Mocktails with Christa Cotton

Week of March 8, 2025

There are spirits and then there’s spirit, and Christa Cotton embodies both. A native of Leesburg, Georgia, Christa moved to New Orleans after helping her parents establish Georgia’s first legal distillery since Prohibition while in college at Auburn University. After a stint in advertising, Christa founded New Orleans Beverage Group and acquired the El Guapo trademark in 2017. Specializing in zero-proof bitters, El Guapo has expanded into syrups and mixers and is Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certified. The company debuted at #166 on the Inc. 5000 Regionals list for fastest growing companies in the US in 2024. Christa is a 7x Good Food Award winner, LEE Initiative mentor, Les Dames d’Escoffier Legacy Award: Fine Spirits recipient, and a Fellow in both the Tory Burch Foundation and the James Beard Foundation. She’s successfully raised seven figures in investment capital and relocated from 1,800 square feet to a 32,000 square foot production facility & warehouse in Mid-City. She’s been featured in Southern Living, Forbes, Garden & Gun, Martha Stewart and Fedex Small Business national ad campaigns. She lives Uptown in a pink 1902 double shotgun with her daughter, Flora, husband, Brian and Bernese Mountain Dog, Archie Manning. It’s a vibe & she is busy.