For most of my life, I’ve preferred to drink spirits only when diluted with, say, a lot of fresh lime juice, a dash of agave, and an extra salty glass. I’d never imagined sipping tequila (and certainly not *enjoying* it) until I met Bertha González Nieves. González Nieves is the CEO of Casa Dragones, a Mexican brand she co-founded with MTV-founder Bob Pittman in 2008. Their two high-end tequilas—Casa Dragones Joven, a perfectly clear master blend of silver and extra-aged tequila; and Casa Dragones Blanco, a crisp, young silver tequila—are produced from an agave varietal called Tequilana Weber, hand-harvested in the northwestern state of Jalisco.

“I just fell in love with the transformation of this extraordinary plant into a juice that people adore,” González Nieves tells me, pouring us each a glass of Joven from behind the enviable bar in her New York headquarters. “It’s one of the most well-known things about Mexico and such an important part of our social fabric; we celebrate with tequila, we cry with tequila.”

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