The uninitiated may think that some bottles of tequila have worms in the bottom but experienced tequila drinkers know that it s actually mezcal a similar mexican liquor that features a wormy surprise at the bottom of the bottle.
What tequila have a worm in the bottle.
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.
It s made silent cameos in poltergeist ii where it offered an assist on a plot defining possession and in urban cowboy which.
Or maybe you ve spotted a dusty bottle of monte alban a mezcal.
You see at the time tequila was flooding the us market and mezcal companies were desperately trying to differentiate themselves.
Some think the worm in the bottle started as a marketing ploy to get people to drink more mezcal in the 1940s and 1950s.
The red worm is typically considered tastier.
Whether you ve ever been challenged to eat the worm in the bottom of a tequila bottle yourself or simply watched someone else do it you might be wondering what the deal is with the worm in the first place.
Purists hah say the worm belongs only in a related product mescal.
It is only in mezcal a closely related beverage.
Strictly speaking mescal is a generic term meaning any distillate of the many species of agave or maguey plant tequila included.
Contrary to popular belief a true tequila does not contain a worm.
When it comes to the effects you ll feel after eating the worm however opinions vary.
Tequila was flooding the american market and mezcal needed a way to stand out.
Even though we can t be 100 sure most drink historians believe that the whole worm in a bottle of mezcal myth most probably started as marketing ploy back in the 1950s.
The truth is there isn t one.
The worm is never found in tequila says heriberto oviedo the tequilier like a sommelier for tequila at the cantina beach restaurant at the ritz carlton in key biscayne fl.
The worm you see.
You may have heard an expert friend talk about how truly authentic tequila has a worm floating at the bottom of the bottle.
The tequila worm has achieved a delicious low key ubiquity.