Xania Woodman

Nightlife Editor

Graduating in 2000 from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration with a concentration in Food & Beverage, Xania Woodman, 31, waited out the dot-com boom (and consequent bust...) by cooking and waiting tables at an Ithaca, NY martini bar and leading wine tastings in the Cayuga Lake wine country. In June of 2001 she put her degree into action by moving to Vegas, arriving just in time for the explosion of the Vegas nightlife industry.

After assistant managing at Club Rio inside the Rio Hotel & Casino and later managing Shadow Bar inside Caesars Palace, Xania left operations and found love in the arms of publishing. The affair began with her nightlife website TheCircuitLV.com and progressed with her column Nights On The Circuit, featured in the Las Vegas Weekly alternative newspaper. Xania's writing has since been declared "edgy and modern" and "wildly entertaining" by the Nevada Press Association. And so it is.

Today, Xania, one of 2007's "Top 30 Under 30" is the Las Vegas Weekly's nightlife editor, a consultant, and a freelance writer with an overly-ambitious to-do list; she has written for the LA Times, OK!, Us Weekly, Remix and on AOL's VegasPopular.com, and her work has also appeared in Greenspun Media Group publications Las Vegas Life and on Vegas.com. Xania is currently the Vegas Editor for UrbanDaddy.com and recently completed her contribution to the nightlife section of the The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas 2009, her first book appearance. She has guest-judged countless cocktail competitions including the Food Network's "Throwdown With Bobby Flay" and the United States Bartenders Guild's regional and national finals, painted the town red with MTV Australia's show "Full Tank" and appears regularly on LasVegasWeekly.com to present "Xania's Clubinar", a tongue-in-cheek look at the Vegas nightlife landscape.

When not covering a red carpet affair or chasing down exclusives in a cocktail dress, Xania volunteers with the Las Vegas Jewish Federation, Homeless Helpers, New Vista Community, and the Cornell Hotel Society.

Xania's favorite cocktail is Ketel One, rocks, dirty, three olives. Please.

