“Early humans, who arrived from east Asia across the Bering Strait, were chewing on and probably making naturally fermented beverages from New World plants including agave, hog plum, chile, guava, maize prickly pear and others as early as 10,000 years ago at the beginning of the Archaic period,” Dr. Pat says.

His recent research focuses on the beginnings of distillation. Chemical analyses of ancient double-chambered pottery jars, from burials in Colima, Mexico, dating to as early as 1500 B.C., are now in progress, using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Biomarkers for agave and other native American plants, which were likely naturally fermented initially, are sought and compared with the results from modern replica pottery vessels in which agave was distilled. Preliminary results suggest that agave was distilled in the ancient vessels to make a “mezcal.” More ancient vessels need to be analyzed before it can be said that these are the earliest distillation vessels ever discovered, predating the arrival of the Spanish and Filipinos by nearly 3,000 years, who brought the Mediterranean and Asian traditions of stills with them.

Armed with Dr. Pat’s chemical, archaeobotanical, archaeological and ethnohistorical findings and more than 15 years of experience resurrecting ancient fermented beverages, Dogfish created modern interpretations of an early Archaic pulque and two late Archaic pulque-based spirits or mezcals.

“Combining the best research available and our access to off-centered ingredients, we set out to create three liquid time capsules,” Calagione says. “According to early Spanish chroniclers, the ancient Aztec god for pulque is Ometochtli. Ometochtli means ‘two-rabbit’ in ancient Aztec, and he was often represented as a rabbit. Pulque was ceremonially served in double-headed rabbit jars, and drunk with long reed straws. The name stuck, and we chose ‘Two-Rabbit’ to represent our modern versions of the ancient beverages.”

To re-create the pulque, Sam and Dr. Pat mashed and fermented a combination of agave syrup, prickly pear, guava fruit, jalapeño chiles smoked and dried over mesquite wood as chipotle, mesquite pods and chewed maize (compliments of Sam and his Dogfish co-workers).

Two-Rabbit Pulque, which was fermented with a cocktail of wild yeasts, has an aroma filled with citrus, berries, pear and jam, with hints of smoke and pepper as it warms. The taste is fruity before notes of cocoa and nuts take over, then finishes with a bit of heat from the pepper.

The two Archaic mezcal re-creations were done on Dogfish Head’s pilot distillery. Using the Two-Rabbit Pulque as the starting ferment, or wash, Dogfish ran a single pass on its 200-gallon pot still. The result is a spirit with subtle smoked grains and hot pepper on the nose, backed by sweet fruit with undertones of bubblegum and pear. The taste is smoky up front, like traditional mezcal done over an open fire, with a mid-palate of corn (think unaged bourbon). It finishes with a lingering sweet richness from the corn and fruit, while a mild heat from the peppers cuts through. Dogfish bottled Two-Rabbit Spirit at a lower 60 proof to mimic its ancient cousin, which would have been unable to reach higher alcohol levels.