小众龙舌兰酒品牌的走红之道

    然而，能够成功的高端龙舌兰酒品牌数量也许相当有限。食品饮料行业研究机构Technomic的数据显示，龙舌兰酒的销量一直处于温和增长状态——2011和2012年分别为6.4%和3.8%，稍高于烈性酒行业3.2%的增幅，但低于伏特加（5.8%）和威士忌的增长速度，而伏特加和威士忌的增长则一直伴随着层出不穷的新口味。

    虽然我们不应认为很快就会出现花生果酱口味的龙舌兰酒，但许多新的高端龙舌兰酒品牌已经开始在口味上做文章，以便和其他龙舌兰酒区别开来。一旦局限于杯口沾盐的小酒杯和加了碎冰的玛格丽塔酒，龙舌兰酒酿造者的任务就是让饮酒者感到更纯粹、更浓郁、更强烈——简而言之就是更美妙。

    霍金的DeLeón龙舌兰酒让这种纯粹感倍增。这种酒不含化学成分（许多龙舌兰酒都加了焦糖或其他化学物质，以改变口味或甜度），完全以蓝色龙舌兰草为原料。霍金说用来酿酒的是墨西哥最纯净的水。其他酿酒厂都用抽水机抽水，霍金说他的酿酒厂则直接从当地的三口天然泉眼中引水。酿造时，霍金的龙舌兰酒只蒸馏两次。他相信消费者受到了其他品牌的误导，进而认为三次、四次或五次蒸馏意味着质量更高，但实际情况正好相反，霍金说：“那样做只会让龙舌兰酒失掉它的味道，更像是把酒精吞下肚。”蒸馏后，霍金会把龙舌兰酒放在老葡萄酒桶里陈化。由于每只酒桶的酿酒年份不一样，这样做会让每桶龙舌兰酒都有一种只属于自己的烟熏风味。

    由此酿造而成的DeLeón龙舌兰酒已经享誉酿酒界。2010和2011年，在瑞士举办的世界饮品大赛（World Beverage Competition）将DeLeón龙舌兰酒评为顶级烈性酒。奢侈品评论网站Robb Report把陈年DeLeón龙舌兰酒称为“哈利斯科高原出产的最非凡的陈年酒之一”。（霍金也承诺说，通宵畅饮他的龙舌兰酒后，人们在醒来时会“感觉良好”，而且还能照常去健身；此外，将其他较差的龙舌兰酒一饮而尽后，饮酒者的整张脸都会缩成一团，但DeLeón龙舌兰酒则不会这样。）

    但DeLeón龙舌兰酒的最与众不同之处可能是“克制”，人们通常不会把这一点和龙舌兰酒联系在一起。霍金不仅拒绝了《明星伙伴》的邀请，原因是担心这样做会让他的品牌成为一个噱头（道格•埃林曾对本刊表示：“把一个品牌交给创意人士，而且还要让（别人）为所欲为，这是很难迈出的一步”），他还把自己的经营策略定为从小规模开始，逐步缓慢增长。他希望借此让这个高端品牌长期延续下去。

    霍金对本刊记者说：“在酿酒行业，标准的发展计划是大批量生产，尽可能地销售并设法创出品牌。我们则真的严格保持小批量生产，把重点放在品牌上。如果没有货真价实的东西，抱着打造高端产品的信念进入酿酒行业是一件非常吓人的事。”

    But there may be a limit to how many premium tequila brands can succeed. Sales of tequila have increased moderately -- 6.4% in 2011, 3.8% in 2012 according to Technomic, a food and beverage research company -- at a rate that slightly outpaces the spirits industry (3.2%), but which trails behind those of vodka (5.8%) and whiskey, categories that have grown with the proliferation of flavor-infused products.

    While you shouldn't expect PB&J-infused tequila soon, many of the new premium tequila brands have played with the flavor in an effort to set their tequilas apart. Once confined to salt-rimmed shot glasses and slushy margaritas, tequila-makers are on a mission to make the drinking experience purer, richer, stronger -- in short, fancier.

    With DeLeón, Hocking is doubling down on purity. The tequila contains no chemicals (many add caramel or other chemicals for flavor and sweetness) and is made from 100% blue weber agave. It is distilled with what Hocking claims is the purest water in Mexico. While other distilleries pump in their water, Hocking says his tequila draws its supply directly from three natural spring wells located on the DeLeón land. He distills the tequila only twice -- brands have fooled consumers, he believes, into thinking that three, four, or five times distilled means higher quality, but in fact it's the opposite: "That's just stripping it down and you're moving toward rubbing alcohol," he says. DeLeón then ages its tequila in old wine barrels, a method that gives the spirit a smoky flavor unique to the particular barrel's vintage.

    The resulting product has earned DeLeón high marks from the spirit industry. In 2010 and 2011 it was recognized as a top spirit at the World Beverage Competition in Switzerland, while the Robb Report, a luxury review site, called DeLeón's añejo (aged) variety "one of the most extraordinary añejos to come out of the Jalisco highlands." (Hocking also promises you'll wake up "feeling good" and gym-ready after a night of partying with his tequila; and do none of the puckered-up grimacing that usually follows a shot of other, lesser tequilas.)

    But where DeLeón has perhaps most distinguished itself is a property you don't often associate with tequila: restraint. Hocking didn't just turn down Entourage, which he feared would turn his brand into a gimmick (And Doug Ellin tells Fortune, "It's a hard leap for a brand to hand over to creative and let [someone else] do whatever they want with it"), he has also charted his business strategy to start small and grow slowly, a combination that he hopes will keep his premium brand around in the long term.

    "The textbook plan in alcohol is to put out a ton of cases and see how much you can sell and if you can make a mark," Hocking tells Fortune. "But we kept it really tight, small production, focused on the brand. Entering this business with something that's supposed to be high-end is a very scary proposition if you don't have the goods to back it up."