Pulque is the oldest ancestor of two of Mexico’s most popular alcoholic drinks, tequila and mezcal. It’s not nearly as popular as the other two, but that wasn’t always the case. In the late 1800s, pulque was Mexico’s most-consumed alcoholic drink. But untrue rumors that it was fermented with feces, its reputation as a drink for the poor, and competition from the beer industry nearly made pulque completely disappear. Now, young Mexicans are fueling a renaissance of the dying beverage. So can pulque become a global hit like tequila and mezcal? And how, against all odds, is it still standing?
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00:00This is the agave plant from Mexico. It's used to make two of North America's most
00:06popular spirits, tequila and mezcal. It's also the main ingredient in one of
00:14Mexico's oldest fermented drinks, pulque. Pulque isn't nearly as popular as the
00:22other two, but that wasn't always the case. In the late 1800s, pulque was
00:27Mexico's most consumed alcoholic drink. But because of false rumors, its
00:33reputation as a drink for the poor, and competition from the beer industry,
00:38pulque almost completely disappeared.
00:45Now, young Mexicans are fueling a renaissance of the dying drink. But can
00:52pulque become a global hit like tequila and mezcal? And how, against all odds, is
00:59it still standing? Between tequila, pulque, and mezcal, pulque is the oldest,
01:07dating back at least 2,000 years. Even though all three drinks are made from
01:12the agave plant, the way they are made makes them taste different.
01:16Mezcal gets its smoky flavor from roasting the heart, or the piña, of the
01:22agave plant, while the tequila gets its sweet fruitiness from steaming it. Both
01:27liquors also have complex distillation processes that can take weeks to
01:32complete and result in spirits that contain as much as 55% alcohol. Pulque,
01:39on the other hand, is made through natural fermentation, which gives it a
01:43slightly sour taste and a much lower alcohol content — around 4%.
01:52I haven't tasted anything quite like pulque. Something like it's slimy, a little bit
01:56thick, a little bit heavy on the gut, but yet it's so tasty. Pulque is also much
02:03simpler to make than tequila or mezcal, but producing it still requires the
02:08skilled hands of an expert. And Pablo Morales Rodríguez knows exactly what to
02:15do. He's been producing pulque in the town of Omealco de Bonfil in central
02:20Mexico for the last eight years.
02:38The secret lies in precisely when to cut the agave, or maguey as it's locally
02:55known. Pablo has to cut the plant at just the right age to extract the best
03:04aguamiel, the sweet sap the agave secretes that ferments into pulque. If he
03:10cuts the agave too early, it could produce low-quality aguamiel. If he cuts
03:15it too late, the agave might not produce any sap.
03:20Pablo uses a metal tool to scrape the heart of the agave.
03:34The agave is typically left to rest for anywhere from three months to a
03:40year to secrete enough aguamiel to fill the cavity, but beating the bugs has
03:48made this more difficult for Pablo.
04:04It's not a threat, it's a fact. And with wings, it flies, it moves from side to
04:09side. It enters the maguey's penca, it bites, lays its egg, becomes larvae, and
04:15destroys the maguey.
04:22It's not going to get to the heart, we've already removed the damage.
04:28We removed where it was asleep and it came out.
04:34El famoso picudo.
04:40Por eso ya no podemos dejar tanto el maguey así. Tenemos que explotarlo o dejárselo al picudo.
04:53After three months, it's time to extract the aguamiel from the agave. Pablo places
04:58an empty bottle with a hose into the cavity.
05:02For this process, we have to do this.
05:06We have to insert it.
05:09Once it's inside, it uncovers.
05:13And you suck it, look.
05:19Supposedly, this is the aguamiel.
05:33This technique has been used by pulque producers, known as telachequeros, for centuries.
05:40Traditionally, they would use a hollow gourd, called an acocote, for this step.
05:47But Pablo says using an empty bottle is more convenient.
05:52Simplemente una botella y un pedazo de manguera y va para arriba.
05:58Once the cavity is empty, he scrapes the sides again to stimulate more aguamiel production.
06:05At this stage, the average agave plant can produce anywhere from four to six liters of the sap a day.
06:13Pablo collects it two to three times a day.
06:16But unpredictable weather makes it more difficult.
06:19If rain gets into the cavity, it could spoil the aguamiel.
