Alma Finca is the latest addition to Casa Lumbre’s innovative portfolio which includes Contraluz, Nocheluna, Ancho Reyes Liqueur, and Montelobos Mezcal. The visionary leader behind these brands is Master Distiller, Cofounder and Chief Innovation Officer at Casa Lumbre Iván Saldaña. In a revealing conversation Saldaña discusses the creative development of their latest launch, partnering with megastars Maluma, Lenny Kravitz, and Lewis Hamilton on innovative spirits, and his profound definition on the key to success.

Saldaña is a passionate spirits professional dedicated to conceptualizing, developing and commercializing authentic Mexican products and brands.  He leads the creative landscape behind spirits that intend to express Mexico‘s patrimony through a new perspective. His unique insight to raw materials like agave, corn, chili, and now citrus; as well as the traditional heritage and contemporary approach serve as building blocks to culturally relevant brands. Currently he is responsible for leading the exploration and materialization of Casa Lumbre’s brands.

HOMBRE: What exactly is Alma Finca?
Ivan Saldaña: Alma Finca is an orange liqueur, a product bringing to the world the story of citrus in Mexico. We want to tell the story of how relevant citrus has been for Mexico and tell the story of the peninsula of Yucatan.

H: What is the origin of orange liqueur?
IS: The French were the first to bring orange liqueur to the world, then triple sec came to the Caribbean. They typically use the dry skin of oranges either bitter or sweet. In our case we are adding sugar cane. What we want to do is bring the jungle into the bottle. It’s not only the orange peel, but it’s also the leaves, the blossoms, and the flowers of different citrus. Orange is the core ingredient in the product. We also use local things that give us a base which are achiote and Jamaican spice, this adds to the live expression of citrus vegetation into our drinks. Since we are from Mexico, now you can make a true authentic Mexican margarita.

H: Where is it made?
IS: It’s made in Oxkutzcab, Yucatan. That’s where all the raw materials come from. We don’t want to imitate the way of making French liqueur, we want to do it our own way. The Yucatan cuisine couldn’t exist without citrus, citrus is important.

H: How long was the process from developing the Alma Finca concept to bringing it to market?
IS: Two years.

H: Who were the individuals involved in the development?
IS: Myself and Guadalupe García, who is my right hand in a lot of the projects that we do. We went to the fields, we collected samples, we distilled all the ingredients individually, we went to the markets, at the end we kept the achiote and the Jamaican spice. We were working in the lab to identify each independent flavor and then decide how we can put them all together.

H: What is your background?
IS: I was originally trained as a biologist. I was trying to understand the evolutionary solutions of plants that grow in extreme surroundings, and how they cope with their environments. My model was the agave plant. I became well versed in the strategies and  substances that the plants create to survive.
I developed a very deep understanding of plant chemistry and physiology. Eventually I got hired in the spirits industry, and had the opportunity to learn about many other raw materials and learn how to distill. Then I became independent. In 2011 I met Daniel Schneeweiss. They did a project without me called Milagro Tequila, which they sold and were then excited to continue creating.

H: What happened next?
IS: Together we envisioned Montelobos Mezcal and Ancho Reyes Liqueur. After Ancho we decided we had a deeper purpose as entrepreneurs and we created Casa Lumbre to investigate what else is there in Mexico that we can share from a biological, cultural and societal end.  From there  came Abasolo, and Nixta, which is a corn liqueur. We work with chili, corn, agave, and dasylirion which comes from the sotol plant, and now citrus.

H: Being involved with such different spirits, what do you look for when deciding to create a new one?
IS: Heritage, and the heritage is in the agriculture of the product. I try to bring farm to bottle experiences and when there’s a chance to work with local farmers I’m excited for the craft and inherited proficiency in selecting the core flavor. That has allowed a high level of sophistication.

Iván Saldaña during a tasting of non-alcoholic Almave with Lewis Hamilton

H: What are your latest launches?
IS: This (Alma Finca) is our latest launch. We also launched a non-alcoholic product with Lewis Hamilton called Almave.
It’s a project that tested my knowledge on how can I bring all the flavor of blue agave from the Highlands of Jalisco and present it to the world without alcohol. It’s an exploration of flavor from a new perspective. All of this was a challenge and an invitation by Lewis himself. He wanted to create a drink for people to enjoy without becoming intoxicated. It has been a wonderful experience.

Iván Saldaña enjoys the success of Contraluz with Maluma

H: What makes brand successful?
IS: Developing a long lasting relationship with the consumer. That requires clear benefits in terms of the quality. It needs to have great storytelling that wins the hearts of the people. If you reduce this creative process into a functional product brands are weak.
If you have product that is just about emotions but you can not prove to others the objectivity of its flavor, and that this is a quality product you also fail to succeed.
You have to have a combination and always think this is a long lasting experience.

Iván Saldaña celebrates with Lenny Kravitz the launch of Nocheluna Sotol

H: You have projects with Maluma,  Lenny Kravitz, and now Lewis Hamilton, how is it working with these megastars?
IS: These are incredibly good people with enormous discipline, who have spent time and energy in discovering who they are and what’s the legacy they want to bring to the world.
It goes beyond the ambition of making more money, that’s not what lifts their spirits, their hearts, and their actions.
For me it’s about elevating my craft to the level of my partners. They are putting on an incredible amount of trust, and my endeavor is to sustain and bring the best of my humanity into that.
Now we have to make those brands as successful as they can be. It’s an extraordinary gift for me to join them and to also contribute what I can to bring out the best.

H: Finally, what advice can you give to those that admire what you’re doing? How do you define success?
IS: Success will be measured by the system of values you have.
One of the most important things is to discover how to structure your priorities and values in your life. Very successful people tend to have a common ground on that. There’s no way to learn it, you have to experience it. The motivation, the energy,  the flow of creative power and commitment, and how that is connected towards time; from whoever you have been since you were born, to whatever challenges you have in your present, towards what you want to express in the future.
Success is how body, soul, and whatever is sacred enough that lives within us interacts together. That is what truly matters.
When you feel self confidence and you feel at peace with things, and you understand that we are here for a little moment, and there’s things you can change and things you can’t. And that being angry is not a good idea if you want to create something that is useful. I think that is where success comes, at least in a very personal way.
And generally, for some magical reason, society tends to recognize it too.

H: That has to be one of the most profound answers to that question we have ever received.