Daily Inspiration: Meet Pedro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pedro.

Hi Pedro, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I come from a family that has been involved with agave and tequila distillation since the 1800’s. The name Pedro Camarena has been passed down for over 200 years, and I’m the 6th generation.

It started with my great great great grandfather, the first generation Pedro Camarena Zepeda, who helped bring blue agave into the Highlands of Jalisco, specifically into the region of Jesús María and Arandas. His son, the second generation Pedro Camarena Ramirez, founded the first distillery in the region. Sadly, that distillery was burned down during the Mexican Revolution, but he became the father of what would later become a whole dynasty of Camarena tequila producers.

Over generations, different members of the family continued working with agave and tequila, but the line of my side of the family was kind of paused when my grandfather passed away while my father was still young. My great grandfather left the stock of the distillery to my grandmother, but she wasn’t really a business person, and one of the partners convinced her the business wasn’t doing well, when actually it was, and bought her out very cheaply.

So even though I grew up with the history and always felt proud of my family heritage, I never really inherited a tequila company, land, or wealth. What I inherited was the name, the stories, and honestly the weight that comes with them. I also inherited the original ring of my great great great grandfather, which has been passed down through every Pedro Camarena in the family line, and that always meant a lot to me.

For most of my life I respected tequila more from a distance. I was proud of where I came from, but I never really saw a clear path for myself into the industry.

That changed a few years ago.

A really close friend and business partner sadly passed away, and in many ways life forced me to start over completely and rethink my future. Around that same time, one of my uncles invited my father and me to develop our own tequila brand. And for me, that opportunity became something much deeper than just starting a business.

Primo 1861 wasn’t created because I inherited some huge company, money, or agave fields. Actually pretty far from that.

For me, Primo became a way to reconnect with a heritage that I felt had been lost in my branch of the family. A way to honor the generations before me while building something honest and personal that reflected my own journey too.

Once I started learning the craft, it honestly became an obsession.

Cooking, extraction, fermentation, distillation, wood, aging, water, every small detail that most people never see. The more I learned, the more respect I developed for tequila and for the people who dedicate their entire lives to making it properly.

I wanted to create a tequila that felt pure in the way I imagined my previous generations would have made it, using agave, wild yeast, water, patience, and time. Nothing unnecessary.

Today I personally distill every single drop of Primo 1861 and stay deeply involved in every part of production. My wife and I even bottle every single bottle ourselves, so every cork and cap has literally passed through our hands.

We focus on traditional methods like stone ovens, wild fermentation in oak wood vats, copper distillation, and micro batch production because I genuinely believe those details matter. Not because it sounds good in marketing, but because I truly believe you can taste the difference when patience, care, and intention are behind the process.

One of the biggest things I realized along the way was that I didn’t want to create a tequila brand just to chase trends or volume. I wanted to create something with identity and weight. Something that respected where I come from while still feeling authentic to my own perspective and generation.

I see myself as just another step in the ladder of this family history, but honestly, I feel really proud of that responsibility.

The process definitely hasn’t been easy. There’s been blood, sweat, and tears behind Primo, literally.

Building a small independent tequila brand without massive capital, in such a competitive and capital hungry industry, teaches you patience and resilience very quickly. There were years with almost no cash flow, moments where growth felt painfully slow, and times where the uncertainty honestly weighed a lot.

You learn to reinvest everything back into the dream. You learn to move step by step, even when things don’t look great from the outside.

But I also think those struggles shaped Primo into what it is today.

Because when you build something slowly, every decision matters more. You become extremely intentional about quality, partnerships, production, and the type of brand you want to become long term.

Primo is still very small, and honestly I’m okay with that.

We are not trying to become the biggest tequila brand in the world. I care much more about creating tequila the right way, protecting the integrity behind it, and building something meaningful over time that honors the history behind the name, because Primo is not just a brand to me. It carries the weight of a name that has been passed down for more than 200 years.

I also know none of this happens alone. My wife, my family, and close friends have been a huge part of keeping Primo moving forward during difficult moments. People usually only see the final bottle, but behind it there are years of sacrifice, uncertainty, work, and people quietly carrying that weight beside you.

At the end of the day, Primo is a very personal project for me.

It represents heritage, craftsmanship, patience, resilience, and respect for tequila. It’s my way of honoring the name and history I inherited while also building something that reflects my own values and vision. Little by little, I think you can actually see the evolution of that journey through the glass.

And in many ways, my dream is to symbolically rebuild the tavern that my family lost during the Mexican Revolution, and continue producing tequila the right way for future generations.

Honestly, I still feel like we are just getting started.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road, more like a rollercoaster with an off road track haha.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have is thinking that because my family has history in tequila, I inherited a company, infrastructure, or a clear path into the industry. But honestly, Primo was built from zero, twice.

When we originally started the project a few years ago, we were building slowly, learning the industry, developing the product, and trying to create something meaningful without massive capital behind us. We put everything we had into developing Primo.

