Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/867995
hen Bay Area biochemist David Perkins went to a wedding in Kentucky, he had an epiphany while visiting the famed Maker's Mark Distillery that would radically change his life. He thought, Why couldn't you Napa-ize Kentucky and do for bourbon what Napa accomplished with wine? With Park City, Utah on his radar and a plan to move to the mountain town with his family, Perkins started pondering his next venture. While researching the idea of producing his own whiskey, he struck it rich when he learned some unusual tales from the silver mining town's history. Not only had the local mountain men rendezvoused in summer 1826 in nearby Cache Valley for a pelt-trading whiskey shindig, but the Mormon pioneers began distilling when they first settled, producing Valley Tan, a whiskey that Mark Twain described as "the exclusive Mormon refresher." "Park City was made for whiskey and was the perfect spot for High West, as it gave prov- enance to our product," Perkins explains. Armed with an authentic story and a passion for the Old West, Perkins and his wife Jane launched Utah's first legal distillery since 1870 and dubbed it High West, inspired by Clint Eastwood's western High Plains Drifter. Merging his biochemistry smarts with the design savvy and hospitality genius of his wife, in 2009 they fired up a 250-gallon still and swung open the doors to the world's only ski-in whiskey saloon, appropriately set at the bottom of Quit 'N Time ski run, next to the Town Lift in Old Town Park City. Few ventures ever became hits without taking on a bit of risk, and High West, true to its pioneering heritage, is a prime exam- ple. While it crafts its own distillates like its Silver Oat Whiskey and Valley Tan, early on Perkins began sourcing whiskeys and cre- ating new styles with specific flavor profiles through blending, while he waited for his own products to age. And while this practice occurs routinely in Scotland, sourcing and blend- ing was controversial in the United States, and therefore a bit hush-hush. Choosing transparency—and with the help of master distiller Brendan Coyle—Perkins forged his own path, becoming a whiskey pioneer in the process. Take, for example, Campfire, a beautiful smoky trio of peated Scotch whiskey, bourbon, and rye—a blend with notes of butterscotch, chai spices, and tobacco. There's also Double Rye, a fortuitous melding of a brash and spicy younger rye with a much older rye into a stand-alone sipper. Fittingly, High West's limited release Bourye—an older rye and mature bourbon blend—sports the symbolic jackalope on its label, another famous mashup of the Old West. Reflecting the unbridled spirit of the American West, High West's bold blends garnered celebrity as "Whiskey Pioneer of the Year" in 2011 and "Distiller of the Year" in 2016 from Whisky Advocate magazine. Pressed to name a favorite, Perkins says, "If you held a gun to my head, I'd say A Midwinter Night's Dram, our cult whiskey. We put rye into French oak and port barrels that lend a little spice and plum pudding flavor, so the blend tastes like Christmas." At Wynn Las Vegas, High West bottles like Campfire, Rendezvous Rye, Bourye, and A Midwinter Night's Dram line the shelves of SW 31 W 自舊金山灣區的生物化學家David Perkins某次 到肯塔基州出席婚宴時，順道拜訪了著名的釀 酒廠Maker's Mark。這次拜訪經歷讓他頓悟了 一個問題，從此徹底地顛覆了人生前行的路向。 他開始思考：為什麼肯塔基州不能像著名的納 帕郡製造出好葡萄酒一樣，釀出上佳的波本酒？ 於是 P e r k i n s作出全家遷往山區的決定，並選定了猶他州的 P a r k C it y作為目的地，開始他的創業冒險。在考慮生產自己的威士忌的可行 性的時候, Perkins從Park City這個在西部大開發時期曾是銀礦開採重 鎮的城市歷史裡，找到了豐富的靈感。在1826年的夏天，當地的山民就 曾經聚集在附近的Cache山谷交易皮草，暢飲威士忌，而當時剛剛定居 這裡的摩門教徒們也開始釀酒，釀出了著名的Valley Tan威士忌，被大 文豪馬克·吐溫讚美為「摩門教徒專享的提神飲料」。 Perkins這樣解釋選址Park City建立釀酒 廠的原因：「作為High West所有產品的原產 地, Park City這個地方簡直是為釀造威士忌 而設的完美之選。」 滿懷對往昔西部大開發歷史傳奇的熱 愛, Perk i ns和妻子Ja ne在1870年合力建立了 猶他州第一家合法的釀酒廠，命名為 H i g h We s t（西部高地），靈感源自奇連伊士活的西 部片《荒野浪子》。2 0 0 9年，憑著Perk i n s作為 生物化學家的知識智慧加上妻子Ja ne精明又 熱情好客的天賦，他們終於在 P a r k C it y舊城 區Quit 'N T i me滑雪場的山腳下，開了世界 上唯一的一家滑雪威士忌酒館，至於開張前 不小心燒掉一個 2 5 0加侖的蒸餾器這樣的小 挫折，也就顯得無足輕重了。 作為開拓者，敢於冒風險才能取得成功， 對於忠於開拓先鋒精神的High West來說，尤 為如此。Perkins注重打造自己的威士忌品牌， 比如Silver Oat Whiskey 、Valley Tan等等。在 等待自己的品牌產品成熟的時候，他還開始向 其他酒商和品牌採購威士忌，混合各種不同的 威士忌來打造風味獨特的新品種。採購、混合 不同品牌威士忌的做法在蘇格蘭極為常見，在 美國卻充滿了爭議，甚至引起了負面的評價。 但Perk ins仍然堅持坦誠地公開製作方法和過 程，在主釀酒師Brenda n Coyle的幫助下繼續 堅持自己的釀製方法，最終成為業界公認的先鋒人物。 舉例來說,Campf ire,一款混合了單一麥芽蘇格蘭威士忌、波本酒和 黑麥威士忌的smoky trio混合酒，味道充滿奶油糖、荳蔻香料和煙草的複 合香氣。Double Rye則大膽地將味道濃烈辛辣、年份較短的黑麥威士忌與 陳年黑麥威士忌調和在一起。還有High West限量發售的Bourye，混合了 陳年黑麥威士忌與波本酒，就像酒標上的北美鹿角兔一樣混搭出西部舊 日風情。High West這種大膽而出色的混搭風格，深得美國西部無畏進拓 精神的精髓，也為它帶來Whisky Advocate 雜誌頒發的2011年「年度威士 忌先驅」和2016年「年度釀酒商」殊榮。 如果一定要Perk ins在產品裡選出一個最愛，他說：「拿槍指著頭來 逼我選擇的話，我會說我們的cult威士忌A Midwinter Night's Dram是 最喜歡的一款。我們把黑麥放進法國橡木和波特桶裡，使威士忌裡產生 一點香料和葡萄乾布丁的味道，所以這種混合威士忌嘗起來就像聖誕 節來臨一樣美好。」 在永利拉斯維加斯，像Campf ire、Rendezvous Rye、 Bour ye和 A M idw i nter Night's Dra m這些H igh West的出品在SW Stea k house和 攝影 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF HIGH WEST DISTILLERY The mythical jacka- lope—a jackrabbit with antelope horns—adorns High West's labels. High West的酒標上畫著神 話傳說中的鹿角兔，一種長 著羚羊角的北美野兔。 來