La Alteña Enters a New Generation of Tequila Making With Its First Female Master Distiller

Carlos Camarena, one of the most iconic figures in the world of tequila for several decades, is stepping down as the master distiller and CEO of El Tesoro and Tapatio, the two brands made at the family’s La Alteña distillery, and handing the reins over to his younger sister, Jenny Camarena. “We need younger people to run things,” he said during the announcement at the family’s distillery in the highlands of Jalisco. “I think it is good to pass things over to the younger people, and prepare for the next generations to keep on taking over in this family.” 

It’s not quite a generational shift, since Jenny is Carlos’ sister, but with a 24-year age difference between them, she’s closer in age to Carlos’ children than to their other siblings. Carlos is remaining at the helm of Tequila Ocho, which is now being produced at its own distillery.

Working in the family business — La Alteña opened in 1937, by which point the family had been growing and harvesting agave for decades — wasn’t always in the cards for Jenny Camarena. She studied architecture in college and had started working at an architecture firm before returning to the fold and joining the distilling team in 2015. Talk of transition began about five years ago, according to Jenny. “We were having a meeting, and the question popped,” she recalls. “Then [the other family members] asked. It was like, ‘Are you even interested in continuing with this?’ And I said that it would be an honor to continue with this. My heart and soul were already here.”

Since then, Carlos has groomed Jenny to succeed him at La Alteña, whether or not it was apparent at the time. “Because I see him really often in our relationship, nothing changed,” she says. “I felt that, I don’t even know how, at some point, there were things that he was not doing anymore, and I was like, ‘Oh, I'm doing them now,’ and I didn't even feel at what point it happened. So it has been really smooth. Very sneaky, too…. I think that he knows that if he was, like, ‘Here it is, take it,’ I would collapse a little bit. So he was smart enough to just let it happen.”

Jenny Camarena is the fourth master distiller in the 88-year history of La Alteña — her grandfather and father preceded Carlos, who had been at the helm since 1995. Before her role change, she was head of operations at the distillery. 

“I felt like I knew everything that I needed to know,” she says. “Today, I’m not in the same position. I’m not sitting in the same desk. I’m making more decisions. I have to be smarter, and I have to consider so many other aspects that, at that moment, were not affecting my little bubble.” At the same time, she adds, “I have more confidence now than five years ago, and for sure, it’s exciting. Maybe at another moment. I couldn’t bring that many ideas or make decisions, and it’s powerful to be able to reach that point. That’s amazing.”

Her job is twofold — to preserve the tradition of tequila making embodied by previous generations at La Alteña, while also innovating and making her own mark. At the top of her to-do list is an expansion of high-proof tequila offerings. Tapatio 110, a 55% ABV blanco, was one of the first higher proof tequilas on the market, but she’d like to explore further. 

“I love the flavor and the intensity,” she says. “Not only in blanco, but with the aged expressions. I think that we could get amazing things. The facility that we have within El Tesoro with different barrels from different distilleries [exemplified in the Mundial series of limited editions], maybe combining them with a high-proof expression, could be really interesting. I’m not willing to change anything drastically,” she clarifies. “I would never do that. But for sure, why not explore more of the stories of the process and the agave?”

La Alteña has always been family-run, so Jenny is excited that a member of the clan is taking her place as head of distillery operations. “When I delegated my position as the director of operations, my nephew Rigoberto was like, ‘I’m interested. Can I try?’ And I don’t have any children yet, so maybe it was too soon to think, ‘Oh, and then who's who's after me?’ And the fact that I could have my nephews on board…. Okay, so the story continues.”

Carlos Camarena is also staying on through 2025 as a consultant to make sure the transition goes smoothly. She may have big shoes to fill, but as he told Jenny at the announcement of the transition, “Don’t try to fill anyone else’s shoes. Use your own shoes and make your own path.” 

“I will,” Jenny responded. “Maybe next to yours, but I will.”