Though the margarita is enjoyed in a variety of ways today, the origins of the cocktail whose base (tequila) is the national drink of Mexico are somewhat muddled, in bartender parlance.
Three things are certain: Before the margarita, came tequila. Before tequila, there was mezcal. Before mezcal, there was pulque.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of years before anybody thought to invent a margarita machine, Aztec people in what is now known as Mexico harvested and distilled the heart of the agave plant to make pulque.
In pre-Hispanic Mexico, the heart of the maguey agave plant was cooked and its juices . . .
