????然而，能夠成功的高端龍舌蘭酒品牌數量也許相當有限。食品飲料行業研究機構Technomic的數據顯示，龍舌蘭酒的銷量一直處于溫和增長狀態——2011和2012年分別為6.4%和3.8%，稍高于烈性酒行業3.2%的增幅，但低于伏特加（5.8%）和威士忌的增長速度，而伏特加和威士忌的增長則一直伴隨著層出不窮的新口味。

????雖然我們不應認為很快就會出現花生果醬口味的龍舌蘭酒，但許多新的高端龍舌蘭酒品牌已經開始在口味上做文章，以便和其他龍舌蘭酒區別開來。一旦局限于杯口沾鹽的小酒杯和加了碎冰的瑪格麗塔酒，龍舌蘭酒釀造者的任務就是讓飲酒者感到更純粹、更濃郁、更強烈——簡而言之就是更美妙。

????霍金的DeLeón龍舌蘭酒讓這種純粹感倍增。這種酒不含化學成分（許多龍舌蘭酒都加了焦糖或其他化學物質，以改變口味或甜度），完全以藍色龍舌蘭草為原料。霍金說用來釀酒的是墨西哥最純凈的水。其他釀酒廠都用抽水機抽水，霍金說他的釀酒廠則直接從當地的三口天然泉眼中引水。釀造時，霍金的龍舌蘭酒只蒸餾兩次。他相信消費者受到了其他品牌的誤導，進而認為三次、四次或五次蒸餾意味著質量更高，但實際情況正好相反，霍金說：“那樣做只會讓龍舌蘭酒失掉它的味道，更像是把酒精吞下肚。”蒸餾后，霍金會把龍舌蘭酒放在老葡萄酒桶里陳化。由于每只酒桶的釀酒年份不一樣，這樣做會讓每桶龍舌蘭酒都有一種只屬于自己的煙熏風味。

????由此釀造而成的DeLeón龍舌蘭酒已經享譽釀酒界。2010和2011年，在瑞士舉辦的世界飲品大賽（World Beverage Competition）將DeLeón龍舌蘭酒評為頂級烈性酒。奢侈品評論網站Robb Report把陳年DeLeón龍舌蘭酒稱為“哈利斯科高原出產的最非凡的陳年酒之一”。（霍金也承諾說，通宵暢飲他的龍舌蘭酒后，人們在醒來時會“感覺良好”，而且還能照常去健身；此外，將其他較差的龍舌蘭酒一飲而盡后，飲酒者的整張臉都會縮成一團，但DeLeón龍舌蘭酒則不會這樣。）

????但DeLeón龍舌蘭酒的最與眾不同之處可能是“克制”，人們通常不會把這一點和龍舌蘭酒聯系在一起。霍金不僅拒絕了《明星伙伴》的邀請，原因是擔心這樣做會讓他的品牌成為一個噱頭（道格?埃林曾對本刊表示：“把一個品牌交給創意人士，而且還要讓（別人）為所欲為，這是很難邁出的一步”），他還把自己的經營策略定為從小規模開始，逐步緩慢增長。他希望借此讓這個高端品牌長期延續下去。

????霍金對本刊記者說：“在釀酒行業，標準的發展計劃是大批量生產，盡可能地銷售并設法創出品牌。我們則真的嚴格保持小批量生產，把重點放在品牌上。如果沒有貨真價實的東西，抱著打造高端產品的信念進入釀酒行業是一件非常嚇人的事。”

????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 a?ejo (aged) variety "one of the most extraordinary a?ejos 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."