Bertha González Nieves

González Nieves was a top executive at Grupo Jose Cuervo International, the largest tequila company in the world, when in 2007 she decided to go small. After meeting media mogul Bob Pittman at a party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the two decided to start a tequila company together. González Nieves took nearly two years to explore agaves from different regions, along with various methods of extraction and cooking, before doing a first run of 1,000 nine-liter cases of limited-edition sipping tequila Casa Dragones Joven in 2009. Last year Casa Dragones rolled out its first Blanco tequila, giving the brand a foothold in the cocktail game. Between both lauded lines, the company is approaching 10,000 nine-liter cases for 2016. Certified as the first female Maestra Tequilera, González Nieves is trying to merge the traditional with the modern, using the industry’s most cutting-edge equipment and focusing on sustainability.