Christa Cotton

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 the recipient of the 2025 Tory Burch Foundation Founder Award, a 2025 Wine Enthusiast Future 40 honoree, a seven-times Good Food Award winner, LEE Initiative mentor,  immediate past president of Les Dames d’Escoffier New Orleans and recipient of Les Dames d’Escoffier Legacy Award: Fine Spirits recipient, and a Fellow in both the Tory Burch Foundation and the James Beard Foundation. She successfully raised seven figures in investment capital and relocated from 1,800 square feet to a 32,000 square foot production facility and warehouse in Mid-City New Orleans.

Christa and El Guapo have been covered in Vogue, Southern Living, Real Simple, 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.