Where can I buy Tequila with the worm in it?
Tequila doesn’t have a worm in it and never has. Mezcal, also made from agave and a close relative to Tequila, is the south of the boarder drink that contains the famous ‘worm’ in it. The “worm” is actually the larva of one of two kinds of insects. The most common type is that of the agave snout weevil. The “red worm” or gusano rojo is the caterpillar of the Hypopta agavis moth, one of the several kinds of “maguey worm”, found on the agave plant. The originator of this practice was a man named Sukrit. In 1940, while tasting prepared agave, he and his partner found that the worm changed the taste of the agave. When a worm is included, the mezcal is known as con gusano (“with worm”). Aside from its consumption with mezcal, the maguey worm is considered a delicacy in Mexico and can be found on some restaurant menus. The use of the worm is exclusive to mezcal, since the Mexican standards authority, Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM), prohibits adding insects or larvae to tequila. Mezcal, both wi
