Pulque and mezcal - tequila's heritage and history

June 23, 8:26 PMTequila ExaminerRyan Kelley

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 John J. Mosesso/NBII.Gov

Whether you're shooting, sipping, tasting, or gulping, tequila is a liquor to be appreciated. Despite what you might read on a bottle of expensive tequila, the liquor we know today as tequila did not exist in ancient Mexico or Latin America. The Spanish conquistadors didn't sit around with small glasses of tequila sitting next to a bottle of salt and a lime wedge.

Modern tequila wasn't invented until the late 19th century, when above-ground, steam-heated ovens were introduced. There was, however, fermented beverages made from the agave plant. Harvested by native Aztec and Mayan people for use as a sweetener, the agave was already legendary in the regions where it grew. This was especially true after the agave nectar was fermented into a beer-like, frothy drink called pulque. Pulque, containing 4 to 8 percent alcohol, was used as a celebratory drink, a relgious drink (to calm vicitims of sacrifice, or the priests conducting the ceremony), and as a medicinal drink.

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived, they took notice of the drink. Due to water's potential to spread bacteria the Spanish were not accustomed to, beer or wine was the drink of choice during meals. Both have enough alcohol content to kill harmful bacteria; so it really was a necessity. In 1530, the Spanish colonial township of Santiago of Tequila was established and by the next year the Spaniards had started to construct alquitarras, simple mud stills that were placed in ravines. In these stills, the Spaniards fermented agave syrup and produced some of the world's first mezcal.

During the early years of the Spanish conquest, a domestic wine industry began to develop in Mexico. As the Mexican winemakers got better and could produce cheaper wines than what was being imported from Spain, King Phillip II banned the planting of any new vineyards in Mexico in order to protect Spain's hold on the wine industry. Exempt from the ban, the church began to lead the local wine industry in Mexico, and in 1600 don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, marquis of Altamira, began to cultivate the local agave for distillation. The first tequila factory was established, and we know it was successful because tax records show that the first taxes on "mezcal wine" were imposed by the governor of New Galicia (now the state of Jalisco) in 1608.

Explore Cuervo history: NY Global Gourmet Examiner William M. Dowd has written a fascinating article on the history of Jose Cuervo.