Mexicans are famous for their national alcoholic drink - tequila, which is made from the blue agave cactus. In addition to tequila, this cactus is used for cooking and other drinks, which are famous all over the world for their unique taste and killer effect. What are these drinks and why do Mexicans make them from cactus?
Instructions
Step 1
The agave plant was first brought to Mexico from the Antilles. Local Indians called it "mexcametl" - later this name was transformed into the well-known "mezcal". For the aborigines, the agave was an almost divine plant, which they revered as an early incarnation of the Indian goddess Mayaheul, who had four hundred breasts through which her four hundred children were fed. The Indians used agave for more than just alcohol - its hemp-fiber-like leaves were great for making paper, clothing, rope, and sleeping mats.
Step 2
The word "tequila" is considered by modern linguists to be a term invented by the ancient people of Nahuatl, who historically lived in the lands of ancient Mexico. It meant "a place of wild herbs", "a place of clever methods" or "a place of gathering of plants" and came from the confluence of the words tequitl (work) and tlan (place). However, some experts in the field of Mexico and its indigenous people argue that "tequila" is a distorted name for the Mexican peoples Tiquilos or Ticuilas or Tiquilos. All these decryptions have a right to exist, since tequila lovers do not care how the name of their favorite drink is interpreted.
Step 3
On the territory of Mexico, 136 species of this cactus grow, but tequila is made only from blue agave. A rare species of wild-growing agave and some of its other types, Mexicans use to make mezcal, and also produce regional drinks from them such as racilla, sotol, pulque and bacanora. However, tequila was and remains the most popular alcohol made from cactus.
Step 4
The "grandfather" of tequila is mezcal wine, which was first made twenty years after the Spanish arrived in the New World. It was called by various names - agave wine, brandy mezcal and mezcal tequila - until finally the drink got its modern name. During its existence, tequila, which was a traditional homemade drink, has become a world famous and popular drink, which has been chaotically improved along with its Mexican homeland.
