Ancestral Drinks: Mezcal and Pulque from the Heart of the Desert

Gear up with long pants, closed shoes, sun block and a hat. We will drive from the meeting point in San Luis Potosí capital city for 45 minutes to arrive to our first destination of the tour: Palmar Segundo. This is the last bastion where the guardians of MEZCAL DE CAMPANILLA preserve this tradition, an ANCESTRAL technique that uses a unique clay pot system for its distillation; giving the drink an amazing flavor that sets it apart from anything you have ever tried before.

Here Angel, Daniel, Jesus, Jaime, Manuel, Maria de la Luz and their families invite us to visit their taberna, or mezcal patio. During the tour, we will get to know the processes for the preparation and elaboration of mezcal using the campanilla technique.

We will learn how to taste mezcal properly with a technique that will build up the experience with our senses. Forget about whatever you learned during those wild nights of spring break, this spirit needs to be appreciated in a special way. Don’t forget to bring extra cash (pesos) in case you want to buy some souvenirs directly from the mezcal producers.

It is time to get back into the vehicle to where we will continue along the route of the ancestral beverages. Very close to the main highway, the little community of Derramaderos is in a valley between the protected natural area of Sierra de San Miguelito. We will visit David and his mother Eufemia, better known as La Jefa del Pulque. We will hike along with them into the beautiful desert (full of endemic cacti) to collect agave sap in a traditional way and, back at their home, demonstrate the elaboration of pulque; a fermented pre-Hispanic drink like kombucha but with a little bit of alcohol. We will take some time to enjoy a refreshing beverage in this beautiful garden of our host’s house; a space that invites us to never leave. Then it is time to drive back for 40 minutes to the meeting point where our rural tourism activity will end.