Tule (Mexico), v.2004;
pict. M. Chartier
Reposado
Espina Dorada
Mezcal
100% Agave
Reposado
means that the Mezcal could rest for at
least two months in wooden barrels.
Tule (Mexico), v.2004;
pict. M. Chartier
Mezcal
con gusano
100% de Agave
Oro de Oaxaca
Hecho en Mexico
con gusano
means that the bottle
contains a worm which lives inside the Agava plant.
Since times immemorial aphrodisiac powers are attributed to
this worm. But that is not why a (nor exactly this) gusano is added to the bottle.
It is presumably only a matter of taste.
The gusano is a caterpillar of a moth; two species actually.
+ The red gusano (chinicuil, Hypopta agavis) crawles inside the
stem of the Agave (that's the one you'll prefer in the bottle).
+ The white gusano (ocuilin, Acentrocneme hesperiaris) lives in the leaves
and works its way to the heart of the plant. This caterpillar can reach 7 cm
and is considered delicious fried in olive oil.
Learn more at
www.mundorecetas.com/martha_figueroa in the article Herencia de los antiguos
mexicanos y su mundo gastronómico
(latest check: 16.vii.2023)
