What I am learning is that it has a lot to do with heads-hearts-tails. However, branding is harder to shake - even though . His theory was that mezcal would continue to improve until the bottle would get down to about 25% full, at which time he suggested that you should just drink the remaining mezcal because it would start to drastically change (presumably for the worse). Hey guys, I just read this not sure if I saw it the first time! It's a common urban legend that tequila comes with a worm in the bottle. I was just asking somebody about this two days ago. That might make them more palatable for some drinkers but serious mezcal lovers tend to go for 45 proof and up. Regardless of the vapors, Id think that tipping the bottles on their side once or twice a year should be enough to keep the cork moist enough to keep a good seal. If you're following a plant-based diet and want to try one of these brands, be sure to check the label carefully to make sure no meat was used in the distillation process. The fact that mezcal is a clear spirit also plays a role. Recientemente, se convirti en la primera mujer mexicana en lograr con distincin el nivel 2 y nivel 3 en espirituosos por Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET). Here are ten of the best mezcals for sipping. While a mezcal worm might not be at the top of your list when it comes to late-night, alcohol-fueled cravings, especially if you drink mezcal every night, according to a 2013 report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, we should all be adding more insects to our diet. That sounds plausible. In an interview with Bon Appetit, mezcal distiller Yola Jimenez pointed to mezcal's purity as the reason it causes fewer hangovers. The word Mezcal comes from the Nahuatl words "metl" and "ixcalli", which means "oven-cooked agave.". Copyright 2023 InsideHook. Could one of these factors have made the difference? "Now we're seeing triple-digit growth. Well, there is a larva in most of the bottles of mezcal. 2: It Gives The Power To The Drinker. The fact that the gusanos were presented for eating and yet show up nowhere as being in the mezcal suggests that, possibly until the 1940s, no one was putting gusanos into mezcal for commercial purposes. This young white mezcal is also a product of agave Espadin. 99K views, 7.8K likes, 645 loves, 487 comments, 1.1K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Zack Mwekassa: La France trs en colre Seriously. Curious about why you sometimes feel awful the morning after drinking? Id agreed that a 2yr experiment like this would probably provide more noticeable differences. Thats a question for a future tasting. September 24, 2020 2:06 pm ET. Both spellings are correct, and everyone has their favorite it seems. The worm at the bottom of the bottle, which in popular culture is associated with tequila, is actually a mezcal tradition. Mezcal (/ m s k l /, American Spanish: ()), sometimes spelled mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave.The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl mexcalli [mekali], which means "oven-cooked agave", from metl and ixcalli [ikali]. If theyre sealed, they should be fine, and theyll likely get better as they age. While they're found in all alcoholic beverages, dark liquors have higher concentrations of congeners than clear spirits. But eugenol, a terpene found in mezcal, could help combat the damage caused by free radicals. Salud! To further complicate the matter, tequila is a special type of mezcal. What happens when you eat the worm in mezcal? Weve seen several threads on Facebook, Reddit, and elsewhere over the years that have asked this question. Casamigos tequila takes things slow. Let's set things straight here. Each is made using 100 percent Blue Weber agave, which is between seven and nine . The first times you d. Very similar, but more mellow and balanced. Jonny. Worm salt is a mix of sea salt, ground agave larvae, and chile spices. I did not realize this when I revised my book in 2018, but now I think that if there is just a little bit left in the bottle (less than 25% is a decent marker but it may need to be even lower), it will worsen over time. "We're working on a few new studies to guarantee that these Mexican alcoholic beverages are of high quality the way others have done for beverages like vodka and whisky," he said. This particular agave plant grows in Jalisco, Mexico. In a 2010 study published in Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, a team of researchers administered a pure citronellol extract to rats to see what effect it had on the rodents' blood pressure. teriyaki chicken donburi wagamama . So 7 months was as long as we could resist temptation. All rights reserved. These little mezcal fun facts are explained in detail. Citronellol is a terpene found in agave, as well as many other plants. Very little difference between the two. Tyler, Similar notes on the nose but more like cornmeal than pancakes. If you are the new mezcal drinker among the group person who finishes the bottle of mezcal has to eat the worm. There are two types of moth larva that can be used: the first from a beetle with red coloring known as Scyphophorus acupunctatus and the second from a Cossidae moth known as Comadia redtenbacheri. It's the caterpillar form of a species of moth that lives in agave plants. The researchers found that the geraniol had an antidepressant-like effect on the mice, suggesting that the terpene could have important therapeutic benefits for humans struggling with stress and depression. We have drank it. Recuerdo Mezcal is one of the few recent mezcal brands to embrace the gusano. I could tell you the red one is of the species comadia redtenbacheri and that the white worm, which is the one commonly found feeding off the agave plant, is aegiale hesperiaris. And theres a lot of crossover between those two purposes, too. There has never been a "worm" at the bottom of a Tequila bottle. It surely has something to do with the $$$ part! This "worm" is actually the larva of a moth referred to as a gusano. Here's what you need to know about the worms in tequila or mezcal bottles. It's an aphrodisiac; it has hallucinogenic properties; it will make you drunker. ; THE WORM DOESN'T JUST AFFECT THE MARKETING; IT ACTUALLY CHANGES THE DRINK'S CHEMISTRY. They may be white (Meocuilines) or red (Chinicuilies), and both are an ancient food and taste good. The brands pushing mezcal to new levels don't use the worm. A inicios de 2015, co-fund Agavache para promover los destilados mexicanos de Agave desde una perspectiva de identidad cultural y responsabilidad social. Because the worms are safe to consume, there are no known side effects from eating them. Definitely agree about them being less astringent and rounder on the palate. