This story doesn't start with a drink. It starts with a culture.
JAS wasn't born in a boardroom. It was born in Mexico — in palenques and mercados, over seven years spent traveling the country in search of its greatest spirits. We never set out to make an alcohol-free drink. We set out to keep the celebration.
Cómo empezó todo
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LA NIÑA DEL MEZCAL
At 26, Cecilia launched her first mezcal brand and became known across Mexico as La Niña del Mezcal. She spent seven years traveling Mexico to curate its finest spirits, and along the way became the first exporter to ship all three of its spirit denominations — mezcal, bacanora and sotol — to the U.S. Cocktail culture was never a trend to her. It was home.
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THE 180
Then she walked away. Cecilia quit drinking, left the spirits world, and found something nobody talks about: the joy of living without anything holding you back. Only one thing was missing — nothing on the shelf tasted good AND felt like a celebration.
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JAS IS BORN
In 2020, at business school, Cecilia set out to build the drink she couldn't find. The Paloma came first — real grapefruit and lime with the warm spice of the mezcales she'd spent years chasing through Oaxaca. The real thing, sin alcohol.
A toast to friendship, flavor and breaking free
To turn the idea into a movement, Cecilia teamed up with co-founders Jaymee Mandeville — a seasoned executive from the global spirits world who felt the same calling — and Alicia Catelli, a friend long before she was a partner. From NYC to Darden's pitch rooms, they built JAS into what it is today: bold Latin flavor, functional ingredients and a new way to celebrate.
Be Juntos. Be Libre.
JAS means Juntos A Saborear — together we savor. It's our name, and it's the whole idea.
We rebuild the cocktails of Latin America — the Paloma, the Mojito, the Carajillo — with real juice, functional ingredients and no alcohol. Not a smaller version of the drink. The drink — built so nobody has to sit the round out.
Because every toast is better when everyone's in it.
Have a JAS® and be libre.
