Catching a Buzz on Pulque, the Indiginous Fermented Agave Drink of Mexico David Hammond - Chicago Tribune
go to original January 25, 2017

Pulque, a drink of fermented agave juice, can be difficult to find fresh in the States. Canned versions can be natural or flavored with fruit, such as coconut-pineapple, center, or strawberry, right. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)

Before contact with Europeans, indigenous peoples in what is now Mexico had already figured out multiple ways of catching a buzz by drinking fermented juices made from fruit, corn, plant roots and agave, the spiny succulent also used to make tequila and mezcal.

Before agave was used for tequila or mezcal, however, it was used in the production of pulque, another alcoholic beverage. Pulque is a fermented, undistilled drink, slightly viscous, milky and off-white in appearance, remarkably easy to make.

As the agave matures and prepares to send up a central stalk topped with a flower, its core swells with sweet juice called aguamiel (literally "honey water"). Centuries before Columbus came to the New World, the ancient Aztecs and others discovered that if they cut out the core of the still-living agave plant, this central cavity would fill with aguamiel that in a matter of days ferments to become pulque.

Surely pulque is one of the easiest alcoholic beverages to prepare: simply cut out the core of the agave, and let nature make your hooch. As with other forces of nature that ancient pre-Columbian Mexicans feared and revered, the Aztec personified the agave plant: Mayahuel, the agave goddess, is frequently portrayed with 400 breasts, from which pour aguamiel. Drinking at her breasts are 400 tipsy rabbits, the gods of drunkenness.

Pulque is sour and can be challenging, though the tartness perks the palate between bites. Pulque is flavored with fruits, vegetables and even other alcoholic beverages. You can have your pulque with pineapple or coconut juice, salsa or tomato juice, beer or wine or any one of over a dozen different additives.

Read the rest at Chicago Tribune

Related: Mexican Heritage in a Glass: Tasting Pulque in Mexico City (The Guardian)

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