THE LOCALS
ASK A BARTENDER
Stirring up Destiny
WYNN’S MARIENA BOARINI COMBINES INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES WITH BREATHTAKING GARNISHES FOR A SENSORY EXPERIENCE
By Megan Rider Mariena Boarini, the resort mixologist at Wynn Las Vegas, considers her career a “serendipitous kismet,” or string of happy accidents. A secondgeneration Las Vegan, Boarini has always loved studying chemistry and alchemy. Amidst her studies, she was offered a job that allowed her to travel to the town of Tequila and experience distilleries firsthand. She took her fervor back to the States and started bartending, consulting, and competing. “I’ve been fortunate enough to create programs around the Las Vegas strip, like The Cosmopolitan, and steward the city into an era of experiential craft cocktails here at The Wynn.” Boarini is the brains behind cocktails for 31 different menus at The Wynn across several venues, such as Delilah, Casa Playa, Aft Cocktail Deck, Bar Parasol, and Wing Lei. Using innovative techniques and breathtaking garnishes, she creates unique cocktails that appeal to senses besides just our tastebuds, which is evidenced by the drinks program at Wing Lei. It tells the story of Chinese cuisine and pays respect to the culture, and the menu has a repertoire of delicate flavors, such as lychee, persimmon, plum, and jasmine peal tea. Boarini also sprinkles in unique ingredients such as black sesame, peanut, Sichuan peppercorns, and syrups that can layer flavors and create a truly inimitable experience. While she creates a wide array of show-stopping cocktails, she has a few that she is particularly proud of, including The Year of the Tiger cocktail inspired by the Chinese Lunar New Year. The drink is made with gin, spiced pear, pomegranate, lemongrass with a coconut ginger White Cloud, a foam of coconut, ginger, lemongrass, and egg white in homage to the White Cloud Monastery in Bejing, and an edible Lucky Tiger topper. Another is the experiential Earthly Branch cocktail, made with strawberry lemongrass vodka, lychee, Umeshu Plum Wine, and a stunning tableside blooming flower tea ceremony to complement.
40
CHILLED MAGAZINE
