Our latest delivery of Vena Cava has been delayed for a couple weeks. We’re getting in a nice San Vicente valley Tempranillo from Valmar on Wednesday, though.

In the meantime, you can check out the new Vena Cava winery facility here.

We’ve got a lot of them. They’re good. Check out the list here, and look for specials when you come in.

Unloading the oven. Hearts of maguey (agave) plants are roasted for five days in this oven, covered with earth. The wood here is mesquite; in even smaller villages they typically use whatever trees are local to their area (one of many reasons that mezcals have terroir variations).
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Hearts of the Espadin varietal maguey, roasted and ready to be crushed into sweet nectar
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Hector Vásquez, production manager at the palenque (mezcal production facility)
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Los Danzantes has distilled here for nine years, but there has been a palenque here for at least three generations, maybe longer. This stone for crushing agave hearts is from the previous operators of the palenque.
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The current crusher. Note that it is horse-drawn. Los Danzantes does not have its own horse, it rents one whenever it’s time to crush. I like to imagine that certain horses make better mezcal than others.
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Fermentation and distillation.
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Three days into fermentation, nectar and fiber are rising above the edge of the wooden vessel. Fermentation here is from all natural yeasts that live in the palenque, as in a Belgian brewery.
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Halfway done with fermentation, the wine is part sweet, part sour, a little bit effervescent. And tasty. However, the smokiness from slow cooking is still hidden by the sugars that remain; that won’t show until the end of fermentation.
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The still, on top. This still is used for the first distillation, a fancy Portuguese still is used for the second distillation.
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The fancy Portuguese still.
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Gas fires the stills.
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Testing for alcohol content.
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This came out around 49%. It was delicious.
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Pechgua mezcal undergoes a third distillation, with a local heritage chicken in the top of still, and local seasonal fruit in the tank. The red color comes from cochineal, a cactus insect (it looks like whitefly when it’s on the cactus paddle) that is also used to color traditional Oaxacan rugs.
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At Los Danzantes, reposado and añejo mezcals are aged in French oak, as per the guidance of premier Ensenada winemaker (and Los Danzantes partner) Hugo D’Acosta. The oak arrives at the facility new; this is compared to much tequila aging (and some mezcal aging) which often occurs in Bourbon barrels of American oak.
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Los Danzantes also offers the Alipús single-vilage mezcals, which are produced by families in their own palenques, in coordination with Hector. These mezcals are not yet available in the US, but we expect to have them next summer. You can buy them in Ensenada at La Contra if you want to try them, which I recommend.
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The entrance to Santiago Matatlán.

On Monday, February 27th, Max is preparing a chef’s dinner featuring food pairings with rare and allocated beverages. Seating is limited to 50 people, you can make a reservation any time between 5pm and 10pm. The price is $50/person including beverages (not including tax & tip). You can make your reservation online here.

1st Course

Carrot Blossom Mead (Methode Champenoise), Madras, Oregon – Heidrun Meadery

This is about as rare of a craft beverage as you can find. To wit: our friend Gordon Hull is the only person we know of making champagne out of honey instead of grapes. Carrot blossom honey is very rare, too, it can only be made when the carrot plants are grown for seeds instead of for food. Lastly, this is from Gordon’s final days at his Arcata, California meadery — he’s since shut it down and will re-open in Point Reyes Station. Gordon’s mead making style is aimed at revealing the unique flavor overtones of each varietal of honey, so you can taste what makes carrot blossom honey different than, say, the buckwheat honey you might be cultivating here in San Diego.

Max is pairing the mead with a dish of house cured sweet capicola with carrots and Napa cabbage from Suzie’s Farm.

2nd Course

Pliny The Younger Triple IPA — Russian River Brewery, Santa Rosa CA

I don’t know whether PTY is the most coveted beer in the world, but it has to be in the top few. Making this 10.5% ABV beer that has incredible balance is so time-and-labor intensive for the brewery that they restrict production to a small batch once a year, resulting in long lines at the few places that sell it.

The Triple IPA is paired with long-cooked grass-fed beef brisket, pork skin, Schaner Farms kumquat and Suzie’s Farm broccoli.

3rd Course

Mezcal of Wild Maguey – various – Mexico

Americans are increasingly aware of mezcal, a deeply artisinal, rustic spirit of Mexico. But almost of all the mezcals one typically sees are from farmed maguey (agave) plants of the Espadin varietal, which makes a clean, defined taste of the final product. Beyond the world of Espadin lies the funky, unpredictable flavors of silvestre (wild) maguey mezcals. For this course you can select a glass from one of several mezcals made from these wild maguey plants.

Mezcal being a perfect after-dinner beverage, Max is pairing it with dessert: Oaxacan chocolate short cake, mezcal whipped cream, and Suzie’s Farm strawberries.

Seating is limited to 50 people for this dinner. To make reservations, go here.

We are accepting reservations for Valentine’s Day.

Among the special offerings we’ll be putting together for you are:

* The Strawberry Squeeze cocktail, with local strawberries, prosecco, and Bluecoat gin

* Kumiai oysters on the half shell

* Local strawberry shortcake dessert with shaved Oaxacan chocolate.

Join us — a decadent time will be had by all!

Max is serving them grilled, with a local pastured hen egg, and house made thresher shark chorizo.

We’re pleased to present one of our region’s most renowned chefs, cooking a dinner at El Take It Easy on Monday, March 5th. Chef Javier Plascencia will cook a 5 course meal, in which each course is a version of a dish from one of his Tijuana-based restaurants, which include Misión 19, Erizo Baja Fish House, Casa Plascencia, Villa Saverio’s, and Caesar’s.

We will be accepting reservations from 5pm to 11pm — it’s rolling seating. The dinner will be $40 for 5 courses, with drink pairings for $30 extra. The regular beverage menu will also be available. Due to the special nature of this event, our regular menu will not be available on this nite (nor will our Manhattan Monday menu).

We hope to see you there, please make reservations with our online system.