A Changing Of The Guard At A Legendary Tequila Distillery

I had no idea why I was going on a press trip to the La Alteña distillery in Jalisco, and I didn’t care that I was the third choice to go on behalf of Food & Wine. I was just excited to visit the place again for the first time since 2018. It turned out we weren’t there to try a new expression of El Tesoro, the tequila (along with Tapatio) that’s made there. We were there to witness Carlos Camarena — one of the legendary figures in the history of tequila — announcing he’s stepping down as master distiller and CEO at La Alteña and passing the reins to his younger sister, Jenny Camarena (he’s still doing his thing with Tequila Ocho, which is made elsewhere).

I’ve gotten to know both Carlos and Jenny over the years, and I learn more about tequila in a couple of hours of hanging out with them than I do from weeks of poring over articles and books on the subject. And while I strive for objectivity when writing about tequila, I make no bones of the fact that El Tesoro is my favorite, and the one that’s most often consumed in my home. So I felt honored to be be there to see the changing of the guard in person. And I was even more honored when Carlos came over to shake my hand after the speechifying and tell me that he’d miss coming to New York and having me join him for pancakes drizzled with El Tesoro —  he introduced me to it, and it really is delicious, try it with the reposado and a little butter and fruit, and thank him later.

Carlos, if you’re reading this, just because you’re not running the show at La Alteña doesn’t mean we can’t have tequila-drizzled pancakes together. My door is always open and my bottle is always at the ready. And that goes for you too, Jenny.

Anyway, read my article about the changes afoot at La Alteña in Food & Wine, preferably with a glass of El Tesoro at hand. Link is -> HERE <-.