There are mezcal producers, and then there are storytellers who happen to make mezcal. De Matachines falls firmly in the second category. Born out of the rugged terrain of Oaxaca, this small-batch project is the work of maestro mezcalero Hermenegildo "Mene" Gutiérrez Ramírez, a producer whose relationship with agave isn't transactional — it's generational. Every bottle he puts out is a direct expression of land, plant, and process that most of the world will never see firsthand.
Mene works in the highlands of Oaxaca, a region where agave grows slow, stressed, and full of character. The altitude and dry conditions force the plants to concentrate their sugars over years — sometimes decades — before harvest. That patience shows up in the glass. These aren't approachable, easy-drinking mezcals designed to convert skeptics. They're complex, sometimes confrontational, and completely honest about what they are.
The name De Matachines refers to the Danza de los Matachines, a ritual dance with deep roots in indigenous and mestizo traditions across Mexico. It's not a casual branding choice. It signals something about how Mene and his collaborators understand their work — as something rooted in ceremony, in community, in cultural continuity.
Production is traditional in the truest sense. Agave hearts are roasted in earthen pit ovens, crushed by tahona or by hand, fermented with ambient yeasts in open-air wooden vats, and distilled in clay or copper pot stills depending on the expression. Nothing is standardized for consistency's sake. Batch variation isn't a bug — it's the whole point. Each run reflects the specific plant, the specific season, the specific hands involved.
What separates Mene from the crowded field of "artisanal" producers is a willingness to work with rare and endangered agave varietals and to let those plants speak without interference. He's not chasing flavor profiles. He's documenting them.
The De Matachines Peñasco ($165) is the anchor of the lineup. Peñasco agave is slow-growing and relatively uncommon in commercial production, and Mene's version is a masterclass in restraint and depth — smoke that doesn't overpower, mineral structure, and a finish that lingers with dried fruit and earth.
The De Matachines Lamparillo Agave Spirits ($145) pushes into different territory. Lamparillo is an agave varietal that sits outside the legal definition of mezcal under current NOM regulations, which means it's classified as an "agave spirit" rather than mezcal proper. That's a bureaucratic distinction, not a quality one. This bottle is wild, herbal, and unlike anything else on our shelf.
The De Matachines Ensamble Verde Cenzio ($125) rounds out the set with a blended expression — multiple agave varieties co-fermented or blended to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Verde Cenzio showcases the kind of layered complexity that ensambles do best, with a freshness that cuts through the richness.
Adam built Off Premise's agave program around one principle: producers who are doing something that genuinely can't be replicated at scale. De Matachines checks every box. Limited production, rare varietals, a maestro with deep knowledge and real stakes in the land. These bottles aren't easy to find in Chicago, and frankly, they shouldn't be easy to find anywhere — that scarcity is part of what makes them worth seeking out.
If you've been exploring mezcal and feel like you've hit a ceiling on what the category can offer, De Matachines is the next level.
All three expressions are available in-store at 1128 W Armitage Ave in Lincoln Park, or order online for pickup. Stock is limited — these bottles move.
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