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and another 44 million have low bone density, which puts them at risk of developing osteoporosis later in life. I mean, the proof is in the pudding/nosing and then tasting ? The term "free radicals" gets thrown around a lot these days, but what exactly are they, why are they bad, and how could your choice to drink mezcal every night protect you from them? Mezcal and tequila will stay deliciously enjoyable for years to come . To make this unique style of mezcal, distillers hang a raw chicken breast ("pechuga" in Spanish) inside the still during the distillation process, according to Wine Enthusiast. This is the larva of the moth that lives in the heart of the agave plant. But the worm doesn't just affect the marketing;it actuallychanges the drink's chemistry, De Len said. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); With a database of over 1,500 bottles, Mezcal Reviews is the best place to find and review mezcal, destilados, sotol, raicilla, and more. Sources: For details about data sources used for food storage information, please click here. Farnesol, a terpene in mezcal, may have anti-inflammatory properties, according to a 2018 paper published in the journal Molecules. Generally, weve found that older bottles tend to mellow and get better over time. These larvae are the same worms that you can find floating at the bottom of mezcal bottles. The most common is espadin, which can be cultivated on farms. In a 2006 paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Dr. Antonio De Len-Rodrguez and colleagues took a close look at the chemical makeup of mezcal. I like making a rotation with what im drinking (and small amounts at a time) so ill have several bottles over the next several years that fall will into the category of your experiment. First things first: The "worm" at the bottom of some bottles of mezcal isn't actually a worm, as noted by Vice . Lalo, as he is known to his friends, believes the practice dates back a hundred years or more. Some releases will be aged in glass for upwards of two or three years before being bottled for sales and general consumption. 1.It's the best way to drink mezcal as the Mexicans do Just like following a shot of tequila with a slurp of lemon wedge and a lick of salt, reddish spice sal de Gusano (worm salt) is often. Depending on how long it's aged, flavors can range from stingingly bitter (joven) to smoother and smoky (aejo). Like so much of the beautiful cultural heritage of rural Mexico, theres little to no documentation to support any of the theories. Tyler and I both have dozens of unopened bottles in deep storage in the back of our closets, saving these special bottles for some unknown future event, probably several years from now. Unfortunately, you'd be hard put to find a bottle of mezcal in the US that has a worm in . In the article, Fausto Zapata, a co-founder of El Silencio mezcal, explains that adding a worm was just a marketing tactic to get more people to try, or be dared to try, mezcal. Its also interesting to note that you dont see mezcal con gusano being made outside of Oaxaca. Or sometimes two. The mezcal worm is also used as a rite of passage when drinking mezcal with friends. Sometimes thats for medicinal purposes, where the adjunct is most often plants; sometimes its for ceremonial or celebratory purposes, where its most often fruits and proteins, such as turkey or chicken. The worm is a moth larva, gusano de maguey. 14 had slight differences from the different aging. The younger one looked at his drink and said, you know what we should do? Richards pointed out that, although the distillation process should, in theory, destroy the gluten in alcohols produced from grains like wheat and rye, "cross contamination and tiny gluten proteins surviving the process may lead to a reaction in some." Mexican Appetizers are a Delightful Way to Start Your Meal, What is Mezcal and What You Should Know About That Worm, The Truth About the Tequila Worm in the Bottom of the Bottle. Yes, some bottles of mezcal include a creepy crawly surprise at the bottom, but no, it won't make you hallucinate if you drink mezcal and eat it. It would be great if it did because stress is a problem many Americans grapple with every day. Individuals are exposed to ethyl carbamate largely through drinking alcoholic beverages. Damian Meneses of El Tigre speculates that the gusano was probably dropped into mezcal bottles long before it was commercialized. The best place to find and buy worm salt online is here. He sparked the worlds interest in the breadth and depth of traditional mezcal. 