The artisans who make what we know as mezcal, tequila or agave spirits are still at work learning more about the resources they have at hand and how to integrate them into their centuries-old traditions. When a bottle of mezcal contains a worm, the mezcal is described as being con gusano, or "with worm" in Spanish. Gusano de Oro was trademarked in 1948, so that happened two years before Adamss claim of 1950. Damian Meneses of El Tigre speculates that the gusano was probably dropped into mezcal bottles long before it was commercialized. It cemented the idea in the male western mind that Mezcal with a worm was in fact, the real Mezcal. However, since the alcohol content of Mezcal and tequila is usually in the same range of 38% to 55% ABV, the shelf life of the two is roughly the same. Today, to find a worm in a bottle of mezcal is more rare as hundred of new mezcal producers has came into existence in the last 20 years. Remember that it is not the authentic Mezcal: the worm adds flavor and usually it masks lousy flavors. And then theres xumilin. Then Ron Cooper educated us about heritage agave spirits with his Del Maguey Mezcal. We poured the four bottles of mezcal into smaller air tight 250ml glass containers. Thanks for the insight. However, some people do really enjoy eating the worm and others will be adamant in telling you that the little guy does give you special powers. The worm has all sorts of mystical powers, people told me. Of those, slightly more than half (51 percent) reported also feeling depressed, and 61 percent reported feelings of anxiety. Ive heard that the alcohol vapors in liquor prevent the cork from drying more than wine corks, but Im not sure if this is confirmed. In parts of Guerrero, theyll occasionally throw one into a mezcal bottle in the same way the Oaxacans throw in the gusano. Especialista en vinos y espirituosos con experiencia en educacin y consultora comercial. "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.". Acetaldehyde is present in a distilled mezcal. The finish on this actually extended and was enhanced by the presence of the air in the bottle. Interesting and funny that I did kinda the same thing with 4 Rey Campero Espadin bottles of different lots. Notes of chocolate, rose pedals. In short, the worm that you see in a bottle of mezcal was a marketing gimmick. Casamigos tequila takes things slow. I really appreciate how a good bottle will hide the high alcohol content. 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. While they're found in all alcoholic beverages, dark liquors have higher concentrations of congeners than clear spirits. Tequila to be Tequila must contain 51% Blue Agave. Mezcal Worm . They found that it relaxed the muscles that line blood vessels, causing them to widen and blood pressure to decrease (a process known as vasodilation). As Im sure you can imagine, the toughest part of this experiment was intentionally leaving these delicious bottles on the shelf (even when theyre hidden in the back of the closet). Worm salt is a mix of sea salt, ground agave larvae, and chile spices. Overall, the Mezcalero No. They are two things that will be forever associated together. As I drink down more of my open bottles, I am discovering this. These little mezcal fun facts are explained in detail. Mezcal is a transparent liquor made from distilled agave, a spiky-looking desert plant. Yes, you can buy mezcal with a worm in the United States. We werent sure. He says; "If you open your bottles once a year or so and let new air in (assuming you did not drink it all), the mezcal will improve over time. ADVERTISEMENT Yet for the export market producers have found that wormless mezcal has no appeal. But if you dont want to go to the trouble of cooking the plant, you can just carve a huge hole into its center and harvest fresh, sweet sap. Does mezcal have a worm? In the 1940s, a distiller named Jacobo Lozano Pez found that leaving the worms in his mezcal changed the flavor. It is not even legal to put a worm in tequila. Farnesol, a terpene in mezcal, may have anti-inflammatory properties, according to a 2018 paper published in the journal Molecules. 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. Some stories claim theworm was added to some bottles of mezcal to demonstrate its purity. 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 had a plate of pan-fried and seasoned gusanos at the four-star Casareyna in Puebla Centro years ago and that dish brings me back there every trip. QuiQuiRiQui Matatlan Mezcal. Copyright 2023 InsideHook. MEZCAL has a terrible image. It has a little bag of salt sealed with it on the top. The worm in the bottom of mezcal has a very special purpose and you'll never guess what it is. All the . He had it on his bar forever. If your bottle has a worm, it will be mezcal, and probably very ordinary mezcal. According to a survey conducted in 2018 by the Mental Health Foundation, 74 percent of Americans felt so stressed they were "overwhelmed or unable to cope." 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. Informe Consejo Regulador del Mezcal 2017 and 2020. [1] Mezcal left in a bottle that has been opened will eventually go bad Our friend Mezcal PhD tells us that mezcal will likely improve over time. Your shot amigo. Traditionally the word "mezcal" has been used generally in Mexico for all agave spirits and it continues to be used for many . Prized as a source of protein since Pre-Hispanic times, the larvae live in the agave plants used to make tequila and mezcal. More balanced and mellow. Jonny. Very sweet. Richards told The List,"Mezcal is naturally gluten-free, making it an alcohol ideal for anyone with a gluten intolerance or allergy. Your email address will not be published. Older commercialized mezcal brands have not deviated from the pack of new generation mezcal producers. Jacobo Lozano Paez of Gusano Rojowas the brains behind the mezcal worm marketing ploy. Chris, Strong notes of green pepper, coffee, jalapeno, lavender, and mint. Does oxidation or evaporation make them worse or just different? While people who drink mezcal every night may like to