Pulque

pul'ka, the national beverage of the Mexicans, corresponding to the beer and ale and wine of other countries. It is made from the sap of the agave plant. When the bud of the flower stalk appears in the center of the huge rosette of leaves, a slit is made across the tender center of the plant, and the center of the bud is scooped out to form a cavity. Morning and evening for a month a quart or two of sweet sap is dipped out of this hollow with a gourd and poured into a goatskin bag on the back of a donkey. The fresh juice is fermented, like that of the grape or the juice of barley malt, to make pulque. It is sold throughout the country by the skin, glass, barrel, or bottle, like beer or milk. Agave raising is one of the largest industries in Mexico. A second and stronger liquor called "mescal" is produced from pulque by the additional process of distillation. See Alcohol; Agave