Contact Xania via e-mail

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Story Archive

The Jaded Kiss: By Emilio Tiburcio, Fusion Mixology Bar, Palazzo, $12; Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009; Itty bitty Fusion Mixology Bar has gotten itself some fresh new beats and mixology talent as well as some hot Latin cocktails.
B.B. King’s has Vegas singing the blues—and loving it: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009; B.B. King’s amply fills this gaping hole in the nightlife scene as the place for the “grown and sexy” as part restaurant, part concert venue and part bar.
Night Bite: It’s sake! It’s karaoke! It’s … Sake-Oke!: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009; Sake-fueled karaoke signals of the return of Sugarcane Lounge at SushiSamba restaurant tonight.
The French Kiss: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009; The French Kiss is a more gentile if not gentle iteration of Dubonnet’s eponymous cocktail of equal parts gin and Dubonnet, and finished with a splash of orange bitters.
Seven and a half hours on the town with foodchannel.com's Andy Ford: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009; Food Channel “cultural correspondent” Andy Ford goes clockless and Stripless in Sin City for 24 hours with Xania Woodman as his nightlife guide. God help him.
Beergarita: Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009; It was quite by happenstance that I came upon the beergarita, or perhaps it found me.
One club, two worlds—Forbes Bar lives: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009; At a sprawling 11,000 square feet, Forbes is easily the largest and most opulent karaoke bar in Las Vegas.
C’est la Vie: By Patricia Richards, property mixologist, Wynn/Encore; Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009; Super-premium Oxley small batch gin has the chops to back up her bottle’s outer beauty.
The Closet leads the pack on gay parties: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009; Celebrating its one-year anniversary, The Closet Sundays caters to the fashionable, attractive, poised and diverse, with every creed, color and sexual orientation represented—seriously, it’s like a casting call for Rent.
Pizza in a glass! The Weekly's pizza cocktail contest: That’s right. We held a contest for pizza cocktails. It was awesome.; Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009; Vegas happens to be home to some very creative individuals behind its bars, so for the pizza issue, we quickly assembled a crack team of mixologists to tackle the novelty notion of a pizza cocktail.
Fever Stimulation Beverage: $14 for four 14-oz. bottles, $39.99 for 12 at feverusa.com or GNC stores; Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009; With just 130 calories per serving, Fever Stimulation Beverage is said to be “making healthy sexy.”
Bottle-flippers saving our economy? Crazier things have happened: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009; I’m quite over flair. And yet, like a tide or a boomerang, it keeps coming back. So perhaps it is I who should be sitting up and taking notice? All right, flair, I’m listening.
Nite Bite: "On The Rocks" starts rolling: Bartending reality TV competition starts shooting in Las Vegas; Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009; Shooting for the second season of bartender battle "On The Rocks" commenced on Monday, October 19 in Las Vegas. This year representing Las Vegas is Wynn bartender/mixologist Darby Kelly.
Moquin it work: The girls of summer—the migration continues: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009; After three years at Bare Pool Lounge, marketing director Kalika Moquin is hanging up her bikini and heading for dry land to become The Bank nightclub’s marketing director.
Purista Cocktail Mixes: $9.99 at puristacocktails.com; Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009; “Muddling is a bartending nightmare,” says Purista creator Michael Hensel. “It’s fine if the place is empty, but when your bar is eight customers deep, you can’t make sophisticated cocktails perfectly balanced without putting the customer on hold.”
The Club Vibe—friend or faux pas?: Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009; It's just your typical Wednesday night at Body English, really... Until Xania whips out a vibrator.
It’s good to be the king (or queen): Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009; It was a long night last Wednesday, and the end to an even longer grassroots election campaign for the Las Vegas Prom’s 2009 prom-court nominees. Wet Republic’s pool deck was decked out with balloons, a photo backdrop and a sky full of stars for prom-goers to party under.
Vanity is poised to become one of Vegas’ favorite sins: The Hard Rock's soon-to-open club will offer a dramatic counterpoint to Body English; Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009; The Hard Rock's new 15,000-square-foot nightclub, Vanity, is slated to open New Year's Eve and likely to make sinning all the more stylish.
Nite Bite: Palazzo's new Latin-inspired cocktails stay hot all winter: Just because the pools are closing doesn't mean you can't sip like its summer all winter long; Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009; Mojitos and Caipirinhas and Pisco Sours, oh my! Margaritas in every flavor and fashion (though we pray not by the yard)!
Tending the 'tenders: Ketel One treats bartenders to a spa day: Industry members were thanked with reflexology, manicures and snacks; Friday, Oct. 9, 2009; Wondering why your bartender is sporting an especially close shave this evening? Listen up, ye other liquor companies: This is how you treat your ‘tenders!
Strip House Napa Valley Reserve 2007: Strip House, Planet Hollywood, $18 glass, $70 bottle; Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009; This custom cabernet sauvignon blend, created by food and wine aficionados is full of ripe fruit, lush tannins and good intensity.
It doesn’t suck: Lollypop’s Adult Nightlife: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009; Third time hopes to be a charm at another Vegas titty bar with not a trace of Eau de Victoria's Secret and which bills itself as "home of the free lapdance."
Heidi Haldeman—On the dress-up lowdown: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009; “Cosplay is the act of dressing up as your favorite anime character," says Haldeman, who bartends in the Dragon Noodle Co.’s recently renovated Cosplay Lounge as a cosplay schoolgirl.
Halloween 2: Xania’s return: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009; Xania Woodman faces two of Fright Dome's scariest haunted houses... and cries.
Karma Sutra: As served at the Andre Agassi Foundation’s Grand Slam for Kids celebrity gifting lounge; Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009; The super-smooth double- and triple-distilled tequila performed well in the fruity Karma Sutra cocktail served up in the Karma lounge, as well as in the lively Karma and Tonic.
