Some types of mescal still contain a butterfly caterpillar, but some people mistakenly believed that this “worm” contained a mind-altering drug produced by several types of cacti and peyote. The caterpillar found in some types of mescal does not contain the mind-altering drug called mescaline. But because enough people believed in the myth that the worm contained this drug, the marketing worked to sell the American versions of “tequila.”

If you’re interested in learning more about real tequila, continue reading to find out how to tell the real stuff from the fake.

What Is Real Tequila?

Most tequila available is not real tequila. To be designated real tequila, the drink can only be made from the blue agave plant and it can only be produced in five regions of Mexico, these regions are for the most part in the northwest part of the country.

If you want real tequila the bottle will say 100% agave, 100% blue agave, or something similar. Do not assume expensive tequila to be real tequila. Some distillers will put cheap tequila in a fancy bottle with nice packaging and sell it for a higher price than real tequila.

The difference in quality between real tequila and cheap tequila is major. Once you have tasted real tequila, you will probably never want to drink cheap tequila again. Someone at your local alcohol store should be able to tell you if they sell real tequila.

Tequila can be clear to light brown in color. The brown color that some types of real tequila exhibit is caused by aging in oak barrels. The longer the tequila has been aged in oak barrels, the darker the color. Dark tequila is considered premium and preferred by most people.

Cheap tequila is sometimes colored brown by an artificial method, such as adding food coloring. This is to give it the appearance of quality. However this brown color does not mean it will taste any better. Cheap tequila is cheap tequila, no matter what color it is. http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs

Source:

http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs

Depending on whom you ask, a tequila worm may be the caterpillar stage of several butterfly or moth species. It is not a worm, of course, but a fat coral or gold larva that gently fades to pink or white as it ages in a bottle of mezcal. Aficionados of the tequila worm believe that only the reddish worm should be used, but as this species becomes harder to find and harvest, the gold larval bodies are becoming acceptable. In fact, some mezcal manufacturers pride themselves on including a wide range of tequila worm species that they state boosts the flavor and smell of the mezcal.

Entomological descriptions for the tequila worm can be confusing. 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. Some gusanos are members of a subfamily of butterflies referred to as Hipopta agavis. Others are the caterpillar stage of the skipper butterfly (Aegiale hesperiasis) or may be identified as a carpenter worm (Comadia redtenbacheri).

Legends that surround the tequila worm include its magical powers that can impart strength to the consumer. Some claim it to be hallucinogenic or an aphrodisiac. In fact, the tequila worm was not introduced into mezcal production until the 1950s – as a marketing gimmick – and has no historical Mexican claims or fantastic properties.

If you own an agave plant, you may have to worry about tequila worm poachers. In fact, many mezcal producers place patrols along the perimeters of their properties as worm-collecting can be quite profitable.

The tequila worm is perfectly safe to eat. They are fried and eaten, sans mezcal, in Mexico, as part of a protein-rich diet. Some specialty markets even carried canned tequila worms. Just add a spicy sauce and you have a nutritious snack.Recommended reading (click on the picture for details):