highlight the spirit's purity, mezcal, like all alcoholic beverages, contains the chemical ethyl carbamate, which has been linked to various types of lung, liver, and blood cancer. I spent a weekend in Mexico City and drank too much mezcal. Mezcal bottles with tequila worms are not uncommon. "Many alcohols have a ton of sugar and other chemicals. Sign up for InsideHook to get our best content delivered to your inbox every weekday. Impossible to tell without actually having it in front of me, but generally, it should be ok as long as nothing entered the bottle. As long as nothing was able to enter the bottle, it should be ok. Mongo only pawn in game of life, but this is a great topic. Hes also the co-host of Agave Road Trip (with Chava Periban), a podcast that helps bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits and rural Mexico, and the author of El Gusano, a comic book about a boy who transforms into a human-sized gusano. 14 intentionally left for seven months with very little remaining in the bottle. Chronic inflammation has been implicated in a number of conditions, including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and cancer. People love to eat the worm live or roasted. What I am learning is that it has a lot to do with heads-hearts-tails. Before sending the copies to our offices, add inside the container enough cotton or Kleenex paper to absorb the liquid. The worm in mezcal is considered by most experts to be a gimmick intended to grab the attention of tourists. A Culinary Tour of France, With Dominique Crenn as Your Host, NFL Player Survey Reveals Leagues Worst Team and Its Not a Surprise. Id agreed that a 2yr experiment like this would probably provide more noticeable differences. 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. Aging in wooden barrels, which is done widely for whiskey and tequila, is less common in Mezcal. Heres another theory: The Mexican government asked farmers to send them samples of bugs that plagued their crops. The worm, however, isn't actually a worm, but the larva of one of two different types of moths that live on the agave plant. Worm salt is a mix of sea salt, ground agave larvae, and chile spices. Is mezcal healthier than tequila? The secondary aroma has wet earth, herbal notes, and dried fruits like almonds and chestnuts. Mezcal is a vast category of spirits . "But one story is that if the worm remains intact in the bottle, the percentage of alcohol in the spirit is high enough to preserve the pickled worm," according to theBeverage Testing Institute. So, if you have already bought a bottle of Mezcal with a worm or you are in a party and someone insists you drink it, you may consider these 3 tips: There are always exceptions to the rule and few brands produce with quality, add worms with the singular reason of enhancing their Mezcales with an earthy and fungal vibe. Im curious if you recall specific characteristics about your least favorite that changed/improved over time. 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. Very little difference between the two. Tyler, Similar notes on the nose but more like cornmeal than pancakes. 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. So, if your friends dare you to eat the gusano de maguey after a night of drinking and you're feeling particularly bold (or maybe just drunk), don't be afraid to give it a try. "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. They found that none of them had an ethyl carbamate concentration that exceeded the international safety guideline of less than 0.15 mg/L. In a paper published in the journal RSC Advances, a team of researchers led by Dr. Anees Ahmed Khalil at the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad, Pakistan, documented eugenol's ability to prevent oxygen molecules from splitting and to "scavenge" (bind to) free radicals and prevent oxidative stress in the body. Huckberrys Entire Sale Section Is an Extra 15% Off. His answer was similar to Mezcal PhD in that he believed that mezcal improved after the bottle was opened. In fact, despite all the mystique surrounding the mezcal worm, its inclusion may have simply been a marketing tacticthat began in the 1940s and 1950s to help spark American interest in mezcal and separate it from the better-known tequila. Hey Nick. For the aejo variety, a second fermentation can raise the alcohol percentage up to about 55 percent. Mezcal Fun Facts Mezcal is a distilled liquor made from the agave plant. "The only mezcal you used to be able to buy was the one with the worm in the bottle," he said. Or more specifically, does mezcal in an opened bottle eventually go bad? Stronger aromas on this one, but very short finish. Jonny, Cinnamon, cotton candy, lingering pepper jerky finish. Tyler, More mellow nose and aromas. It began in 1950, the art school student who became a mezcal maker included moth larvae in bottles to distinguish his mezcal brand from others. More mellow but less exciting. Jonny. Created by workers? 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. Or thrown some of the gusanos that live off their agave into the still to make a pechuga that forces the grubs to earn their keep. They're actually a common street food in Oaxaca, roasted or deep-fried and served in a tortilla with green tomatoes, lime, and chili. 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. Mezcal Reviews on Facebook Similar tasting notes but less pronounced. More notes of dates and hickory. Tyler, Less pungent on the nose. Once tequila was granted protected status in 1977 (on October 13, if you'd care to celebrate), the worm system was rendered unnecessary. This comes from the blending of a premium, 100% blue weber agave tequila with a 100% Espadn agave mezcal. Yes, both tequila and mezcal are similar, so its easy to see how the mistake can be madebut there is no worm in tequila. Im looking forward to being in OAX again next month. But why the gusano? Its common to mix pulque with fruits to make what they call curados, a beverage that would dethrone smoothies as the fitness drink of choice if it werent so volatile. Mezcal (or mescal) is the same as thing as tequila, but it is not tequila at all. Yola Mezcal is made of espadn, the only type of agave besides blue agave (which is what tequila is made out of) that can be farmed. Required fields are marked *, Copyright 2017. The answer to that question is a matter of quality, not safety, assuming proper storage conditions - when properly stored, a bottle of mezcal has an indefinite shelf life, even after it has been opened. 