Agave americana flavored with the very pungent mezcal worm. "Mezcal" and "tequila", although also produced from agave plants, are different from "pulque" in their technique for extracting the sugars from the heart of the plant, and in that they are distilled spirits. In "mezcal" and "tequila" production, the sugars are extracted from the "piñas" (or hearts) by heating them in ovens, rather than by collecting "aguamiel" from the plant's cut stalk. Thus, if one were to distill "pulque", it would not be a form of "mezcal", but rather a different drink. Agave nectar is marketed as a natural form of sugar with
Agave filifera Agave filifera Agave filifera (thread agave) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Central Mexico from Querétaro to Mexico State. It is a small or medium sized succulent plant that forms stemless rosette up to 3 feet (90 cm) across and up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall. The leaves are dark green to a bronzish-green in color and have very ornamental white bud imprints. The flower stalk is up to 11.5 feet (3,5 m) tall and is densely loaded with yellowish-green to dark purple flowers up to 2 inches (5 cm) long. Flowers appear