While sipping tequila with my friends Jacinto, Hidalgo, and two other guys whose names I don’t seem to recall (my memory isn’t the best, even when I’m sober), we got comparing notes on what we know about tequila and mescal. I recognize that there is a word limit for the Straight Dope, but we have a few picky corrections and additions to the column on “worms in tequila.”
So Midwesterners say “hah!” after “purists” when referring to tequila/mescal drinkers. Cecil, Cecil, Cecil; what am I going to do with you? (A better question might be what will you *let" me do with you, but never mind that).
You were correct, at least, to say that tequila is an offshoot of mescal as opposed to the other way around. But mescal and tequila are completely different products in a number of ways. First of all they are made from different varieties of the agave plant. They are also cooked/processed differently, which I’ll get to in a minute.
Both have their origins in “Pulque” which is the original agave drink dating back around 2000 years. This is probably what Cecil was referring to when he described “home-brewed firewater” consumed by the locals. It can still be found - at least I found it in my college days - in rural, central Mexico but it’s not distilled, so isn’t exported out of the country that I know of. It’s pretty raw stuff, but you gotta consider the “ambiente” (atmosphere) in which it’s drunk to truly appreciate it.
Mescal is made elsewhere in Mexico, not just the Oaxaca area (though the superior brands - here’s where Cecil says “hah!” - tend to come from that region). But that does not define the difference between tequila and mescal, as Cecil claimed. In fact if I’m not mistaken, the whole Oaxaca connection is a fairly recent government marketing ploy to promote the Oaxaca region, using its connection to this traditional brew… kind of like Bourbon having to come from Kentucky to be called that. Tequila is steam baked and distilled twice, and mescal is cooked underground in stone pits with charcoal, giving it a distinctive smoky flavor. Until recently, mescal was only distilled once, but some companies are now distilling it twice, like tequila. Several companies have gone back to the traditional methods of making mescal; gathering and carrying agave plants on donkey back to the pits to cook. Encantado Mescal and the Del Maguey companies are two of these, and their products are considered among the best.
This Paez guy who introduced the worm to the mass market actually started doing this earlier than 1950, but started mass marketing it then. Yes, it was a marketing ploy, but he did believe that the worm gave mescal a special flavor. Some companies (and I think Paez started this, too) also tie a small bag to the bottle containing salt, spices, and some powdered worm to add more flavor to the beverage. Cecil mentioned that the “genuine agave worm” is coral colored and said that some companies substitute an inferior white worm. The red worm (gusano rojo) lives in the root of the agave and the white worm (gusano de oro) lives in the leaves. One popular mescal imported into the US is Dos Gusanos, which contains one of each of these worms. I don’t know of any taste test concluding that the red worm tastes better, though no doubt it is more attractive.
Let me know when you’re in New Mexico next, Cecil. I’ll buy you a drink and I’ll take the worm.
Jill
