SHAW: Espita Mezcaleria Will Celebrate Day of The Dead with A Month-Long Celebration this October

Josh Phillips and his team at Espita Mezcaleria, the Southern Mexican-inspired restaurant located in Shaw, invite guests to take part in one of Mexico’s great traditions, The Day of the Dead***. From October 2nd through November 2nd, 2017, Espita Mezcaleria will offer a variety of specialty dishes & drinks throughout the month of October including Mole Negro, Pan de Muerto, and El Mezonte, a house-made Mezcal & Cynar flip cocktail made with activated charcoal. A series of events will also be available for guests throughout the month including a mezcal tasting, sugar skull painting, mole negro cooking demo and a puppy costume contest.

Face Painting is part of Día de Muertos in Oaxaca.

Espita Mezcaleria will also collaborate with local design firm, Reid & Taylor Studio, to redesign the restaurant for the month-long celebration. Windows will feature an art installation incorporating calaveras and other Dia de los Muerto designs. Throughout the dining room, a canopy of fairy lights will adorn the ceiling, along with a butterfly cage filled with hundreds of feather butterflies. At the entrance, guests are encouraged to leave offerings and gifts to departed loved-ones at their specialty “altar for the dead.” The complete list of events below:

Saturday, October 21st, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.: National Mezcal Day. Beverage Director Megan Barnes will discuss the misunderstood spirit and how she incorporates it into the restaurants extensive cocktail program. Tickets are priced at $30, which includes samples of three of Barnes’ favorite mezcal cocktails along with a selection of snacks. A limited number of seats are available and guests are encouraged to make advanced reservations at: https://resy.com/cities/5/espita-mezcaleria?date=2017-10-21.

Sunday, October 22nd, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Paint Your Own Mini Sugar Skulls on the Patio. A limited number of sugar skulls will be available on a first-come, first serve basis.

Oaxacan Wood Carving / Bat

Monday, October 23rd, from 5 p.m. 7 p.m.: Bat Week Tequila Tasting with Bat Conservation International. Guests are encouraged to stop by the restaurant for a tequila tasting and to learn more about the bat and agave spirits connection. Tickets are priced at $15, which includes tastings from Siembra Spirits, Tequila Ocho, along with a welcome cocktail from Espita Mezcaleria. A representative from the Tequila Interchange Project will be on hand along with Bat Conservation International's Executive Director, Mike Daulton. A limited number of seats are available and guests are encouraged to make advanced reservations at: http://batweek.org/.

Saturday, October 28th, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Mole Negro Cooking Demo. Executive Chef Robert Aikens will demo how to make mole negro in the restaurants kitchen. Tickets are priced at $45, which includes participation in the cooking demo, two small jars of mole negro & Pan de Muerto to take-home along with a sampling of tacos, snacks & a seasonal punch. A limited number of seats are available and guests are encouraged to make advanced reservations online at: https://resy.com/cities/5/espita-mezcaleria?date=2017-10-21

Sunday, October 29th, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Puppy Halloween Costume Contest on the Patio. One lucky pooch will receive a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant along with extra puppy treats.

Tuesday, October 31st, from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.: Join us for drink specials and mezcal paired with special treats. Cocktails that will be available include the Vanilla Grapefruit Paloma with El Buho Espadin, Grapefruit Oleo and Mexican vanilla; the Mezonte with El Buho Mezcal, Cynar, espresso brown ale, lemon and chocolate bitters; the Oaxacan Sour with El Buho Espadin, angostura bitters, pineapple-Canela syrup, lemon, all-spice, clove and Canela as well as the La Llorona with espadin mezcal, bitter spirits, vermouths and Mexican fernet. Cocktails are priced from $12 to $13 each.

Street Parade in Oaxaca

Wednesday, November 1st, from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.: Annual Day of the Dead Party. The restaurant will be playing tunes from their favorite deceased artists. Guests will also enjoy face painting at the bar and various food and drink specials.

It all Starts & Continues - October 2nd through November 2nd, 2017.

At Espita Mezcaleria is located at 1250 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20001.

For reservations or additional information, please visit http://espitadc.com.

Cemetery during Día de Muertos in Oaxaca

***Of pre-Hispanic and pre-Christian origin, the Day of The Dead is one of the most important holidays in Mexican culture. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried and bringing candles to decorate gravesites. Toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults are also incorporated. Families sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones. Some families build altars in their homes, dedicating them to the dead. Altars are set up October 31st through November 2nd and are covered with offerings to the dead including flowers, fruits, vegetables, candles, incense, statues of saints, and photos of the deceased.