Cecilia Rios Murrieta - Alumni Profiles - People - Batten Institute

When serial entrepreneur Cecilia Rios Murrieta (MBA ‘22) launched her first craft spirits venture, she was driven by her passion for mezcal, tequila’s smoky cousin. Her latest startup, JAS Drinks, was inspired by her newfound commitment to an alcohol-free lifestyle.
Rios Murrieta founded her first company, La Niña del Mezcal, in 2012, followed by ŌME Spirits. She balanced building her brand in the U.S. with traveling to Oaxaca, Mexico, to find the finest producers of mezcal. In 2016, both Fortune and Food & Wine recognized her as one of the “Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink.”

A decision to quit drinking prompted Rios Murrieta to step back from her craft spirits business. In 2020, she enrolled at Darden, where she was a Batten Scholar. During the summer between her first and second years, she joined a cohort of founders at the iLab Incubator, where JAS, a non-alcoholic cocktail startup, was born. JAS stands for “juntos a saborear,” which means “savoring together” in Spanish.

After a stint at Bain & Co. Rios Murrieta dedicated herself to building the JAS brand full-time. “I can focus on doing what I do best,” she said. “Creating awareness, talking about alcohol-free cocktails, selling them, and developing more options for people who want to enjoy life without anything that gets in the way of that enjoyment.”

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