Can You Keep The Secret? A New La Cava Secret Menu Item!

La Cava del Tequila has a brand-new cocktail for Día de los Muertos, and it comes with a couple of catches! First, you won’t find it on the menu. Second, it’s only sticking around for about a month. And third? You need to know what to say before they’ll make it for you.

Thankfully, I can help with that.

La Ofrenda is available beginning October 2nd through approximately the first week of November. It costs $27, and to order it, you’ll need to give your server or bartender the passphrase: “Rest in Peace.” “R.I.P.” works too. And then the real fun begins!

What’s In The Glass

La Ofrenda combines Bozal Cempasúchil Mezcal, Dos Hombres Reposado, and Weber Ranch Vodka, which is made from agave. You read that right – like many La Cava special offerings, that is multiple premium spirits in one glass.

But there’s a lot more going on here than alcohol. Pitaya fruit brings the sweetness and bright color, with pumpkin spice adding a little seasonal flavor. The cocktail comes with charcoal salt on the rim and is garnished with a flower.

But Let’s Talk About That Presentation

Because this is the real star! La Ofrenda isn’t simply handed to you across the bar. It arrives as part of a gorgeous Día de los Muertos display, complete with a La Cava barrel, flowers, and an illuminated, smoking skull.

It’s peak La Cava: dramatic, and not just tossing some glitter into a drink and calling it special. I immediately pulled out my phone and took approximately eleven million pictures and videos.

The name is fitting, too. An ofrenda is an offering or altar created as part of Día de los Muertos traditions to honor and remember those who have died. La Cava has perfected that theme here, from the secret “Rest in Peace” ordering phrase to the marigolds and skull-filled presentation.

How Does It Taste?

Here’s the biggest surprise: La Ofrenda is really easy to drink. Look at that ingredient list again! Mezcal. Reposado tequila. Vodka. I was prepared for something VERY spirit-forward.

Instead, this drinks much sweeter and more smoothly than you’d expect. The flavor I got most strongly was the pitaya (in the same fruit family as dragon fruit) – which gives the cocktail a bright, fruity sweetness. The pumpkin spice is there, but lightly. It doesn’t turn this into some sort of heavily pumpkin-spice margarita situation.

The result tastes much more approachable than its three-spirit ingredient list suggests. If you usually steer away from mezcal because you’re worried about an aggressively smoky cocktail, don’t let its presence scare you away here.

Just remember that “doesn’t taste especially boozy” and “isn’t especially boozy” are two VERY different things.

My Take

I’ve had a lot of La Cava cocktails at this point, and one of the things the team does especially well is build a whole experience around a drink without forgetting that the actual drink still needs to be good.

La Ofrenda absolutely nails the experience part. The secret passphrase is fun. The smoking-skull presentation is fantastic. The limited-time availability makes it feel special. If somebody nearby orders one, you are almost certainly going to turn your head to see what just showed up.

I expected three spirits (especially mezcal, tequila, and vodka together) to produce something much stronger-tasting. Instead, the pitaya takes center stage, the pumpkin spice stays nicely in the background, and the whole thing goes down dangerously easily.

At $27, this isn’t an inexpensive cocktail. But you’re getting several premium spirits plus one of the most elaborate drink presentations I’ve seen at La Cava. For a limited-run Día de los Muertos offering, it is appropriately special.

La Ofrenda is available only from October 2nd through approximately the first week of November, and it’s a secret-menu item. So when you head into La Cava, don’t go looking for it on the regular menu.

Just remember the magic words:

Rest in Peace.

And have your camera ready.