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. Short finish. Tyler, Lavender flavors, a bit of alcohol present. We sipped cocktails and thought about what it should be. It didn't start appearing in commercialbottles until the 1940s or 50s, right around the time American tourists started to get hooked on the stuff. Some of the ingredients in even smaller concentrations can affect the aromas and taste. I started to wonder whether the rumors were true. Generally speaking, the Excess-air mezcals were all much more mellow and balanced than those that had been resting in a bottle with little/no air. "That's a crock. Checkout the mezcal worm's second cousin, the chapulin and see how this tasty toasted grasshopper has its place in the mezcal world. However there are certain examples of high quality brands using the mezcal worm as a way to pay homage to the tradition. Because the worms are safe to consume, there are no known side effects from eating them. So we know that time can play an integral role in improving mezcal, but what about other elements, like the amount of air in the bottle and the oxygenation and/or evaporation process that occurs when theres very little mezcal left in the bottle? Lisa Richards, a nutritionist and author of The Candida Diet, explained that mezcal's purity is what makes it safe for those who can't have gluten. This experiment was fun to read and be a part of; I greatly enjoyed it! Acetaldehyde is present in a distilled mezcal. Its possible it is a marketing ploy and simply started with Legitimo or some earlier brand. This seems to vary pretty widely, but many have a tradition or practice for dealing with low bottles. In the same way, Tom Bullok explains in his book The Mezcal experience that Monte Alban Mezcal followedGusano Rojo with its worm practice and maintained a prolonged advertising campaign in Playboy issues during the 1970s. Nah, that was just some bullshit gimmick, I mean real, artesanal Mezcal made by hand in Mexico. 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. Our personal recommendations are El Cortijo reposado con gusano and Wahaka reposado con gusano. For those unfamiliar with the Aged-in-Glass or Madurado style, this refers to the aging of mezcal in glass after it is distilled. This is why all tequila comes from Jalisco. You'll pick up a gentle smokiness that makes the Mezquila great for adventurous . Short finish. Zapotec economics are like Pemex; a 250ml bottle costs 400 pesos and a 750 is 1,200. According to Anthony Dias Blue 's Complete Book of Spirits, that "worm" is. No, it doesnt make you hallucinate. While the flavor of the mezcal does indeed change as it ages, the aging in glass tends to enhance what is already present, making the mezcal more balanced, integrated, and settled. There are plenty of myths and local legends about the effects that the mezcal worm may have, but they are simply not true. It may also have been made before that, but it became far more generalized after the revolution. According to Anthony Dias Blue's Complete Book of Spirits, that "worm" is actually a larva from one of two types of moths, known as maguey worms, that live on the agave plant. First things first: The "worm" at the bottom of some bottles of mezcal isn't actually a worm, as noted by Vice . In fact, inflammation can be both a good and a bad thing, depending on how long it lasts, as noted by Harvard Medical School. We know that Mezcal with a worm is an intriging topic and well give you some advise because, Yes, of course! BULLOCK, Tom (2017), The Mezcal experience, Quarto Publishing Group, London, UK. When that larva isnt busy in the agave plant becoming a moth then it is sold as a tasty snack. Im not rushing to open my stash of unobtaniums with silicone stoppers, but given whats happened to some of my Bordeaux with dried out corks, its time to open the Marca Negra Dobadan and possibly the older Del Maguey although they have the wax seals. It was much more mellow and all of the nail polish/alcohol notes had vanished over time, making this an incredibly rounded and balanced Elote. That espadin is 48-49% and the best to me was having a good mouthfeel with the agave flavor. But until Mariano Azuelas 1949 novel Sendas Perdidas, all published references I could find that include both mezcal and gusano are separate and culinary in nature; basically, somebody went to Mexico, drank some mezcal and ate some gusanos. At best, you may get a little more of a buzz because the mezcal has been absorbed into the worm. Chemically, mezcal and tequila are both similar and different, according toDe Len. The best way to enjoy it is to eat is separately or even cut it into halves and share it with your friends. Mezcaleroes are loosing me as a customer Im headed back over to the sweet cooked agave (additive free) Tequila camp. The "gusano" in a mezcal bottle has a varied history. So far, there's no evidence it has the same effect on humans. But the worm doesn't just affect the marketing;it actuallychanges the drink's chemistry, De Len said. As you stated from my book, I do believe the taste will generally improve over time, but I agree with Judah that this has its limits. Mezcalero No. The practice of adding worms to mezcal was started by Andres Paniagua and Jacobo Lozano. While the study only examined the terpene in isolation and focused on rats rather than humans and did not examine mezcal specifically, the findings suggest that mezcal, which contains agave and thus citronellol, might be able to lower blood pressure in humans. Should the worm be denounced, embraced or just studied to better understand mezcals history? Seriously.

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