Pulque

OK, I just found a can of this (I can't say where, I'm sure the store has no license to sell alcohol), described as "fermented agave juice", 6% alcohol. The ingredients list says "fermented agave juice, sugar".

What do you do with it? Is it consumed straight-up, over ice, mixed with anything? What flavor characteristics should I expect?

Thanks!

---Guy

[Jetgirly]

I had some at a roadside stand in Teuchitlan (near Guadalajara). It was served cold but not on ice. It tasted (and felt) like someone was wringing their sweaty gym sock into my mouth. That being said, I imagine it would be a lot less... distinctive... from a can.

[pulque]

As you can tell by my nickname I have been fascinated by pulque since I first tried it on my friend's ranch, in a sparsely-populated area of Guanajuato. The agave they sucked it out of (yes he had a gourd) was at least 9 ft tall and 15 around. What struck me the most though, was the taste of the aguamiel (honey water) the unfermented nectar that comes out of the agave and used to make pulque.

We used to say it tastes of sweet, burnt rice. Its a sweetness and taste unlike any other. This is what the pulquero would mix with already fermented stuff to get it going.

We would bring some aguamiel with us to sweeten up and therefore make more drinkable thet pulque that had gone bad (turning to vinegar) we had carried all day with us.

Its interesting more how pulque makes you feel. Like a beer buzz, it's subtle at first, but if you drink pulque has been fermenting all day, watch out!; it has a disorienting buzz to it
-- that isnt necessarily unpleasant. It has a tendancy to increase the blood flow to your cheeks, so they feel warm and look rosy.

Pulque always looks dodgy, and you really have to be careful where it comes from. Pulquerias are known to water down their drinks.

Any more info you need, let me know.

By the way i did read the study (in Spanish) of how possibly the high levels of folate was responsible for the higher weights of babies born to pulque-sipping moms!

[pulpo]

@pulque - have you found the canned version in the states at all? Looks like Boulder Imports went out of business, so I'm guessing it's tough to find.

[extramsg]

I'd be interested to know if any of the canned products are similar to the stuff in Mexico. I've only had pulque twice ever, once several years ago from the back of a cart during dia de los muertos festivities, and once recently at a pulqueria in Mexico City. Problem is that at the latter, I had it flavored hipster-style and so can't really comment on the pure flavor of pulque. Since I had it flavored (guava), it reminded me of tepache, fermented pineapple.

Pulque is the first fermented (not distilled) rendering of the sap (aguamiel) of the maguey cactus. It's often sold in pulquerías (special bars that serve little else but pulque and are open solely to men) here in Mexico. Like the old days at the corner beer bars in the USA, you can also take your bucket to the pulquería and get it to go.

The unflavored variety is common, but so are pulques flavored with strawberry, pineapple, and other seasonal fruits. Expect it to be slightly viscuous (slimey), foamy, and *definitely* an acquired taste.

Canned pulque sounds interesting...maybe. Let us know how you like it.

Probably best mixed with a ton of Squirt lime soda. That stuff is nasty. Its like drinking a big glob of snot.

Now now. Millions love it~myself NOT included, however. And of course it's traditionally taken straight, not with a mixer.

Is that the stuff Tony Bourdain (Cooks Tour)puked his guts out from after getting smashed on it? Of course the plate if ants and worms he ate beforehand could have had something to do with it.

That's the same stuff. I saw that episode as well. Its definitely pretty mean stuff and I am surprised someone is putting it in cans and actually selling it off the shelf. I guess some of those pulquerias can be pretty rough as well.

Yes, it's truly in cans. Info from the can:

PULQUE
Nectar del Razo (brand name?)
Fermented Agave Juice
Natural
Made in Mexico for Productos Naturales de Agave S.A. de C.V.
Nanacamilpa Tlaxcala Mexico

"The pulque is a moderation beverage, considered sacred for the Aztecs, due to its high nutritional level. Nectar Del Razo, offers you this ancient tradition. Enjoy it with the delicious flavor of the natural, in the purest tradition of the ancient Mexico."

Imported by Boulder Imports, Boulder CO.

I tried it, it's not as bad as you all lead me to believe. It's a cloudy, opaque white color and is somewhat thick (more like syrup than mucous). The haze and thickness lead me to believe it is high in pectin. The flavor I'd describe as somewhat fruity and winey, the aftertaste is a bit earthy. The texture is the most difficult aspect of the drink, I got thru 3/4ths of the can before a gag reflex started to build.

Eliminate the texture (if truly from pectin that would be easy to do during production) and add carbonation and it could be a big hit here in the US.

Amazing. Here's the website for the product (trilingual, no less!), which makes for some amusing reading (note the prominent size of the word "aphrodisiac" on one of the pages).

Link: http://www.boulderimports.com/pulque/

Don'tcha just love the Internet! A pulque website! The part I like best is the picture of the two guys toasting one another. And yes, the belief that pulque is an aphrodisiac still holds today. I notice our taste-tester didn't comment on that part.

The time I drank pulque I was in a little town called Huixquilucan...pronounced (more or less) whiskeyLOOcan, whiskey for short. It was a really daring thing to do, back 20 years ago; pulque is even today largely a man's drink.

Taste-testerone perhaps?
R.

Pulque, like lambic, kvass, hard cider, and other very old-fashioned fermented folk drinks, tastes sharp and cidery and lactic/funky, with a bit of sulphur. It's an evocative taste, and I love it.

The culture and history of pulque (as you know, Cristina) is a very rich and interesting one. I love the whole thing...the drinks, the pulquerias, everything.

The canned stuff is almost surely pure exploitation. This isn't something that would lend itself to canning and mass production. It's about rituals.

there are so many immigrants from Mexico in this country...there MUST be some pulquerias scattered around. They'd almost certainly be illegal, and thus hard to find out about, but still it's a quest that begs to be done.

Cristina, I'm not sure I've spotted your postings before, but I'm really really happy to have someone down there joining in! Welcome! We are planning new software which will allow us to add a forum devoted entirely to Mexico. If you'll shoot me an email (address above), I'll let you know when that happens.

ciao

Jim--No, the canned version wasn't lactic/funky at all. It was an interesting blend of winey fermentation character and fruity/vegetal flavor from the agave.

Is there sufficient supply of the plant in the US to make pulquerias possible here?