Saturday evening myself, along with some of the other Access Winnipeg staff, got to check out a little preview of the new club Mystique, whose grand opening is October 2 & 3rd. We all enjoyed ourselves and while I’m happy to give a recap of the night and some of the finer points of the club you can look forward to when it opens, first I need to share a little anecdote with you. When I was travelling overseas I found it impossible buy Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum. Spiced rum and coke is the only mixed drink I actually enjoy sipping on anymore, so in order to get by I had to try out a new spiced rum that I found called Sailor Jerry. Jerry sounded like a similar gentleman to Captain Morgan, I thought of them as maybe even ship mates, so I gave it a shot and have never looked back. Its 92 proof of spiced rum deliciousness, noticeable in your local LC for the Sailor Jerry tattoo pin-up girl on the bottle.

Now, all I order in bars or lounges is rum and coke. I always have to ask for spiced rum specifically, and have NEVER, EVER been asked in return, “What kind of spiced rum would you like?”. Until Saturday night. Mystique has Sailor Jerry behind the bar, so needless to say I got off on the right foot with this club. Just so you don’t think I’m feigning my enthusiasm here, after the jump is a picture of my SJ bottle collection (the inside labels feature different pin up girls and I want to collect them like Pokemon cards). But I digress.

So despite one of the aspects of Mystique that I look forward to being the lack of pretentious dress codes, last night was the exception to the rule. Since it was their evening to give VIPs and press a preview, they had a more formal code in effect which I enjoyed as a once in a while kind of thing. Not because I personally enjoy dressing up but it did mean that all the girls, Access Winnipeg editor Stacey included :P, were in their little black dresses and looking great. The in-house dancers stuck out a bit more in their tight black and gold outfits, though I suppose when you’re doing routines on a giant catwalk or dancing on poles mounted at the ends of the bar you’re bound to attract attention to yourself regardless.

I personally wasn’t keen to embarrass everyone else by stepping out onto the dance floor so I spent most of the night sipping on my Sailor Jerry and coke while chatting it up with any friends I ran into. The upper balcony overlooking the dance floor was the best place for this. Located above the music, it made it quite a bit easier to hold a conversation without having to shout. I believe this is the area that will be used for VIP bookings once the club opens, picture low couches and a bar within ten feet. Next weekend I believe Mystique will be playing host to the Hellas Soccer Club fundraiser party to help the team pay for their way to nationals, and the weekend after that will be the main event, grand opening. Hope to see you all there.

VIP CONTEST: We will be giving away a huge VIP Package to Mystique Nightclub very soon. Be sure to check back for details!