The differences are the species of agave used and the production methods involved. The guide on Mezcal will give you an understanding of how that method differs from tequila production. I’ve also covered Bacanora and Raicilla in an article on agave spirits that are NOT tequila. In Mezcal production, ABV is determined by pouring a stream of the mezcal into a small vessel to induce surface bubbles. These bubbles, known as pearls by the Mezcal producers, will remain stable for tenths of seconds only if the alcohol content is close to 50%

Answers as to why the worm is in the bottle in the first place is actually unknown, but there are stories. Some will say that the worm in the mezcal bottle is a marketing ploy. After all, think of all those myths we just had to bust to get to this point. Hallucinogen, flavor enhancer, boozy addition…the worm is none of that. But when the worm is in the bottle on a shelf, it somehow convinces people to buy that brand. So, if you have already bought a bottle of Mezcal with a worm or you are in a party and someone insists you drink it, you may consider these 3 tips:DOUBLE-DISTILLED, SILVER FILTERED, & EXTRA SMOOTH - Agave juices are double-distilled in stainless steel with pure local water that's been filtered through real Mexican silver for the smoothest alcohol with a prime soft and rich rounded taste Mezcal is still today very traditional. There is nothing techy about it, I mean come on, they crush the agave using a horse. It doesn’t get less techy then that! Aged at least three years. Extra añejos are dark like brandy and old Scotches, and very rich tasting. As you would imagine, these are also the more expensive style of Tequila.

Mezcal is traditionally from Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Michoacan. Tequila comes from the Jalisco region. The fact is that tequila is one of the healthiest options you can drink. Agave is really good for you and although I’m not saying the best way to get agave is through tequila, its still present. There is a myth that has some truth in it which is drinking tequila and only tequila will not give you a hangover due to the liver flushing quality of agave. During that time I had a lot of recurring questions on the infamous worm. Is it alive? Why is it there? Does it taste of anything? Etc . And so I’ve answered those questions as well as a few more popular concerns below.

Beer

Tequila and mezcal both originate from Mexico and are made from agave, a form of succulent that grows in the Mexican desert. Both are widely popular throughout the world, but they aren’t the same thing. Everyone old enough to drink has a Tequila story. Whether its good or bad, about yourself or someone else, Tequila is without a doubt a memory making spirit. An even simpler way to think of it is that Mezcal is like whisky. Whisky is an umbrella term that covers a whole range of styles, Bourbon is not the same as Scotch but it still falls under the term whisky. In that likening, whisky is mezcal and bourbon is Tequila. Tequila is a distilled Mexican spirit made from the fermentation of sugars found in Blue Weber agave. The history of Tequila

BOWEN, Sarah (2015), Divided Spirits: Tequila, Mezcal and The politics of production, University of California Press, California, USA. I’m not quite sure where this myth that the tequila worm is hallucinogenic comes from but rest assured that it is not true. You can eat as many tequila worms as you like, you will ever hallucinate. Some of which you may of heard of, enter mezcal which we just mentioned, some of which you may be unfamiliar with, especially if you’re from the UK or American, spirits like Bacanora and Raicilla. These are all spirits that have to be made in Mexico and are made with agave.The fermented juice is then double distilled. Once to create mezcal and once to soften and perfect the flavours. The interesting way mezcal producer test the ABV BARREL AGED - Rooster Rojo Reposado's gold colour comes from being aged for 2 months or more in French oak barrels before being bottled. This provides the spirits with a smoother taste while the wood adds hints of orange rind, enriching the flavour However, Tequila is more than just a party drink, its full of history, tradition and flavour. This association as a party drink is something that westerners very much have created themselves. After you have just polished off a bottle of mezcal and had a strange bug that everyone around you was telling you was going to make you hallucinate. You probably are most likely going to fool yourself into thinking it's true.

I’d love to talk about and appreciate mezcal without having to mention Tequila but alas, that’s just the way it is. If you’ve read my Tequila 101 guide: Everything you need to know about Tequila’ which is structured the same as this guide just about tequila, you will now be fully understanding of both spirits. The two big name mixto tequilas you should avoid at all cost are sierra and Jose cuervo, these are the mixto tequila giving tequila a bad name. In the same way, Tom Bullok explains in his book “The Mezcal experience” that Monte Alban Mezcal followed Gusano Rojo with its worm practice and maintained a prolonged advertising campaign in Playboy issues during the 1970s. It cemented the idea in the male western mind that Mezcal with a worm was in fact, the real Mezcal. Another mention about the worm is in Sara Bowen’s research « Divided Spirits: Tequila, Mezcal and The politics of production«. She points out the Mezcal brand Gusano Rojo (Red worm) who initiated the adding of worms to Mezcal, when in 1950 a employee got the idea to drop a worm into each bottle as a «distinctive touch». Verde Momento is a Mezcal made with 8-year-old organic espadin agave from the Oaxaca state in Mexico.Eating the worm has neither hallucinogenic nor aphrodisiac effects: but, if you have finished the entire Mezcal bottle to get the worm out and eat it, you are most likely unable to behave appropriately by this point. Basically, they pour the liquid and can tell by how many bubbles appear, how fast they burst and how large they are what the exact abv is. Testing has been done and they are very accurate with this method.