‘First Lady of Tequila’: Inside Bertha González Nieves’ Casa Dragones Empire

Casa Dragones is one of the best-known ultra-premium tequilas on the market.

Co-created on the business side by MTV founder Robert Pittman, Casa Dragones has been crowned the “Best Blanco Tequila” by Epicurious and was named by Vogue as 2018’s “Best Gift of the Summer”. If that wasn’t enough, Oprah says it’s her favorite tequila.  

Behind all this buzz is its maker, Bertha Gonzalez Nieves. 

The first woman ever to be certified as a maestra tequilera by Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council, Nieves has launched Casa Dragones to the forefront of the industry since the brand’s founding in 2009. In the process, she earned herself the unofficial title as the “First Lady of Tequila”.

Here is a brief tour through Nieves and Casa Dragones’ intertwined rise to stardom.

The History of ‘The First Lady of Tequila’ 

Photo: Youtube/Tequila Casa Dragones

Prior to her entrance into the tequila industry, Nieves studied business administration at Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico City. While there, she was chosen to represent Mexico as a cultural ambassador to Japan at the age of 22. 

It was during her tenure as cultural ambassador that Nieves toured Mexico to learn about its varied culture, history, and exports – a path that led her to the town of Tequila, Jalisco. 

After only two days in tequila’s eponymous hometown, Nieves said she found her calling. 

Nieves went on to work her way up to a top executive position within Grupo Jose Cuervo, the largest tequila producer in the world. Over her 10-year career at Jose Cuervo, Nieves served varyingly as their Commercial Director for North America, Global Director of New Business and Innovation, and as eventually as their Global Brand Director.

After a decade in management, Nieves decided she wanted to call the shots for herself. 

By chance, Nieves met MTV founder Bob Pittman at a party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the two went into business. They decided to name their future tequila after Los Dragones of San Miguel de Allende, an elite cavalry unit that fought in the 1810 Mexican War of Independence. 

The Product

Casa Dragones has three tequila expressions they’ve released to market – a blanco, an añejo and a joven. 

Though their unaged blanco and 1 year-aged añejo are popular picks, it is Casa Dragones Joven that truly put the brand on the map. It was the only expression they produced for their first five years of operation, and its the one which catapulted them to ultra-premium status.

Casa Dragones’ Joven is a mix of silver tequila and extra-aged añejo tequila rested in American oak casks. The blended batch is then charcoal filtered, a process that removes the signature dark tint of aged spirits. 

The resulting product combines the light, fruity flashes of an unaged blanco with the distinct spice and oaky age of a barrel-rested añejo. Check out the reviews for yourself here. 

Since it has hit the market, Casa Dragones has established itself as a high-quality “sipping tequila” – albeit quite an expensive one. If you’re looking to buy a bottle of their Joven for yourself, you’ll be looking at a hefty $285 price tag. With its signature baby-blue box and shiny silver and gold labeling, Casa Dragones is certainly a tequila that looks expensive.

Between the celebrity fan fair and accolades, Casa Dragones’ success can certainly be attributed in part to a wildly successful marketing blitz (especially given Nieves’ background in marketing communications).

A large angle of Dragones’ brand image lies in the Dragones Cavalry from which they draw their name. The “16” branded on each bottle commemorates September 16th, 1810, when Father Hidalgo sparked Mexico’s War of Independence with an iconic speech now known as “El Grito”.

Nowadays, Dragones’ flagship location is located at Recreo 16 in San Miguel de Allende at the Cavalry’s historic stables. Part tequila showroom, part heritage site, Dragones has certainly managed to strike a unique chord with its luxury branding.

Looking Forward

Following Nieves’ entrance to the industry in 2009, other maestra tequileras have earned certification and established brands of their own. 25-year industry veteran and tequilera Ana Maria Romero founded Mijenta Tequila in 2020, an environmentally-conscious brand that comes with numerous recognitions of its own.

Still, diversity within the mostly male-dominated world of tequila productions remains lacking. But with female-owned brands like La Gritona, Yola Mezcal, and Prospero Tequila emerging onto the market in the past few years, the tides might just be changing.

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