The Pulque Museum: Museo del Pulque y las Pulquerías

The Museo del Pulque y las Pulquerías is officially the Museum of Pulque and the Pulquerías, (i.e.; the taverns serving pulque). The museum covers a topic frequently of great mystery to first-time visitors to central Mexico. It’s also a drink that’s seeing something of renaissance, along with its cousin, mezcal. Traditionally difficult to preserve or ship any distance, its consumption declined over most of the 20th century.

The museum, aptly enough, is upstairs from a working pulquería. The Pulquería Panana is a busy watering hole just next to the prominent Church of Hipólito. The pulquería makes pulque in a variety of flavors from maguey plants tapped in Hidalgo and Tlaxacala states, north and east of Mexico City.

• Pulque is an ancient alcoholic drink made from the maguey plant. With a long history clouded in mythology and legend, it reached a peak of consumption in the late 19th century. Today, it’s being produced and consumed in greater quantities again. The museum offers a fantastic introduction to the subject.

The Pulque Museum, just upstairs from the tavern, offers guided tours, or a chance to wander on your own. While it’s not enormous, it does offer a complete history and explication of the ancient drink and the many cultures to have contributed to the pulque we know today.

While there are still many pulquerías across Mexico City, only this one will give you the full picture. As the Museum of Pulque directors put it, “Pulque is a culture.”

Hours: (Closed Tuesdays & the 28th of each month)
Mondays through Saturdays: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sundays: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.