Tahona Bar Mezcal Tasting – San Diego, CA

Reading Time: 4 minutes

During a February-getaway to San Diego (pre-COVID-19), I stumbled across a Groupon for a 1-hour mezcal tasting at Tahona Bar, a mezcaleria and restaurant in the Old Town neighborhood.

It feels a bit weird jumping in here without saying, “Hi!” Here we are, 6 months into 2020, and what a ride its been. Quarantining at home presented a lot of feelings for me, but most importantly it gave me the space to become inspired to revive this blog. I’m excited to explore the world through travel, food, and art, and I hope you’ll join me on the journey.

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Now Back to the mezcal tasting at Tahona Bar

As a food and drinks enthusiast, some of my best destination experiences revolve around, well… food and drinks. If you ask me about any city I’ve visited, I’ll rattle off a half-dozen places to eat and drink to make your trip memorable. It takes a special place to make it to my mental Rolodex (and by extension to the blog) because I have to be confident that you’ll have the same amazing experience I had. For San Diego, Tahona Bar is one those places!

Pricing:	$$ – Moderately Priced
Specialty:	Mezcal
Good to Know:	Reservation required; good for date nights and small groups; restaurant on-site

Note: This review was written before the COVID-19 pandemic. This establishment may have modified their service offerings, so I recommend checking their website for the most up-to-date information.

First thing’s first: what is mezcal?

Mezcals are an agave-based liquor, primarily produced in Mexico. While often directly associated with tequilas, mezcals have some distinct differences, including types of agave, regional production, how they’re cooked and how they’re labeled. If you want a more in-depth explanation, you should book a tasting. Just remember:

All tequilas are mezcals, but not all mezcals are tequilas.

Max Bonem 

Tahona Bar’s Mezcal tasting room is an intimate space with low lighting and a few touches of Oaxacan decor. Less than a dozen seats surround one long table facing a wall-to-wall mezcal shrine.

The Experience

Steven, our personal mezcal curator, welcomed us with warm hospitality, and I immediately knew our Tahona Bar experience would be worth it. We were the only guests during our time slot and Steven took extra care to give us a personalized experience. 

The Groupon included two flights of 4 mezcals each from Tahona’s tasting room menu. Steven walked us through each mezcal’s geographical origin, the type of agave used (there are hundreds), as well as how the various cooking processes affected the tasting notes. I’ll admit the warm and tingly feeling set in by mezcal #3, but I pushed through! I recommend eating a hearty meal beforehand.

Mezcal Impressions

Because my friend shared their flight with me, I had the chance to fall in love with several standout picks, but The Don Amado mezcal was by far my favorite of the tasting.

My honorable mention mezcal goes to the Yola brand. I live for a #GirlPower moment, so finding out this mezcal is RUN BY WOMEN (including singer-songwriter Lykke Li) and BOTTLED BY WOMEN made it more special.

Were there any mezcals I disliked? Yes! The Mezcal Derrumbes San Luis Potosi tasted like onions and peppers and made for an unpleasant sip, so I’d never willingly drink it again. However, Steven assured me it’s popular and delicious in their bloody Mary’s, and I’ll take it his word for it. As for me and my house? Strong nope.

Final Thoughts

Tahona Bar is a must-visit! The ambiance is perfect, the staff are friendly, and the mezcal tasting is a unique experience that makes for interesting conversation well beyond your time in San Diego. Mezcal is still pretty mysterious, so you’ll automatically get +10 fascinating points if you can share that time you tasted 8 different mezcals and know that not all mezcals are smokey. Ask me how I know…

Psst..

There’s also a speakeasy near Tahona Bar. If you’re lucky, the Tahona staff will tell you how to… discover it.