Tasting mezcal in Matatlan, Mexico

Tasting mezcal in Matatlan, MexicoTasting mezcal in Matatlan, Mexico

https://www.going.com/guides/matatlan-mezcal?lid=6h6hctx1xn2g&utm_campaign=reg_em_org_wrld_web_mul_awa_brz_ema_none_nl-wtf-50&utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_content=hero-img&utm_term=20240411_WorthTheFlight_Newsletter_Email&ad-unit=none Santiago Matatlán, a town in the southwestern Mexican state of Oaxaca, was the place that transformed me from a casual mezcal drinker to an outspoken mezcal enthusiast—which is fitting, as it’s considered the “World Capital of Mezcal.” After I landed in the relatively tiny town of about 10,000 people, the first palenque (mezcal distillery) that I visited was Mezcal Desde la Eternidad, a family-owned, mother-daughter-run artisanal mezcal superstore located on the town’s main road, Carretera Internacional. Okay, so it wasn’t technically a superstore, but this palenque had more varieties of artisanal mezcal in one spot than I’d ever seen. The back wall was lined with more than 30 varieties that the team had produced by hand, from popular Espadins to one-of-a-kind blends like their Ensamble (made from two wild agaves called Jabali and Tepeztate) and their generations-old medicinal mezcals infused with local herbs known to help with ailments like indigestion. The front of their palenque was a museum of mezcal on its own. A quick walk around the corner, I saw a massive hand-painted mural of a man surrounded by maguey (agave plants). In talking to half-owner Hortensia Hernández Martínez, I learned that the man in the mural was her husband, Juan Hernández Méndez, who had passed away a few years prior. He had been the maestro mezcalero—master mezcal maker—who’d run this family’s palenque. After Juan passed away, Hortensia and her daughter, Lidia, decided to keep the family business alive and continue producing mezcal. With so few Indigenous women producing mezcal to begin with, meeting a mother-daughter team felt rare and unforgettable.