REGION: Oaxaca

In Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca, maestro mezcalero Gonzalo Martinez Sernas of Macurichos produces gin from local botanicals and his family’s mezcal production. The resulting spirit speaks deeply of its provenance.

Since 1840, the Cortés family has been distilling maguey in the Zapotec town of Santiago Matatlán: mezcal country. Casa Cortés is the driving force behind the award-winning mezcales of El Jolgorio, Nuestra Soledad, the family’s foundational range of mezcal, Agave de Cortès.

Alma Tepec is the first Mexican ancestral chile liqueur crafted from smoke-dried Pasilla Mixe chiles. Sourced in collaboration with the Mixe people and produced by a team of women known as Maestra Licoreras, Alma Tepec transports the unique flavor of these chiles far beyond the borders of Oaxaca.

Established in 2011 by sisters Maru and Claudia Turrent, Borroso was born of a love for ancestral traditions and a desire to sustainably promote the artisanal agricultural products of Oaxaca by working closely with mezcalero families who are actively preserving unique distilling methods.

Founded in 2023 by Francisca D’Acosta and Ofer Levy, Mezcal Claridad (meaning “clarity”) collaborates with mezcaleros throughout Oaxaca to share exemplary mezcales that celebrate and reward heritage-driven methods of ancestral mezcal production.