14 intentionally left for seven months with very little remaining in the bottle. Greg is a lover of agave spirits, handicrafts, and barware. Luckily, the levels of ethyl carbamate in mezcal don't appear to be dangerously high. Flavors of cinnamon, sand, and slate. Jonny, Notes of clay. If you've been around enough mezcal, you'll start to notice that it's only the low-end bottles that still have the worm floating ominously at the bottom. Short finish. I dont understand how it locks it up that way, but when it does it seems to give it a really good structure. When that larva isnt busy in the agave plant becoming a moth then it is sold as a tasty snack. However, under Mexican law the only distilled liquor of the agave plant that can be called tequila is the liquor distilled from the blue agave plant. Heres What to Buy. We noticed this more on the nose than on the palate, with more of the aromas in the No-air mezcal being more pronounced and bold. Through the haze, I remembered that mezcal is not tequila, and that, at the bottom of some bottles, you may find a worm. The finish on this actually extended and was enhanced by the presence of the air in the bottle. The mezcal worm began as a way to distinguish mezcal from tequila and was transformed into an added element of . That oak profile makes those Mezcales specifically suited for the worm. A mezcal worm is an insect larva found in some types of mezcal produced in Oaxaca, Mexico. "It's a local product," he told me in explanation as to why he pursued this research; he oncepublished an article in the local newspaper Pulso titled, "Mezcal from Potosi: a very Mexican drink.". Gusano de Oro was trademarked in 1948, so that happened two years before Adamss claim of 1950. Yet, I believe Ill always be a LaLocura fanboy; closely followed by Real Minero and some Rey Comperos when I seek a more copper pot flavored/made Mezcal; something a drop more hot or edgy. The legend of the worm is still debated. Worm salt, or sal de gusano in Spanish, is exactly what it sounds like. There's often confusion about the difference between mezcal and tequila. Mezcal is a transparent liquor made from distilled agave, a spiky-looking desert plant. The practice of adding worms to mezcal was started by Andres Paniagua and Jacobo Lozano. If your bottle has a worm, it will be mezcal, and probably very ordinary mezcal. Is it? Copyright 2023 StillTasty LLC. This comes from the blending of a premium, 100% blue weber agave tequila with a 100% Espadn agave mezcal. Informe Consejo Regulador del Mezcal 2017 and 2020. QuiQuiRiQui Matatlan Mezcal. The simplest way to think about it, explains Sydney Block, co-founder of Catedral Mi Padre Mezcal, is that all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila. "Tequila and mezcals have most of the same components, like ethanol, ethyl acetate, heavy alcohols, etc., but they can have variations in how much they contain," he said. JANZEN, Emma (2017), Mezcal: The history, craft & cocktails of the worlds ultimate artisanal spirit, Quarto Publishing Group, Minneapolis, USA. It also had marginally lower ABV than the others. Any alcoholic beverage after a long, hard day can help you unwind and lift your spirits, but mezcal contains a terpene called geraniol that may have additional benefits for your mental health. These meaty mezcals are still relatively hard to find in the United States, but several brands, including Del Maguey, El Jolgorio, Wahaka, and Rey Campero, offer pechuga-style options. To consume a tequila worm, you must first take a shot of the alcoholic beverage with it. As pulque researcher Gonzalo Alvarez says, Ive seen and tasted pulque that is prepared with worms, chiles and salt that have been ground together with a mortar and pestle. But you dont have to go the four-star route to find gusanos on the menu in Mexico theyve been a staple for centuries. Acetaldehyde is present in a distilled mezcal. Once tequila was granted protected status in 1977 (on October 13, if you'd care to celebrate), the worm system was rendered unnecessary. The worm in mezcal is considered by most experts to be a gimmick intended to grab the attention of tourists. And then theres xumilin. Does mezcal have a worm? But the Mexican gourmands didnt stop at adding fruits to their pulque. Does mezcal make you trip? But the origins of the two liquors are distinct; mezcal originated in the southern state of Oaxaca, and tequila is from the city of Tequila, in the more northern state of Jalisco. All the . Mezcal bottles with tequila worms are not uncommon. Eating the worm has neither hallucinogenic nor aphrodisiac effects: but, if you have finished the entire Mezcal bottle to get the worm out and eat it, you are most likely unable to behave appropriately by this point. To a great extent, this is all speculation. Until 1994, nearly every bottle of mezcal legally exported to the USA had a gusano in it. Most likely the gusano wormed its way into these bottles to remind us that Mexicos culinary history is diverse and conflictive, informed by religion, local and global markets, regional taste, and sheer improvisation. 14, which is an incredible mezcal, was the only bottle that we preferred with little/no air. More balanced and mellow. Jonny. To maximize the shelf life of mezcal for quality purposes, store in a cool dry area away from direct heat or sunlight; keep tightly closed when not in use. I believe you would have found this if you had let your experiment run for 2 yrs or so, maybe less, but 7 months seems too short. Like the Vago Elote and the Rey Campero Tepextate, we all found that the Excess-air was our preferred option among the two. No one wants to wake up feeling awful after a fun night out, and mezcal may be less likely than other spirits to produce a hangover. In a 2009 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Dr. Dirk W. Lachenmeier and colleagues analyzed the ethyl carbamate levels of mezcal, tequila, and other agave-based alcoholic beverages. The worm is the peanut butter to the Mezcal's jelly. Opinions on the subject tend to vary greatly, but there seem to be three main positions that people take: Our friend Mezcal PhD tells us that mezcal will likely improve over time. Hints of white grape juice. Tyler, Aromas of peanut butter cups, woody, leather. Chris, Aromas of cinnamon, all spice, sandalwood, and vanilla. It has a little bag of salt sealed with it on the top. Before sending the copies to our offices, add inside the container enough cotton or Kleenex paper to absorb the liquid. You'll pick up a gentle smokiness that makes the Mezquila great for adventurous .