It’s only a very small percentage of the world’s whisky that’s made in Mexico, and an even smaller portion of that is made by women. So, yeah, the Mexican-made, mostly female-produced (but Colorado-owned) Olta whisky is an intoxicating, 80-proof unicorn.
Olta may have just recently hit Colorado liquor store shelves and restaurant drink menus, but it has been seven years in the making for Denver resident Selene Nestor. Nestor is a whisky fan who wanted to showcase the diversity of Mexican spirits, while also creating something impactful for her native Mexican community — and for her 7-year-old daughter. It was when she was pregnant with her that she first had the idea of creating Olta whisky and making it all about female empowerment.
“Moving to this country, there wasn’t a lot of representation,” Nestor said. “I had identity issues when I moved out here because I was trying to assimilate to the culture, and because I didn’t have many role models in the community. I wanted to do something that actually embodied that for my daughter, so she did have representation. … It’s so important to empower women, to show that you can do anything and everything. Especially something like whisky, which is typically categorized as a male drink.”
While there are a few male employees at Olta, most everything — from tending the crops to distilling the liquid to bottling it up — is done by women, a rarity in the machismo world of Mexican spirits.
It starts with the indigenous maíz criollo, or Creole corn, grown in Pátzcuaro, a mountainous Michoacán town. It’s then cooked and mixed with local water, fermented, double distilled in copper stills, and then aged three years in tequila barrels — a nod to the spirit for which Mexico has become best known. And it’s all done where the elevation is even higher than ours, at about 7,000 feet.
“It makes the aging process a lot faster,” Nestor said. “It tastes older.”
And experts are noticing: In June, Olta picked up a bronze medal for corn whiskey at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The tequila barrels give the juice a bit of sweetness from the agave, and you’ll taste notes of vanilla in your smooth sip. The current iteration of Olta is aged three years, but Nestor also has whisky resting in those barrels for upcoming four- and seven-year expressions.
“I wanted to pay homage to the agave spirits that opened the path for me to do this,” Nestor said of using the tequila barrels, as well as agave paper for the labels. “I wanted to do something completely different but still say ‘thank you’ to those spirits that opened the door. People don’t know that Mexico does whisky.”
She also wanted to do something that she enjoyed drinking. While in the U.S. we tend to associate Mexico with tequila and mezcal, Nestor said that Hispanics consume a lot of whiskies, herself included; there just aren’t as many home brands comparable to the American, Scottish and Irish ones. “It’s not big in Mexico as far as production, but it is big in consumption,” she said.
Like tequila and mezcal, Mexican whisky’s flavor reflects its own unique terroir, as well as the production and aging processes. Which means that there’s no standard, one-size-fits-all Mexican whisky, just as Laws Whiskey House bourbons taste very different from, say, Jim Beam.
“It truly is a spirit that expresses a true feeling of terroir when you’re enjoying it,” said Henry Ottrix, beverage director at Xiquita, which was one of the first restaurants in town to stock Olta. “It’s soft on the nose, with aromas of toffee and sweetness while maintaining a slight floral note. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea since it’s not a traditional flavor profile, but like most things that are new, it will find its place with an eclectic group of whisky lovers.”
Ottrix prefers Olta on the rocks, with an orange twist, but he also uses it in a Black Manhattan at Xiquita.
For now, the Mexican-made, female-produced unicorn of the whisky world is sold at Total Wine and will soon be available at Molly’s Spirits. Nestor hopes more liquor stores, restaurants and bars will stock her bottles as demand for something different grows. Still, for her it’s more about celebrating Mexican culture and girl power.
“The most important thing was the representation piece for my daughter and for younger generations of Mexican-American children,” she said.
Where to taste Olta Mexican Whisky:
Grab a sip at restaurants like Xiquita, Luchador and Alma Fonda Fina; buy it at Total Wine (and soon at Molly’s Spirits); or order a bottle online, at oltawhisky.com. It’s $55 for a 750 ml bottle and ships to most states.