Posted on 08/20/2023 2:16:34 PM PDT by nickcarraway
In this era of craft spirits and, yes, even lawsuits about the hand-craftedness of craft spirits, it’s unlikely somebody would plunk a bottle of tequila in front of you, point at the worm floating around on the bottom, and challenge you to eat it.
Unlikely for two reasons: well, we’re all much classier these days, and thank you very much. But the second, far more important reason—there is no worm in the bottom of the tequila bottle. Not trying to invoke a “there is no spoon” vibe here, just, the tequila worm is an old school myth, a misunderstanding born of some marketing savvy and probably bolstered by the rowdy one-upsmanship of tequila swilling machismo.
Why is there a worm in tequila?
As we mentioned, a tequila worm isn’t actually a tequila worm. The worm we’re all thinking of actually belongs in a bottle of mezcal, tequila’s huskier, smokier cousin (tequila has to be at least 51% Blue Agave, but mezcal can be made from any variety of maguey succulents, the heart charred before distillation). And even then, the worm wasn’t a traditional aspect of mezcal production, even though to this day, some misinformation endures about the virility and hallucinations you’ll supposedly get as a reward for your worm-eating bravery.
The worm itself is actually a moth larvae called a gusano de maguey—since it feeds off of the maguey plant. If they weren’t being drowned in booze, each of these little guys would actually turn into a night butterfly called the Mariposa. And believe it or not, gusano de maguey are eaten, without tequila or any double-dog daring, on the regular in Mexico. In theory, if we’re digging all this virility/purity worm infusion stuff, a gusano rojo is a better worm to have in your bottle, since it feeds on the heart of the maguey (the part that’s roasted and distilled into mezcal). A gusano de oro, or gold gusano, just eats the leaves, so (yes, we’re saying this) that would be a less desirable worm to have to eat.
Who started the tequila worm craze?
Some think the worm in the bottle started as a marketing ploy, to get people to drink more mezcal in the 1940s and 1950s. Word has it a former art student-turned-mezcal entrepreneur named Jacobo Lozano Paez got the idea to actually put the gusano into the bottle of finished mezcal after realizing that the gusano changed the flavor of the spirit. (Since gusano feed on the maguey plant, it happened that sometimes a heart would be roasted with worms in it; this is, again supposedly, where Paez got the idea.)
There’s also the possibility this was purely a marketing angle, aimed at the American market. Tequila was flooding the U.S., and mezcal needed a way to differentiate itself. From here, ideas that the gusano indicated purity (a strong, pure mezcal would keep the worm intact) or could impart virility or good fortune were just a matter of some marketing imagination. Didn’t matter if Mexicans themselves never drank mezcal with a worm. We bought it, hook, line, and gusano. Even today, with mezcal making a strong, high quality comeback in the spirits world, bottles complete with a worm (and a tiny packet of worm-flavored salt) are still out there.
Meanwhile, it’s said the Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (the Mexican Standards authority) actually prohibits adding insects or larvae to tequila. So no, you’ll never see a worm at the bottom of a tequila bottle. But it’s not at all impossible you’ll encounter a worm in the bottom of a mezcal bottle. Just steer clear—the good stuff, as with many things in life, is entirely larvae-free.
Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.
...40 years ago.
The worm, of whatever origin, is now sterile. Munch in peace.
Maybe it can try IVF.
Been there, done that too, lost the shirt and my memory of said events.
I’ve seen a snake in a liquor bottle at a liquor store but it wasn’t for sale. I can’t remember if it was tequila or whiskey.
Gave up drinking long ago. Drank plenty of Mezcal, the worm stayed in the bottle.
Does this count as eating ze bugs?
“....lost the shirt and my memory of said events.”
Lol!
It was many beers ago.
Ha, ha, me too! But do have a scar that I still wonder about. Mescal is the only alcohol that I will not ever drink again.
I first saw the worm in Urban Cowboy when ex-con Scott Glenn took a swig and ate it with gusto !
‘I’ve seen a snake in a liquor bottle at a liquor store but it wasn’t for sale. I can’t remember if it was tequila or whiskey.”
They sell various versions of that in Vietnam. It was a thing when Vietnam was just opening up in the early 90s.
I was at a party years ago and we has a bottle of Tequila with a worm at the bottom. The woman throwing the party had us all agree ... we’d shake the bottle (placed in a brown paper bag) - and who ever got the worm would eat it. Luckily it wasn’t me. The guy who got the worm ate it and the rest of us got to listen to him vomit in the bathroom for about 10 minutes. Really gross.
I don’t drink any alcohol, not in over 25 years. Partly due to having alcoholics in the family and partly due to not wanting to repeat the many idiotic things I did when chasing that worm (of which there is NO video evidence of, thank you very much).
Formaldehyde. And it wasn't a liquor store. You had broken into the High School biology lab. Also, it explains that head-splitting hangover the next day.
It’s all coming back to me. And here I thought I dreamed it.
See, we’ve all, well many of us, been there and done that...😂😂😂
Tequila/Mezcal/El Paso/Ciudad Juarez...ouch, ouch, ouch.
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