Stealth wealth may be a cultural trend, but the global upmarket clientele at Wynn Las Vegas want their luxury upfront and in the form of a magnum of 2010 Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque rosé ($2,300) or a 3-liter jeroboam of 2010 Dom Pérignon Brut ($7,500). The resort’s guests think big, and the bigger the bottle the better in a hotel where magnums of Champagne are a top seller day and night. Fulfilling the guests’ desire for unique, luxe choices in beverages is the domain of master mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini and wine director Brian Weitzman. The pair oversee the serving of highly creative, custom designed cocktails and wines from iconic producers around the globe. 

The usual Bourbon Mule or Negroni isn’t going to excite the Wynn Las Vegas guest. Mercer Boarini, who developed her creative approach while working as lead mixologist at the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas, takes cocktails to the next level at 30 venues across the Wynn and Encore at Wynn Las Vegas properties. “I have a Rolodex of flavors in my head. I’m always dreaming in flavors,” says Mercer Boarini, who joined Wynn Las Vegas in early 2021. 

Mercer Boarini showcases her ‘multi-sensory’ cocktails at the Wynn’s Cocktail Collection bars: Bar Parasol, Aft Cocktail Deck, and Overlook lounges, as well as at other venues throughout the property. Her custom designed drinks take inspiration from eras, cuisine, or locales. For the Tower Suite Bar she created the Wildwood ($24), a modern play on the classic Whiskey Sour. The drink is served in a ribbed wine glass and features Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Cîroc Honey Melon vodka, yuzu, lemongrass, and a honey melon cloud, topped with golden electric buzz powder, a concoction Mercer Boarini made herself.

At Casa Playa, a coastal Mexican restaurant, Mercer Boarini offers the Obsidian ($20 by the glass; $120 pitcher), inspired by the Tequila region’s naturally occurring volcanic black glass. Along with Casamigos Reposado Tequila, the cocktail has Ancho Reyes Verde liqueur, Casamigos-infused Fresno chiles, and fresh juiced cucumber, with a rim of black sea salt and a lime garnish.

Espresso Martinis and Spicy Margaritas “are ruling the market right now. Every cocktail menu that I create has a unique iteration on it,” says Mercer Boarini. “Tequila is enjoying its time in the spotlight. It has such a great versatility with its different ages that appeal to guests for sipping neat or mixing in cocktails. I see a lot of cocktails that are not traditionally Tequila-based substituting Tequila in as the main spirit, like an Espresso Martini.”

Mercer Boarini believes “you taste predominantly with your nose.” She has invented the “buzz button,” an ingredient you put on your tongue before sipping a cocktail. “It changes your taste buds and turns you into a super taster.” The Covid-19 pandemic prompted her to turn her concept into a commercial product, Electricdust. With hospitality shut down, she and her husband Jonathan Boarini, created a website and now sell blue and gold Electricdust and related items as part of their umbrella company, Wanderlust. She also invented an edible spray perfume, called Mediterranean Sea, that is used on top of cocktails, and she operates a cocktail consultancy.

Cocktail Logistics

To juggle 30 beverage menus, Mercer Boarini runs an organized ship. “It’s all prep work,” she says. “When it’s show time, we need to impress the customer at all venues.” Customers want a drink at efficient speed. To make this possible the Wynn has its own beverage kitchen where 60,000 gallons of base cocktails are made. This gives bartenders the opportunity to customize drinks at a comfortable rate for the customer. “The base cocktails give us consistency. Then we can focus on our level of artistry,” says Mercer Boarini. Training 100 bartenders is a big part of the job, she adds. Bartenders have manuals with pictures and recipes for the cocktails, another aspect of getting accurate drinks on time to the customer.

Mercer Boarini, who professes a love of science, “creates cocktails in her head” before she makes the drink. A top customer favorite at Aft Cocktail Deck and Bar Parasol is the Cannes Champagne Sour ($23), which has no actual Champagne in it. The drink’s base is Grey Goose Essences Strawberry and Lemongrass vodka, and the fizz comes from ‘Cham-feign’ Rosé foam with carbonated berries and egg whites. Other ingredients are Giffard French rhubarb liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and house-made strawberry rhubarb rosé syrup.

With all her success in Las Vegas, Mercer Boarini’s next venture, still in very early stages, is designing the beverage program for Wynn’s new concept in Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

Elevating The Wine Experience

Wynn wine director Brian Weitzman’s job is to bring a carriage trade sensibility to serving international guests who regularly travel in luxury. “We’re known for our wine program. One of the draws of the hotel is enjoying an exceptional, luxury level experience, so the guest expectation is that the wine will be as delicious,” says Weitzman. “We have a lot of repeat clientele which is unusual for this town, and customers will ask ahead of time for interesting selections.” 

