Agave worms in Tequila

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

I jsut read the incredibly amazing piece and was about to exclaim yet another “Halleluuuu!” (it that laying it on too thick?) when I wondered a couple of things…

  1. I had heard that the worm’s function (being dead and all) was to suck up any impurities in the Tequila.

  2. The worm is supposed to hover right above the bottom of the bottle (barely touching the bottom - if at all) to indicate that the correct specific gravity of alcohol has been reached.

  3. The worm, in that it eats the agave plant (make the brain connection to mescal and then to mescaline) has hallucinagenic properties and you’ll see neat colors if you eat it. (Idunno, I’ve never eaten it.)

These weren’t addressed in the article. Any thoughts?

Also, I considered the original reason for the worm in the bottle. Perhaps it was a way of signalling to the consumer that this was a real bottle of tequila, made from real agave and not some cheap imitation (consider that most vodka is distilled from grain, not potatoes, and is therefore diluted Everclear). See the worm? Sort of a stamp of authenticity.

2

He did address those (the column is Why is there a worm in bottles of tequila?), but you have to read between the lines. He said

That takes care of it, no?

3

Kind of like the Japanese with their warm wine and raw fish?

4

Not at all, my good Ethilrist, warm saki and cold fish is yummy in the tummy. Not quite the same as eating a worm (at least to me).

But is there some sort of stamp of authenticity associated with the worm?

Would you be more apt to buy a vodka if you were sure it was made from distilled potatoes and not grain?

5

Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site.
To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space before and after the text of the URL).

Cecil’s column can be found on-line at the link provided by RM Mentock, and yet, strangely, not provided by the original poster, Spritle, whose name shall forever live in infamy in this forum.

moderator, «Comments on Cecil’s Columns»

6

Arnold, I must bring up that my evil twin has taken over my computer and has been posting threads in this forum with out my knowledge.

Would you believe evil neighbor?

Would you believe my cat hopped on the keyboard and accidently hit submit before I could include the link?

Would you believe that this is my first thread (and first post) in this forum and didn’t take the time to read any of the other threads before shooting my fingers off (so to speak) to find out how “things are done here”?

I sincerely apologize and toss a big “THANKS” (<-- see, it’s big) to RM Mentock for providing the link.

Spritle,
hoping that “living in infamy” can be a good thing

P.S.: Don’t be too weary of the fight, you have just won a small battle in the war.

7

I’ve been to a place known in the most liberal of ways as a restaurant outside of Oaxaca. They had mescal with different flavorings and different generations of worms. Some had worms 4 or 5 inches thick in the bottom. The more worms, the mellower the drink. I presume the indians did this prior to Cecil’s claim of a marketer coming in.

8

Dear Spritle:

Just ignore the crazed Swiss elf sitting in the corner quoting bad Victorian poetry, Santa Hat all askew. We’ve been letting him have all our agave worms all day and, well, you know what happens to elves who overindulge on agave worms…

Love,
DDG

Watch out, he’ll be crying in a minute–whoops, too late. Yes, Arnold, we know, it’s lovely about the little Japanese baby princess…Anybody got some Kleenex…?

Egad, O Elf of Mine, where did you unearth that?

“Weary–weary,
weary–weary,
weary–weary,
weary–weary,
When will rest unbroken come?”

“Right this way, Sir Henry…”
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[bang]
Whew.