- Title: MEXICO: Ancient Aztecan cocktail makes a resurgence
- Date: 6th September 2011
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) "PULQUERIA" BAR OWNER, ARTURO GARRIDO SAYING: "About ten years ago the workshop that we had was for older people, young people were done with pulque and were focused on other drinks. It was during this time that pulque consumption was drying up and there were these terrible campaigns against pulque and this almost finished pulque production in Mexico.
- Embargoed: 21st September 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico, Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA4JOSDWW70RMOWA5AS0LRVYJWD
- Story Text: Move over tequila. Another potent alcoholic drink is warming the bodies of Mexico City's hip young drinkers. Brewed by Aztec ancestors over a thousand years before and having survived the Spanish colonialists and mass European migration the traditional beverage, pulque, once deemed uncool is making a comeback.
Business is booming for the pulque producers in Mexico's central heartland of Tlaxcala. Made from an agave plant native to the country called maguey, pulque is derived from the plant's sap pulled from its roots and left to ferment in vats for 48 hours. The result is a slimy alcoholic beverage that long outdates tequila and that has been both revered and mired over the centuries.
Once a drink for Aztec nobleman and today's beverage of choice for the traditional Mexican working class, a museum exhibition dedicated to the tumultuous times of the pulque has opened in Mexico City.
"Between the Aztecs the drink was reserved for the nobles and priests for ceremonial use and for pregnant women. The Aztecs had a high regard for this sticky beverage," said museum director Salvador Zarco.
Showcasing all things pulque, the exhibition covers traditional production techniques, an ancient map of the country where the potent drink was produced and a life-sized model of Mexico City's iconic pulque bars, "pulquerias", to show off a drink that has occupied an important part of the country's history from its pre-hispanic era, through revolutionary struggles and to the free drinkers of today.
"The idea behind promoting these cantinas at this exhibition is to show off the image of pulque and everything surrounding its production process, consumption and economy," said exhibition curator Miguel Angel Corona.
Once famed throughout the country during its independence movement as the choice of drink for Mexican patriots, 200 years of the powerful cocktail is only just recovering from a fierce propaganda campaign by beer breweries against pulque consumption. As mass European migration changed the face of the country so did attitudes towards the traditional drink.
Today, Mexico City's pulquerias like "Las Duelistas" are booming. With their own Facebook accounts and thousands of dedicated followers, the now popular bars are packed with the capital's young and fashionable rediscovering the ancient drink for the first time.
"About ten years ago the workshop that we had was for older people, young people were done with pulque and were focused on other drinks. It was during this time that pulque consumption was drying up and there were these terrible campaigns against pulque and this almost finished pulque production in Mexico. But, we are seeing a resurgence and I think we are going to keep up this trend for a long time to come," said pulqueria owner Arturo Garrido.
Jumping on the popular trend, an estimated 50 bars dedicated to the ancient beverage across Mexico City have also been made-over with a hip alternative feel, complete with the latest in music fads and the country's youth are now rubbing shoulders with pulque aficionados from generations before.
"My parents don't like pulque as there were restrictions in Mexico City so they hardly drink it but my grandparents are big fans of pulque so there is a generation that likes it, one that doesn't and another than has returned to it, which is really cool," said pulque drinker Carlos Ricano.
Cool factor aside, with a variety of flavours ranging from celery to mango never has the Aztec drink been healthier, and at about 25 pesos ($2 U.S. dollars) for one litre the Aztec beverage does not discriminate across socioeconomic spheres.
Exported around the world from Japan to Canada and Ukraine and with pulque guides for tourists popping up over the country, producers of the Aztec drink believe that its heyday is still to come and may yet rival tequila as Mexico's premiere drink. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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