pulque

(16.) Jose Jesus HERNANDEZ PALOMO, La Renta del Pulque en Nueva Espana (1663-1810), Escuela de Estudios Hispano Americanos, Sevilla 1980.

New Yorkers love Mexican food but no one here knows about pulque," says Heather Tierney, co-owner with his brother Christopher Tierney of the pharmacy-themed Apotheke and now Pulqueria in New York's Chinatown.

For 1810-12, the documentary record is particularly rich, as the regime investigated and catalogued the dangers--even seeking to evaluate loose talk by inebriated pulque drinkers.

However, there are now just a few pulque bars in Mexico City, one-time capital city of the Aztecs.

Before dining on the authentic pre-Columbian meal, don Jaime, the Garcia family patriarch, lifted his glass and toasted: "Here we eat in the style of Obregon: a little food and pulque by the glassful." No doubt, food is the best kind of history teacher.

The Ticuila Indians fermented blue agave into pulque but it was too weak for the Spanish, who distilled it into tequila.