El Guapo
Founded in 2017 by Christa Cotton, El Guapo is a producer of non-alcoholic cocktail bitters and syrups operating out of New Orleans, Louisiana, with a focus on quality sourcing and sustainability.
Born and raised in Leesburg, Georgia, Christa worked with her family during college to help establish Georgia’s first legal distillery post-Prohibition, 13th Colony, and after college moved to New Orleans, finding work at an ad agency that specialized in hospitality, tourism, and entertainment. A passionate advocate for New Orleans culture and history, Christa quickly became an active member of Lousiana’s hospitality industry, a James Beard Foundation and Tory Burch Foundation Fellow, and judge for the Good Food Awards. She also serves on the board of Glass Half Full, a non-profit glass recycling company that recycles glass into sand to combat coastal erosion.
Channeling her experiences working with chefs, restaurants, hotels, and events, Christa founded the New Orleans Beverage Group in 2017 and acquired the El Guapo trademark. After spending two years formulating and finalizing recipes, she officially launched El Guapo in 2019. Despite losing major retail placements in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, online sales skyrocketed, necessitating a move to a production facility over ten times as large just two years later to meet demand. It’s been upward ever since as the brand continues to garner national press and accolades—El Guapo has won the most awards of any brand in the Good Food Awards’ Elixers category—fueled by shifting drinking trends and a consumer demand for quality cocktail ingredients.
Through partnerships with regional and family farms, local coffee roasters and chocolatiers, and the public benefit corporation Burlap and Barrel, El Guapo sustainably sources the highest quality ingredients possible to build its library of nearly 250 botanicals. All El Guapo bitters are produced using glycerin rather than alcohol, with each botanical extracted individually using percolation, and all El Guapo syrups are made using Louisiana-grown cane sugar.
The entire product line is non-GMO certified, non-alcoholic, gluten free, vegetarian, and made without the use of high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors. Additionally, El Guapo’s bitters and syrups are bottled using recycled glass and recycled craft paper, and every bottle is wax sealed by hand.