A frequent customer at Delilah, the hotel’s supper club, ordered a magnum of 1982 Château Pétrus ($29,000). “They are coming back and will ask for another selection, and we will find it for them. It creates an intimacy that is hard to find,” he says.

At the heart of the Wynn experience is sparkling wine, notably Champagne. The hotel sells 300 glasses a day of the house Champagne, Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut ($26 by the glass; $102 a 750-ml.). Large format Dom Pérignon and Krug Champagne are top sellers at the dayclubs and nightclubs. The largest bottle Wynn offers is a 30-liter melchizedek of Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Brut Rosé for $200,000.

The hotel also sells 600 glasses of Prosecco a day. Other popular sellers are Caves d’Esclans Rock Angel ($27 by the glass; $106 a 750-ml.); Peyrassol Réserve des Templiers ($15; $58), Michele Chiarlo P Nivole Moscato d’Asti from Canelli ($19; $74), and Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio ($17 by the glass). 

Wynn’s monied leisure guests and those attending higher-end conferences in the 560,000-square-feet convention space tend to want the classics in wine choices. “Cab is king in this town; always has been and always will be,” says Weitzman. “Las Vegas is often behind the trends. The coastal cities are first. It took Las Vegas six years to get interested in rosé.”

Convention visitors booking large group dining “tend to go with the safer bet,” Weitzman notes. Napa Valley and Bordeaux wines comprise 90% of the large format purchases. Top sellers are the 2018 Nickel & Nickel DeCarle Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon ($65 by the glass; $258 a 750-ml.); 2021 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon ($26; $102), and the 2016 Sabotage Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($20; $78).

Cultivating Wine Relationships

Bringing in iconic, coveted wines depends on relationships. Weitzman joined Wynn Las Vegas six weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic began, after more than a decade at MGM Resorts International overseeing the beverage purchasing and programming for 18 of MGM’s domestic properties. His experience is put to use developing close relationships with producers to ensure Wynn’s wine program includes hard-to-find wines of very high-end quality. “What we’re looking for are the luxury brands, the top tier producers,” Weitzman says.

The wine guru started specialty wine pages on Wynn’s restaurant lists. Sinatra restaurant’s Gaja page, published this past October, featured the 2001 Pieve Santa Restituta Rennina Brunello di Montalcino, the 1996 Conteisa Barolo, and the 2013 Darmagi Cabernet Sauvignon. Meanwhile, the Harlan wine page at SW Steakhouse contributes to the restaurant being one of the top dollar wine volume venues at the hotel. Weitzman also established a Paul Hobbs wine page at the Lakeside restaurant. “We differentiate ourselves this way and the producers know they have a luxury partner that has the right clientele for their wines,” he says.

Relationship building is also the province of Wynn’s seven lead sommeliers, who regularly taste wines with distributors and suppliers, tailoring wine lists for Wynn’s five fine dining restaurants and its two social dining venues, Casa Playa and Delilah. A total of 21 sommeliers serve the guests. “The lead sommeliers have the creative license to bring in wines they feel are appropriate. They’re talking to the guests every night,” says Weitzman, who makes the final purchasing decisions. He is developing a fully immersive wine education training program open to food and beverage staff and villa butler staff. 

Staying Relevant

Wynn Las Vegas opened in 2005, and Encore debuted in 2008. Keeping the hotel feeling fresh for the next generation of luxury guests is part of Wynn’s strategy, mixing tradition and classics with current culture. “We’ve gained some market share in town,” says Weitzman, noting that the Delilah and Casa Playa social dining spots are bringing in the younger crowd. Delilah epitomizes the in-the-present appeal, a lively supper club that draws music names like 50 Cent, Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak), The Weeknd, and Usher, as well as NFL star Travis Kelce, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., and TV personality Jimmy Fallon. Delilah patrons have eclectic taste, ordering everything from a magnum of 2018 William Fevre Les Clos Grand Cru Chablis ($720) to a 1996 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru ($9,181). The atmosphere is what Las Vegas is seeking, Weitzman says. “The four-hour degustation menu is going out,” he explains. “People want to enjoy themselves and have a good time, spending less time in a restaurant so they can be out gaming and shopping.”

The hotel is also amping up its event brand presence, hosting two wine events in partnership with Domain HWH (Promontory and Harlan Estate) and Champagne Krug during “Race Week,” which runs from the second annual Concours at Wynn Las Vegas through the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. As of press time, plans are also in progress for events to coincide with Super Bowl LVIII in February, including having 9- and 12-liter bottles on hand. In addition, Weitzman is sourcing new international producers for events in 2024, focusing on iconic wineries. Beyond high-end wine events Weitzman is creating more fanciful events like the $200 a ticket event pairing of different cuts of fried chicken with various Champagne expressions.

Wynn’s carriage trade style gives luxury guests what they want, whether it’s a $5,000-per-person dinner featuring Château Lafite Rothschild wines or a fried chicken and Champagne exploration.