Matthew Lillard taps into agave spirits

Scream star Matthew Lillard has moved into the Tequila category with the launch of a new agave spirits range for horror fans.

Lillard, who has starred in films such as Scooby-Doo and Five Nights at Freddy’s, has created a new range under his Find Familiar Spirits company, called Macabre Spirits. The American actor joined forces with Blue Run Spirits co-founder Tim Sparapani and screenwriter Justin Ware to launch Find Familiar Spirits, which debuted with the fantasy-inspired Quest’s End Whiskey in October 2023. Now, Find Familiar is entering the agave spirits category, releasing a reposado Tequila as the first expression in the Macabre Spirits range. The small-batch additive-free Tequila is a reposado from Jalisco. The nose reveals cooked agave, caramelised sugars, buttery caramel, slight smoke, and white pepper, while the palate brings agave, minerality, black pepper, and burnt sugar. Like the Quest’s End range, each release in the Macabre Spirits line will come in a bespoke box accompanied by an original story. The inaugural release will contain the Rare, Fine & Limited book, written by Mike Flanagan, who is known for horror works such as The Fall of the House of Usher and The Haunting of Hill House. The cover art for the book was designed by Mia Bergeron, an oil painter known for her use of dramatic light effects. “As horror fans, we’re an eclectic tribe, but we all share a passion for stories that come from this wild, deep part of our imaginations,” Lillard said. “Macabre Spirits brings together two of my favourite things on the planet: wicked horror stories and delicious Tequila.” Macabre Spirits was inspired by the Danse Macabre, an allegory from the Middle Ages that depicts skeletal figures dancing in graveyards. The brand’s motto, ‘Tempus Saltandi’, translates from Latin as ‘time to dance’, with a fiddle-playing skeletal figure inspired by famous macabre art depicted on the bottle. Each new release will be an agave spirit hand-selected to accompany a new story from an acclaimed horror writer, with original oil-painted art. A full slate of releases is planned for 2025. The reposado will be available to pre-order online from 24 October from macabrespirits.com.