Costa Rican native Carlos Soto went off to college at age 18 to attend California’s Loyola Marymount University. Now he’s the CEO of his own company, and it’s all because he acquired a taste for tequila while hanging out with his college friends. Soto is the founder of Nosotros Tequila, a company that has just begun to hit its stride in the adult beverage world – undoubtedly NOT what his parents had in mind when they kissed him goodbye at the San Jose Airport as he left for school.

While in his last year at university, Soto was searching for an idea for a project for his class “Managing New Ventures”. By this time, Soto had acquired a fondness for tequila, and decided to make the spirit the topic of his class project. Costa Rica does not produce tequila, as the agave plant is not often grown in this country. Agave is mostly a desert plant and loves sandy, alkaline soils, preferably at altitudes of 1500 feet or more, an environment frequently found, however, in Mexico.

Soto hopped a plane to Guadalajara, determined to see if his tequila idea was viable. His concept was to develop the perfect tequila, and differentiate his beverage from others through creative and sophisticated marketing. His enthusiasm for the project grew as he met with distillery owners, and got to know master distillers. He enlisted his college drinking buddies as tasters, and the idea began to snowball. It was starting to look like a good business idea, and not just a hobby. Soto recruited Michael Arbanas as his chief financial officer, and the two obtained a loan from Bank of America. They produced their first bottle of Nostros (Us/We in English) in 2016.

Based now in Hermosa Beach, California, Nosotros has grown from having only one client, to more than 70, including Total Wine More and Trader Joe’s. According to Soto, “What differentiates Nosotros from other tequilas, is the fact that we use blended agave from both the highlands and the lowlands. Agave in the highlands has a sweeter, more citrus taste, while the lowlands agave is more earthy and peppery.”

Soto credits the help of Master Distiller Augustine Sanchez for the spectacular blend of flavors. He says, “Basically, no one has done that in the market. We created a flavor that starts out sweet, but ends on a peppery note.” Nosotros now even has two varieties: Reposado and Blanco.

Nosotros Tequila made a big splash last year by winning the Double Gold and Best Tequila awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Soto explained, “A lot of people we were reaching out to became convinced that we really knew what we were doing,” after winning those awards. The business really took a leap forward.

Soto sums up the success of Nosotros Tequila, “We are a small-batch agave spirits brand that marries the pura vida lifestyle of Costa Rica with the rebel spirit of Mexico, blending them together under the California sun.” It has been a recipe for tremendous success for the company – it’s just sad that Nosotros Tequila is still only available in the United States. That will hopefully change!

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