Then after about two years of slowly getting Primo into the market, we had to start over again when we moved out of the distillery we were working at. That was probably one of the hardest moments in the journey because it forced me to rebuild the production side almost from scratch while also trying to keep the brand alive.

We had to invest into equipment, rebuild the process, and create a new production setup that actually aligned with the vision I had for Primo. Our previous importer also decided not to continue working with us after the transition, so suddenly I had to learn an entirely different side of the business too. I had to create my own company, obtain my own importer license, and learn compliance, logistics, distribution, and everything that comes with operating independently in the U.S. market.

All of these changes took two years. Imagine being two years without cash flow or salary while trying to keep a company alive, especially after recently getting married. That definitely tests you mentally, emotionally, financially, and personally.

But through all of it, my wife stayed next to me the entire time. Not just emotionally supporting me, but literally getting her hands dirty through the process with me. So for me it’s completely true when people say that next to every successful man there’s a strong and resilient woman standing beside him.

As difficult as that transition was, it also became one of the most important turning points for Primo.

For the first time, I was able to fully control the process and personally distill the tequila using my own equipment and production philosophy. That was extremely important to me because I never wanted Primo to feel disconnected from the actual craft behind it. I wanted to develop something that carried my own signature and perspective within the tequila world.

I wanted to personally understand and be hands on in every part of the process, cooking, extraction, fermentation, distillation, aging, all of it. Not just own a brand, but truly craft the tequila myself.

Financially and emotionally, the process has definitely been difficult. But I think rebuilding things from the ground up forces you to become extremely intentional and gives you clarity about quality, partnerships, production methods, and the type of company you want to become.

Primo is still small, but I’m 100% certain that slowly but steadily it will continue to grow, mostly because I’m too stubborn to let it go and because I honestly don’t see myself doing anything else. Making tequila is what genuinely makes me happy at the end of the day, even with all the difficulties we’ve endured.

I never wanted to build something focused purely on volume or trends. I wanted to build something with identity, integrity, and craftsmanship behind it. I think sometimes that road is longer and harder, but also far more rewarding, especially when it’s something that honors the generations before me while creating a foundation for the generations after me.

I know there will still be many challenges ahead, but after everything we’ve already survived, I believe we’ll survive whatever comes next too.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think one of the things that defines my professional life the most is that I’ve had to learn how to do almost everything myself.

I’m the owner, distiller, bottler, pallet builder, truck driver, salesperson, logistics coordinator, importer, and honestly probably every other label you can imagine when it comes to building a small company from the ground up. We still don’t really have employees, just a few people helping us, so when something needs to get done, you learn to figure it out yourself.

That reality forces you to understand every part of the business at a much deeper level. One day you’re manually bottling tequila, the next day you’re building pallets, dealing with compliance paperwork, loading trucks, working on distribution, solving production problems, or trying to sell the product account by account. There’s really no separation between the craft side and the business side when you’re building something this small.

I’m probably most proud of the fact that we’ve managed to keep Primo alive and continue growing despite all the obstacles and limitations we’ve faced. There were moments where it honestly would’ve been easier to quit, but I think resilience became part of the identity of the company itself.

What also sets Primo apart is that I never approached it from a purely business perspective. For me this project carries emotional weight, heritage, responsibility, and craftsmanship behind it. I care deeply about preserving traditional methods and creating tequila with integrity, even if that path is slower, harder, and honestly less profitable at times.

After more than 200 years of my name and last name being connected to agave and tequila, I most definitely won’t let that disappear. Primo is a beautiful and honest project with real quality, deep meaning, and a lot of soul behind it, and I truly believe it’s meant to outlive myself.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Most of the books, music, or podcasts I enjoy are less about productivity and more about disconnecting myself from work completely. Since Primo takes such a huge part of my life mentally and physically, being able to disconnect for a moment helps me reset and come back with a clearer mind.

I’ve always been very drawn to novels with strong emotional depth, imperfect human characters, and stories that feel raw or psychologically honest. Some of the books that stayed with me the most are The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa, Cain by Jose Saramago, The Dark Bride by Laura Restrepo, and Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee.

Music is also a huge part of how I disconnect and recharge mentally. My taste is all over the place, but I think I naturally gravitate toward artists that have strong atmosphere, emotion, or identity behind what they create. Some artists I constantly come back to are Morphine, Gorillaz, Residente, AURORA, Natalia Lafourcade, Kavinsky, and Fever Ray.

Outside of that, I also really enjoy cooking, camping, and being outdoors in general with my wife and our two dogs. And I love dirt bike riding, mountain biking, and road biking since are activities that help me disconnect while being outdoors.

I think stepping away from what you do from time to time is extremely important, especially when you’re building something that consumes so much of your mind and energy. For me, doing that is a way to come back with a clearer, more relaxed mind and renewed energy.

Pricing:

• Tequila Primo 1861 Blanco $57.99
• Tequila Primo 1861 Reposado $67.99
• Tequila Primo 1861 Blanco High Proof $67.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tequilaprimo.com
• Instagram: @tequila.primo and @geppe.camarena

Image Credits
Pedro Camarena
Lizette Bejarano