La Cava Celebrates 17 Years With A $17 Old Fashioned

La Cava del Tequila turns 17 years old today (August 29th), and one of our favorite bars on Walt Disney World property is celebrating in a very appropriate way: with a brand-new cocktail!

The Anniversary Old Fashioned officially debuts today, but I had the chance to preview it on August 27th, opening day of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, thanks to an invitation from the La Cava team. And as someone who loves both La Cava and Old Fashioneds, you know I had pretty high expectations going in.

Thankfully, this one delivers. And at just $17, I’m not sure you’ll find a better cocktail value anywhere at Walt Disney World.

The Anniversary Old Fashioned

There are a lot of ingredients packed into this glass: Blanton’s Bourbon, LALO tequila blanco, amaro liqueur, Ancho Reyes Barrica, mole bitters, and house-made cherry syrup.

And because this is La Cava celebrating its 17th birthday, they didn’t stop there. The cocktail is aged in-house for 17 weeks before being served over a large ice cube, with a mini red velvet cupcake on the side –  complete with lit candle for you to blow out. Because every birthday deserves cake!

With bourbon, tequila, amaro, and Ancho Reyes all in the mix, this is obviously a strong drink. But it drinks amazingly smoothly. There’s plenty of warmth from the spirits, plus some spice and complexity from the Ancho Reyes and mole bitters, while the cherry syrup rounds everything out without making the drink overly sweet. If you like spirit-forward cocktails, you’re going to be very happy here.

How Does It Compare?

I’ve tried a LOT of Old Fashioneds at Walt Disney World. Enough that whenever a new one appears on a menu, I’m inevitably comparing it against a mental list of my favorites.

The Anniversary Old Fashioned can absolutely hang with the best of them.

Across the Promenade at La Hacienda de San Angel, the Smoked Old Fashioned combines Rough Rider bourbon, Ilegal reposado mezcal private barrel, Ancho Reyes Barrica chile liqueur, Nixta elote liqueur, and chocolate-mole bitters. It’s aged in-house and costs $28.

Right here at La Cava, The Vaquero’s Falsetto uses Bardstown bourbon, Pasote reposado tequila, mole bitters, and a bourbon-infused Luxardo Maraschino cherry. That one is $24, and I’ve already written about how highly I rank it among Disney Old Fashioneds.

Over at GEO-82, the Brown Butter Old Fashioned combines Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon, brown butter, maple, and Hella Cocktail Co. Mexican Chocolate Bitters for $28.

And at Bourbon Steak, one of my other unique favorites is the Bourbon Steak Old Fashioned, with bacon-washed Russell’s Reserve 6-year bourbon, smoked maple, and orange bitters. That one will set you back $25.

Those are all excellent drinks. And the Anniversary Old Fashioned belongs in the same conversation with them. Which makes the $17 price tag absolutely wild! The next-cheapest option on that list is more than 40% more expensive. Several cocktails offered for Food & Wine Festival will cost you more and come with much less alcohol and flavor.

We’re talking about Blanton’s Bourbon, LALO tequila, multiple additional spirits and liqueurs, house-made cherry syrup, 17 weeks of in-house aging, AND a tiny cupcake, for considerably less than I’m accustomed to paying for Disney’s best Old Fashioneds.

My Take

La Cava is already one of my favorite places to stop in EPCOT, and its team consistently comes up with some of the most interesting cocktails on property. The Anniversary Old Fashioned feels particularly fitting for a birthday celebration because it takes something La Cava does incredibly well – thoughtful, spirit-forward drinks with tequila woven into unexpected places – and turns it into an excellent Old Fashioned.

It’s strong, but exceptionally smooth. It has enough sweetness to keep all of those spirits in balance without losing the character of the bourbon and tequila. And after tasting it alongside the very long list of Disney Old Fashioneds already stored in my brain, I’d happily order this one again even if it weren’t attached to a special occasion.

At $17? I’d order it VERY happily. Maybe twice in a row.

So run, don’t walk, to the Mexico pavilion and help one of my favorite bars on Disney property celebrate its 17th birthday. La Cava could have easily charged significantly more for a cocktail of this quality, and the fact that they chose to make the anniversary price $17 makes this one of the easiest drink recommendations I’ve made in a while.

Feliz Cumpleanos, La Cava! Here’s to 17 more years.