About Christa

Our CEO, Christa Cotton

There are spirits and then there’s spirit and Christa Cotton embodies both. Born in the South and built in New Orleans, the brand is led by Christa, a South Georgia native who spent much of her childhood with her family in and around New Orleans. Her deep connection to both places shapes El Guapo’s personality—equal parts grit, charm, and hospitality. From our ingredients and sustainable practices to our personality and business ethos, everything we do is rooted in a love for good people, bold flavor, and a damn good story.

Christa's grandparents and great-grandparents were farmers. She was raised in the red clay fields of rural Southwest Georgia and helped her parents open Georgia's first legal distillery since prohibition, 13th Colony, while in college at Auburn. Her instinctive connection to nature and real-life experience, mixed with a business degree from Auburn (War Eagle!) and a stint in advertising, eventually led Christa to make experimental bitters recipes in crawfish boil pots (yes, seriously!) and the rest, as they say, is history. Since founding New Orleans Beverage Group and acquiring the El Guapo trademark in 2017, Christa has focused on quality of product and scale, expanding into adjacent categories like syrups, mixers and now canned bitters & soda while dramatically increasing production capacity to meet distribution demands.

Christa is a fellow in both the Tory Burch Foundation and James Beard Foundation. In fact, she's an inaugural recipient of the Tory Burch Foundation Founder's Award, presented to her by Adam Glassman, Oprah's longtime creative director! She’s serves on the board of Entrepreneur's Organization Louisiana and is the immediate past president of the New Orleans Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International. She regularly mentors women in the CPG space through the Tory Burch Foundation, The Lee Initiative, and FAB — a Charleston-based workshop for women in food and bev.

Outside the office, she's a proud member of the Krewe of Muses and the Krewe of Iris (the oldest women’s parading organization in Louisiana) as well as Krewe de Nieux - a social aid and pleasure club comprised of growth oriented New Orleans entrepreneurs. She serves as an advisor to Glass Half Full, a local nonprofit that turns recycled glass into sand for coastal restoration and spends significant time supporting Son of a Saint, a New Orleans-based nonprofit that mentors boys who have lost their fathers to death, deportation, or incarceration.

 She’s a passionate advocate for New Orleans culture, history and architecture, regularly leading relief efforts following natural disasters and other local emergencies. In her spare time, Christa enjoys traveling, cooking and exploring New Orleans with her husband, Brian, daughter, Flora, and Bernese Mountain Dog, Archie Manning.