How La Alteña’s CEO Went From Tequila Novice to Master Distiller

In 2016, when Jenny Camarena walked into her family’s tequila distillery, La Alteña, in Jalisco, Mexico, after years of being away, the first thing she noticed were the familiar faces—the workers who used to watch her as a child while her father tended the stills were still there. They all greeted her with the same question: “Where were you? We were waiting for you.”

She didn’t know much about tequila then, but that moment of recognition, of belonging, is what kept her at the revered highland distillery, which dates back to 1937 and is home of such legendary brands as El Tesoro and Tapatio. A decade later, she’s now the first woman to serve as its CEO and master distiller. She’s determined to carry its traditions forward in an industry that’s more crowded, creative, and chaotic than ever before.

Her father, Don Felipe Camarena, died when she was 15, long before she ever imagined working in the liquor industry. She never had the chance to sit with him over a glass of the spirit he dedicated his life to—a loss that makes her return to La Alteña feel even more meaningful.

In fact, Camarena never planned on this life. She studied architecture in college, drawn to the satisfaction of seeing something imagined become real. 

“I was pretty sure tequila did not fit in that career,” she says. She was designing homes and even a chain of gyms in Jalisco when her brother Felipe, a civil engineer known for his bluntness, confronted her during a family gathering. After listening to her describe her independent life, he cut in and asked Jenny, “Why are you lying to our aunt?” He reminded her that the opportunity she was most proud of came from the family’s well-known work in tequila. 

“He said I was being ungrateful, that these were my roots,” she recalls. The conversation stung, but it stuck. A few months later, she took a leave of absence from the architecture firm and arrived at La Alteña as a tequila beginner. 

“I never came with a boss insignia, because I didn’t know anything,” she says. She learned from the people who’d known her since her childhood—the agave harvesters, oven operators, and distillers. She asked questions. She made mistakes. And, ultimately, she earned their trust. “That close relationship we built was the thing that made me stay,” she says. “I felt like I belonged here.”

Her brother Carlos, who headed La Alteña for decades and is widely regarded as a leader in the tequila industry, was one of her earliest guides. His reputation, and the standards he’s upheld, shaped the environment she was stepping into.

As she immersed herself in the work, she realized just how complex it is to make tequila. So she enrolled in a master’s degree in tequila production, studying theory by night and applying it on the distillery floor by day. The more she learned, the more she valued the family’s refusal to cut corners. “I understood we could be faster, and we decided not to, in order to keep the quality,” she says. “Our people are proud to continue doing it the hard way.”

Related: We Awarded the Best Tequilas of 2026 for Shaking Up in Margaritas and Classic Cocktails

Now leading La Alteña, she’s clear about what’s non-negotiable. “The quality and the process would never change—not on my watch,” she says. But she’s curious about pushing boundaries in thoughtful ways, especially in distillation. High‑proof expressions fascinate her. So does exploring how proof, cuts, and technique shape flavor without compromising tradition.

Her advice to the next generation is simple: stay humble. “Never stop learning. Don’t let arrogance come into your world,” she says. “And don’t be afraid to make mistakes.”

That humility is tied to the weight of the job itself. She often thinks about what it would be like to pour her father a glass of her tequila and hear what he’d say and to show him what she’s built in the place he loved. For someone who once insisted tequila wasn’t for her, she now carries the family legacy with clarity and pride. 

“I love this,” she says. “I wouldn’t change it.”

Get El Tesoro Tequila at the Men’s Journal Spirits Shop