which doesn’t appear on the drinks list. You’ll get a translucent white liquid in a cocktail tumbler, and floating atop the liquid will be small flower bud with tiny yellow petals. Take the flower, pop it in your mouth, chew it and lets the bits spread all over your tongue. You’ll feel a tingling sensation, after which you’ll black out, wake up in a tub full of ice with a note telling you that they’ve taken one of your kidneys. It now takes me twice as long to pee!
No, not really. What you will feel is a tingly sensation all over your tongue; it’s like eating a packet of microscopic Pop Rocks. Then drink the drink: the flavour is something like lemonade and tequila, and coupled with the sensation from the flower, it’ll seem as if you’re drinking delicious lemon electric current.