Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Monday, December 23rd.

Today on Forbes, how Classy Asul built a billion-dollar tequila business beyond the top shelf.

Inside his modern home in the hills of Guadalajara, Mexico, Arturo Lomeli is eating one of his favorite foods,

takitos, piled high with crema, salsa, and guacamole,

as tequila is poured into crystal flutes around the table.

The blue and white hand-painted ceramic bottles that Lomeli's brand, Class A.Soul, has become famous for, Dot the Room.

Next up are mescal's, and decanters painted a matte black, red, or teal.

And then there's the special edition, Anya Toquillas, featuring artisans from around Mexico.

To the right of the overflowing lunch table, Lomeli starts pulling out more bottles from his bar,

where a large, surrealist-style portrait of Clasey Asoul's founder and CEO with more bottles from his bar, where a large surrealist-style portrait

of Clasey Asul's founder and CEO

with a bird on his shoulder

watches over his personal collection.

Lomeli, who is 52 years old,

says, quote,

My spiritual soul was chosen to protect it.

I'm the guardian, a Mexican messenger.

Meanwhile, sips of the $1,500 Dia de los Mueros collection, 2024 release, in a purple bottle, featuring a metal skeleton playing an accordion,

make the rounds for everyone but Lomeli. He gave up drinking a few years ago, he says,

partly because he wants to live past 100.

That doesn't stop him from running his super premium tequila brand that's exported to 92 countries.

Over the past three decades, Lomeli has perfected a playbook that relies on authenticity,

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