Do they put real worms in tequila?

Your tequila bottle’s hitchhiker isn’t a worm, but rather a larva of the beetle Scyphophorus acupunctatus, or larva of the moth Comadia redtenbacheri from the Cossidae family of moths.

Does tequila have a worm in the bottom of the bottle?

There never has been any brands of tequila with a critter at the bottom. It’s a misconception. The Mexican spirit that does have a worm in the bottle is called Mezcal. Yes, both tequila and mezcal are similar, so it’s easy to see how the mistake can be made—but there is no worm in tequila.

Why does the tequila worm make you hallucinate?

One of the urban legends surrounding the worm in mezcal is that the worm is so saturated in liquor that eating it causes a hallucinogenic reaction similar to that of peyote. This is likely one of the reasons why eating the worm remains a rite of passage to test the drinker’s machismo.

Is the worm in tequila psychedelic?

It’s called a gusano in Mexico. Even though the worm is closely associated with the agave plant, we can’t really figure out when it started appearing in Mezcal bottles. Some great Mezcals are made with the worm in the bottle, but most aren’t. And, no, the worm doesn’t have any hallucinogenic effects.

Can you eat tequila worm?

You can eat as many tequila worms as you like, you will ever hallucinate.

Can you eat the tequila worm?

You can eat as many tequila worms as you like, you will ever hallucinate. If I had to warrant a guess as to where this came from, I’d say that due to the worm being in the bottom of the mezcal bottle, it meant you had to drink the whole bottle of mezcal before you got to it.

Why is there no worm in tequila?

But the second, far more important reason—there is no worm in the bottom of the tequila bottle. The worm itself is actually a moth larvae called a gusano de maguey—since it feeds off of the maguey plant.

Is it safe to eat a tequila worm?

There are no proven side effects that come with consuming a Tequila worm. While the worm is popularly called the tequila worm, it is only found on the bottom of a bottle of mezcal, a variety of tequila obtained from distilling blue agave and similar plants.

What happens if you eat the worm from tequila?

Finally, as long as we’re busting myths, here’s another one: Does eating the worm cause hallucinations? Nope. If you start seeing things after eating the worm, it probably has more to do with the mezcal you had to drink than the actual larva. Some people who have eaten a mezcal worm say it tastes like chicken.

What happens if you eat the worm in a tequila bottle?

Will a tequila worm get you drunk?

Does the tequila worm get you drunk? No, although it’s soaked and pickled in mezcal, there isn’t enough booze on the warm itself to get you drunk. The shots you take to build yourself up to eating it however, might just do the job.

What Tequila has the 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).

Why is there a worm in Tequila?

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.

What is the name of the worm in Tequila?

While the worm is popularly called the tequila worm, it is only found on the bottom of a bottle of mezcal , a variety of tequila obtained from distilling blue agave and similar plants.

What is tequila worm?

The Tequila Worm. It is known as the agave worm or maguey worm. “Gusano” is the Spanish word for worm. The coral tequila worm (gusano rojo), which is thought to be the most tasty, buries into the pineapple-shaped center of an agave plant. The gold varieties (gusano de oro) tend to feed on the outer leaves.