Palenque Gracias a Dios Mezcal — Local services in Oaxaca

We had a very disappointing experience with this company, mostly due to their very bad communication.

We planned a tour through the palenque on 20th of February, and were very much looking forward to it. We were expecting this to be one of the highlights of our trip through Mexico. Unfortunately there were big strikes by teachers on this date and due to roadblocks by protesters, there was no way to travel from Oaxaca to Matatlán.

When reaching out to them about this (hours before our tour strated), this is where the trouble began. We tried emailing them, but until now, I've never received a response. I tried calling them, on the number provided in the confirmation email and their website, but the number is out of service. I've reached out through Instagram to be directed to a Whatsapp number. From this number the only reply I received after two days was: "Nice to meet you". I had to wait another two weeks and sent another two reminders before I finally got the reply, saying they could only reschedule the tour and they referred me to yet another email address. Apparently there's no form of internal communication in this company. Well, I don't want to reschedule, by this time we're back home in Europe. And I also don't want to explain our situation for the fourth time, so we'll take the loss of our money for granted.

Tl;dr: You'll probably have a great time if everything goes as expected, but don't expect any empathy for extraordinary circumstances. They rather sit on your...

If you enjoy mezcal and are visiting Santiago Matatlan to learn more about it, do yourself a favor and bypass the roadside stands and visit Gracias a Dios, located at the far end of town and run by the Hernandez family. Gracias a Dios works hard to balance being a professional operation that recognizes the dramatic changes now taking place in the industry while maintaining its long-held traditions and respect for the land, the people involved and the plants themselves. You’ll typically see one of the many production steps underway, the range of agave varieties planted for future harvest, and an up-close introduction to the equipment used. Tasting the finish product will give you a new appreciation for what quality mezcal really tastes like and you can purchase your favorites at more-than-fair prices. And, if you’re lucky you’ll get to meet little Frijolito! Schedule your tour and tasting in advance to assure you get the time and date that best suits you. If you're really into it, Gracias a Dios has an AirBnB house right on the property - total...

Yoooo visiting here was a superb experience!! David gave us a great tour of the family palenque and taught us about different varieties of maguey (agave) and the process that makes them into mezcal. The family has been making mezcal for 70 years! They also grow a variety of other useful and edible plants on the property which is really cool for a bit of horticultural diversity. Another project they've started is experimenting with the fibers from agave leaves to use for textiles. So far they've made some excellent quality wide brim hats. I'm excited to see where they take it! We got to taste a number of delicious mezcals, and the agave based gin they've recently started making! Both gins were the best gins I've ever tasted. This is an awesome spot to visit if you want to taste and learn about artesenal...