[BFix] RE: [ebml] OT: worm in the bottle

[Roger]

Yes, he is correct.

 

Mescal also seems to have some hallucinogenic properties.

 

 

 

 

 

From: ebml-bounces at broncofix.com [mailto:ebml-bounces at broncofix.com] On
Behalf Of robert goodrich
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 6:13 AM
To: bfix; ebml
Subject: [ebml] OT: worm in the bottle

 

I'm not much of a drinker but I still found this interesting and the answer
to many a past discussions!


Why is there a worm in bottles of tequila?


02-Jul-1999

  _____  

Dear Cecil:
The other night I was talking with a friend who worked at a bar in Arizona
where most of the hicks got shots of tequila. As they got drunker they would
ask to have "the worm" (bleagh) along with their shot. My questions are:
What kind of worm is that thing? Does drinking/eating the worm make you
drunker? And how did the worm end up in the tequila? --Beth L. Grover, via
the Internet
Dear Beth:
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? 

  _____  

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