The worm in tequila???

Question

What is the worm in tequila?

Whats the history behind it?

Is it really a worm?

Basically, everything on the worm in tequila

Answer 1

The "worm" (sometimes more than one) commonly seen in bottles of mezcal is actually the larva of one of two kinds of insects. The most common type is that of the agave snout weevil. [1] [2] The "red worm" or gusano rojo is the caterpillar of the Hypopta agavis moth, one of the several kinds of "maguey worm", found on the agave plant. (Agave worms are sometimes found in the piña after harvesting). Many brands contain such worms. Some are named after the worm itself, as in Gusano Rojo and some are even named for the number of worms, e.g. Dos Gusanos, "Two Worms". Inside the mezcal, however, the worm is more a marketing substance, as it has lost its nutrients inside the bottle.

Taken from wikipedia...

When a worm is included, the mezcal is known as con gusano ("with worm"). Aside from its consumption with mezcal, the maguey worm is considered a delicacy in Mexico and can be found on restaurant menus throughout the nation.

The use of the worm is exclusive to mezcal, since the Mexican standards authority, Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM), prohibits adding insects or larvae to tequila.

Answer 2

sorry i'm not answering this, but i've been wanting to know that also.

Answer 3

The worm in the tequila is actually a native american tradition passed down and adopted by the mexicans. Legond has it that the aztec people believed the worm you now see used in tequila could cure deseas. They believed that when you put it into your stomach you could live as the gods and never desease.... The spanish when they arrived and after hearing this story decided to market this story. Unfortunatly for them no one would eat it. So they devised a plane that would profit them a lot of money by putting it into a tequila. The one drinking would get so drunk he or she would not notice the worm. Therefore it stuck and now we have worms in our tequila and e-coli in our tomatos, and corruption in our government.....

Ok, I made this all up.

Answer 4

There actually isn't a worm in any tequila.

By law in Mexico, it's not allowed.

What you're referring to is Mezcal, an entirely different type of alcohol, which happens to also be distilled from agave cactus like tequila.

The worm, too, is not really a worm, it's a larva, and usually only put into cheap gimicky bottles of Mezcal so drunk US college kids can claim they "ate the worm".

Personally, I wouldn't touch cheap Mezcal or a worm with a 10' pole!

And you can't really get drunk just from eating the larva; think about it. It's pretty small, and even if it's completely soaked up in alcohol, that's less than a tablespoon of liquor. If you get nasty after-affects from it, it probably has more to do with the fact that you ate a bug.

Since you're the 770th person to ask virtually the same question, check out some of the prior answers to find out more.

Answer 5

You probably think this is some ancient Mexican tradition, right? Not unless your idea of ancient is 1950. We even know who invented the practice. Various reasons are given for it, but I say it all boils down to: Let's see if we can get the gringos to eat worms.

First let's get a few things straight. There's no worm in tequila, or at least there isn't supposed to be. Purists (hah!) say the worm belongs only in a related product, mescal. Strictly speaking, mescal is a generic term meaning any distillate of the many species of agave (or maguey) plant, tequila included. Today, however, mescal is popularly understood to mean a product bottled in the region around the city of Oaxaca. For years this stuff was basically home-brewed firewater consumed by the locals, but in 1950, Mexico City entrepreneur Jacobo Lozano Paez hit on the idea of putting a worm in each bottle as a marketing gimmick. Stroke of genius, eh? I don't get it either, but that's what separates us from the visionaries.

The critter in question is the agave worm, which is actually a butterfly larva. The worms bore into the agave plant's pineapplelike heart, and quite a few get cooked up in the brew used to make mescal. Far from being grossed out, Jacobo concluded that the worm was an essential component of the liquor's flavor and color. He may also have figured, Hey, mescal is about as palatable as paint remover, and the only people who are going to drink this stuff are macho lunatics, so why not take it to the max? In fairness, the worms were also said to have aphrodisiac properties, and worms and bugs are sometimes consumed in Mexico as a delicacy. (Supposedly this dates back to the Aztecs.) At any rate, the ploy worked and the worm in the bottle is now a firmly established tradition.

The genuine agave worm is a bright coral color, which fades to pink in the bottle. Some bottlers substitute a species of white worm that lives in the leaves of the agave plant. Connoisseurs complain that the white worm isn't as tasty as the red one, which to me is like complaining that your soup contains the wrong species of fly.  To me the whole thing seems pretty silly.  I've had a sip or three of mescal in my day, and my feeling is, if you want to get sick, who needs a worm?

--CECIL ADAMS

Many myths surround the popularity of the tequila worm. First, you won’t find it in a bottle of just any tequila. Its final resting place is actually in mezcal. Tequila is mezcal (or mescal), but must be derived from only the blue agave plant. Mezcal, the drink of choice for tequila worm consumption, comes from a variety of agave - or maguey - plants.

Depending on whom you ask, a tequila worm may be the caterpillar stage of several butterfly or moth species. It is not a worm, of course, but a fat coral or gold larva that gently fades to pink or white as it ages in a bottle of mezcal. Aficionados of the tequila worm believe that only the reddish worm should be used, but as this species becomes harder to find and harvest, the gold larval bodies are becoming acceptable. In fact, some mezcal manufacturers pride themselves on including a wide range of tequila worm species that they state boosts the flavor and smell of the mezcal.

Entomological descriptions for the tequila worm can be confusing. It is known as the agave worm or maguey worm. “Gusano” is the Spanish word for worm. The coral tequila worm (gusano rojo), which is thought to be the most tasty, buries into the pineapple-shaped center of an agave plant. The gold varieties (gusano de oro) tend to feed on the outer leaves. Some gusanos are members of a subfamily of butterflies referred to as Hipopta agavis. Others are the caterpillar stage of the skipper butterfly (Aegiale hesperiasis) or may be identified as a carpenter worm (Comadia redtenbacheri).

Legends that surround the tequila worm include its magical powers that can impart strength to the consumer. Some claim it to be hallucinogenic or an aphrodisiac. In fact, the tequila worm was not introduced into mezcal production until the 1950s - as a marketing gimmick - and has no historical Mexican claims or fantastic properties.

If you own an agave plant, you may have to worry about tequila worm poachers. In fact, many mezcal producers place patrols along the perimeters of their properties as worm-collecting can be quite profitable.

The tequila worm is perfectly safe to eat. They are fried and eaten, sans mezcal, in Mexico, as part of a protein-rich diet. Some specialty markets even carried canned tequila worms. Just add a spicy sauce and you have a nutritious snack.

Answer 6

there is no worm in tequila you are thinking of mezcal...

it is thought to show the proof of the alcohol (since it doesnt rot).. you can also buy mezcal with scorpions spiders etc...

if anyone tries to tell you it makes you hallucinate they are full of it...