06:34Nicknamed the drink of the gods, pulque was once consumed during sacred rituals in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
06:42The drink lost its religious significance after the Spanish conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521.
06:49And it gained massive popularity among everyday people.
06:53500 million liters of pulque were being produced in Mexico every single year by the beginning of the 20th century.
07:01But a government-driven anti-pulque campaign following the Mexican Revolution devastated the industry.
07:08Land reform in the 1920s and 1930s broke up large agave plantations into smaller plots,
07:15making industrial production of the drink impossible.
07:19Pulque production dropped from 234 million liters in 1929 to 167 million liters the following year.
07:29At the same time, the growing popularity of beer dealt another blow to pulque's popularity.
07:35The beer industry started rumors about pulque being fermented with feces,
07:40and people began associating the drink with poverty, criminality, and low social class.
07:47By the 1950s, only 42,000 acres of agave were being cultivated, less than 7% of what existed in the early 20th century.
08:06Despite the challenges, Pablo says his family had no intention of leaving pulque behind.
08:13Even though people stopped drinking pulque in cities, it was still enjoyed in rural areas, like where Pablo's family is from.
08:20It was small-scale producers like them who kept pulque from disappearing completely.
08:36They continued harvesting their agave plants and fermenting their pulque in small rooms called tinacales,
08:44like the one Pablo uses today.
08:47He pours fresh aguamiel into a plastic barrel with pulque that's been fermenting for up to three weeks.
08:55He continues to add fresh aguamiel to the plastic barrel.
09:00This is what you see now in a bottle.
09:03It's a bottle that you can pour aguamiel into.
09:07It's a bottle that you can ferment it in.
09:10It's a bottle that you can ferment it in the first step.
09:14It's a bottle that you can ferment it in the first step.
09:21He continues to add fresh Aguamiel to the plastic barrel little by little for up to 10 days
09:27depending on how strong he wants the batch.
09:51In the past, Pablo's family made money selling to local pulquerías,
09:55Mexican taverns that specialize in serving the ancient drink.
09:59But these specialty bars have been disappearing in Mexico since the mid-1900s.
10:04In 1953, there were over 1,200 pulquerías in Mexico City.
10:10Nearly 60 years later, that number had dropped to just 72.
10:15Since the 1980s, there has been a growing effort to revive pulque in Mexico.
10:22In the 2010s, pulque started experiencing a renaissance.
10:26Slowly, young Mexicans in search of ways to connect to their roots began flocking to the drink.
10:52This sentiment rings true at Cactus, a bar and restaurant in Morelia.
10:57It's one of several businesses that have opened in Mexico in recent decades to capitalize on pulque's resurgence.
11:04Today, the drink is one of its best sellers.
11:22Jose Pizano Mancera has been working at Cactus since it opened.
11:27It's also where he had his first sip of pulque.
11:30Cactus is one of many businesses in Mexico putting a spin on the traditional drink by offering different flavors like strawberry, mango, and pineapple.
11:50Jose says he's been seeing more young people coming in to try the drink.
12:20Places like Cactus are also on the front lines of dismissing rumors about the drink.
12:50He believes one day pulque will get the same global recognition as tequila and mezcal.
13:05And while those spirits are also served here, for some customers, pulque isn't a class of its own.
13:13Pulque is something so unique, so Mexican.
13:15I feel like there is nothing that can replicate the flavor of pulque, of good pulque.
13:43Like its descendants tequila and mezcal, pulque is finding its way to store shelves and bars in the U.S. as well.
14:01This could be a game-changer for the ancient drink, as tequila and mezcal brands have had massive success in the States.
14:08In 2023, the U.S. was the biggest market for mezcal and the leading recipient of Mexican tequila exports.
14:15Multiple brands have even started selling canned pulque.
14:18But expanding pulque globally has proven to be more difficult than tequila and mezcal, mainly because pulque has a shelf life of about three days.
14:39But for him, making pulque is a labor of love.
14:58For now, Pablo is more concerned with keeping pulque making alive and well in Mexico.
15:08But finding the next generation of pulque producers may be the next challenge for the industry.
15:18While more people are interested in drinking pulque, Pablo says young people haven't shown an interest in learning how it's made.
15:38Few people are interested in dedicating time to pulque making.
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