ZAPTOTITLÁN , PU—In the small, arid town of Zapotitlán Salinas a natural botanical garden celebrates cacti. The region surrounding the town, known as the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, is a vast Eden of cacti. Botanists count over 81 unique species, several of which are endemic to the region. Many of the species are tall, landscape-defining columnar cacti. In the most dense of areas, 1,800 of these lofty plants sprout from only one hectare of land.
The Tepehuán and Mixteca people who call the valley home are well versed in the use of cacti to survive. The stout biznaga barrel cactus is used to straighten out the fibers, or ixtle, harvested from native agaves. The strands are thrashed against the spines. These orderly threads are then woven into sandals, called ixcacle, which are worn by the deceased to protect their feet on the treacherous path to the underworld. The tetecha cactus fruit can be dried into salea meaning “tanned hide” and saved year round for consumption. The seeds of the same fruit are ground into a local salsa. And several other species are used in the preparation of liqueurs by maceration. Chief among the booze-soaked cactus fruit is the garambullo.
Zapotitlán Salinas in particular is renowned for its licor de garambullo, a spirit macerated with the fruit of the Myrtillocactus geometrizans cactus. The fruit are harvested and sold at a small commercial level throughout Mexico’s arid regions. They taste akin to the blueberry. Señora. Socorro J. Pacheco operates a souvenir shop and health store near Zapotitlán’s botanical garden. She also macerates her own licor de garambullo.
“The little fruit is collected, more or less, between April and May.” She explains, “It is cut fresh, washed thoroughly, and it is put to rest in alcohol. The entire fruit, with its skin and little stems, macerates because we say that it contains mescaline. So it is a sort of hallucinogenic.”
While local belief may suggest that the Myrtillocactus geometrizans contain the powerful hallucinogenic mescaline, there is almost no convincing proof that it does. The belief suggests that it is not the berry, but rather the stems and plant that produce the compound. Several psychedelic-afficionado websites repeat the claim, but science doesn’t seem to confirm.
In the 1975 publication, “Las investigaciones fitoquímicas y sus relaciones con los herbarios,” Jorge S. Marroquín and Xorge A. Domínguez write, “It is known that all of the ‘garambullos’ (Myrtillocactus) are rich in glycosides; instead they don’t show signs of alkaloids, thus confirming the known rule that ‘glycosides and alkaloids generally do not occur in the same plant.’”
Other cacti that grow in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley definitely contain the hallucinogenic compound and may have their traditional uses for human consumption. Still, there is ethnobotanical evidence that locals use the cactus to make poultices for trauma wounds. Additionally, garambullo seems to be able to kill certain agricultural pests.
Even if licor de garambullo doesn’t make you trip, it is a delicious liqueur (and it can get you drunk.) “It is left to macerate from a week to a month. With more time, more of the fruit dissolves.” Pacheco continues, “It can be made with alcohol from sugarcane or mezcal. And when it is done macerating, you strain the fruit out.”
The infused rum or mezcal is then mixed with a simple syrup. Two parts syrup are added to one part macerated liquor. While the fresh fruit tastes like a blueberry with a sour honey dew melon kick, the liqueur is intensely sweet with the smokiness of mezcal and a light fruity flavor. The maceration gives it a coffee-like color.
Caveat emptor. Locals are also known to adulterate licor de garambullo with other cactus fruits. Garambullo shortages or the convenience of larger fruit tempt the entrepreneurs bottom line. A guide in the botanical garden says that some put chiotilla edible fruit from the Escontria chiotilla cactus in the maceration.
Pacheco adds, “Here we have a lot of garambullo. Sometimes we make licor of xoconostle, but that is just for the flavor. Garambullo is unique due to the mescaline. So I prefer to prepare it because it has a medicinal property.”
Ultimately, it is up to the palate of the drinker to decide which cactus fruits make the superior liqueur. Perhaps a more thorough look needs to be taken at garambullo as well to analyze its chemical makeup. I, for one, enjoyed the taste of the liqueur without any sense of hallucinations or desert hijinx.
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