Vegas bartending show served straight up: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009; If Vegas was last year’s dark horse in the running to win the first season of On the Rocks, then Season 2 is shaping up to be Vegas’ time to shine as a gracious two-time host city.
Floor lords: May the best alterna-DJ win!: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009; This Friday, eight of Las Vegas' best dark/alternative DJs throw down in four epic battles.
They work hard for the money: The Host Awards honor our clubs’ finest: Monday, Sept. 28, 2009; What is a VIP host if not your best friend when you have a client in town? When there is Patron to kill? When there’s a bachelorette party en route? The winners of the first annual VIP Host Awards are...
The winners are in (the hot tub)!: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009; Pooches, blow up dolls and scuba gear: The Grotto's Hot Tub Challenge saw it all. See the winners here.
The ones who got away: They got out while the getting was good!: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009; The nightlife scene has had to let a number of Las Vegans spread their wings and fly (or drive or run) away over the last few years. Since then, they’ve traveled far and wide to discover their paths. Recently, we asked them to send back word of their journeys.
Meet the Las Vegas lifers: It’s their kinda town!: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009; This is it! This is the town. Contrary to what Galileo preached, for these Las Vegans, Sin City is the center of the universe—everything else simply revolves around it in jealous awe.
The brothers in arms: Where are they now?: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009; In the 2006 nightlife issue, the Weekly interviewed four sets of brothers (one of them twins!) who all worked in the Vegas nightlife industry. Three years later, we check back in.
Hazy details: Light Group sheds (some ...) light on its new stars; Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009; It’s no surprise that Light Group is keeping mum on the goings-on at CityCenter’s Aria Resort.
The Southeast Cocktail: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009; Revelations in celebration of Bourbon Heritage Month!
Beating bottle service to the punch: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009; Downtown Cocktail Room's new menu takes a back-to-basics approach.
The return of Social Mixology: The traveling speakeasy is landing in back in Las Vegas; Monday, Sept. 21, 2009; The "traveling speakeasy" is heading back to Vegas to celebrate Bourbon Heritage Month with fresh cocktails and twisted classics. And only the Weekly is spilling the where and when.
JR Hahn— Man of mistry: Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; The role of Tao Beach’s water boy is to entertain, to get the party started and to dole out a refreshing mist to the pool’s roasting hens.
Run for the Roses: Bellagio Resort bars, $12-$14; Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; Darren West’s Run for the Roses is the ideal expression of Bellagio’s very good taste in bourbon.
We’ve got spirit: And we’re taking it to the streets for Cachaça independence; Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009; We the People, in order to form a perfect bar, seek to establish Cachaça as “Cachaça, Brazil’s Noble Spirit.”
Genius in a bottle: Over $30,000 in prizes up for grabs during mixology competitions; Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009; Three bartending contests will serve up over $30,000 in prizes over the coming months for those who can mix, shake and pour.
Death becomes us?: Vegas nightlife—all too often in mourning; Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009; Suicide or accidental overdose, DJ AM robbed himself of a future and us of the chance to see just how bright his star could someday shine. It’s the very definition of a tragedy.
New Fashioned: Twin Creeks, The Silverton, $10; Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009; Bourbon Heritage Month continues with the Silverton’s take on the classic Old Fashioned, traditionally made with an orange slice, lemon twist and maraschino cherries.
A hasty retreat: It’s not “labor” if you’re in a cabana, right?; Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009; It’s not “labor” if you’re in a cabana, right?
The county takes a pole position, plus an On the Rocks casting call: Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009; Poles are for strippers, or so it seems now that Department of Business License is working to ban the use of stripper poles by nightclub guests.
Dissed and dismissed!: Making a case for Vegas as a drinking destination to fly for; Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009; It’s not so much that GQ magazine snubbed Sin City in this month’s list of "The 10 Best Drinking Cities in America." It’s that ... okay, yes, it’s that they snubbed us.
Bourbon!: The Whisky Attic, $6-$100; Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009; September being National Bourbon Month, it's time to pick up a proper glass to toast America's native spirit. First stop: Adam Carmer’s Whisky Attic.
A legend in his own time: Las Vegas mourns DJ AM; Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009; Las Vegas is positively heartbroken over the loss of DJ AM, for though he was world-renowned, Adam Goldstein had very quickly became a Las Vegan through his years of residencies at Pure and Rain.
The Grotto Hot Tub Challenge: Drinking Rock 'n Roll Wine's The Grotto as directed may involve getting wet; Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009; Rock 'n Roll Wine suggests that drinkers enjoy The Grotto wine "wearing silk jammies or a velvet jumpsuit … Jacuzzi suggested but not required.” Fans have readily obliged.
Cocktails for the cure: Amateur and pro mixologists shake it up to fight breast cancer; Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009; Local beverage industry insiders will be weighing in on the second annual Ultimate Cocktail for the Cure mixology competition.
Kiwi Watermelon Lemonade: Hash House A Go Go, $7; Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009; Though it will remain summery here for some time, we want to bid adieu to that season with a classic porch-sipper, an ode to those icons of summer picnics and barbecues, lemonade and watermelon.

Xania's Hot Spots - This Week's Special Events

Adelita's Way at Cherry (Saturday, Nov. 21)
Amir Sadollah hosts at Prive (Saturday, Nov. 21)
Natasha Wicks hosts at Hawaiian Tropic Zone (Saturday, Nov. 21)
Natasha Wicks hosts at Hawaiian Tropic Zone (Saturday, Nov. 21)
Tito Ortiz hosts at Lavo (Saturday, Nov. 21)
Markus Schulz at Rain for Perfecto (Saturday, Nov. 21)
Amir Sadollah hosts at Prive (Saturday, Nov. 21)

Download and print Xania's Club Grid

NOVEMBER 19 - NOVEMBER 25

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All Nightlife