MYTHS ABOUT TEQUILA

Tequila comes from the distillation of «pulque».
WRONG. Pulque comes from the fermentation of the sugary sap «aguamiel» obtained from the maguey or Century Plant (which is botanically related to the agave plant). Pulque is fine but it has nothing to do with tequila.

Tequila and mezcal are made from a cactus.
WRONG. Cactus plants grow in the desert and are of a different genus than the agave. There is no known liquor obtained from the cactus.

Mezcal contains mescaline.
WRONG. Neither tequila nor mezcal contains any mescaline or alkaloids at all. However, peyote (a variety of Cactus) contains mescaline, an alkaloid that produces hallucinations.

The worm is part of the tequila or mezcal process.
This is a nice legend, but not true at all. The worm is placed in some mezcal bottles as a marketing gig. However the maguey grows worms that are a delicacy in Mexico fetching astronomical prices at luxury restaurants. The best known are “Gusanos de Maguey” and “Chinicuiles”.

Tequila has medicinal properties.
There is no scientific evidence about any medicinal properties of neither the agave plant, mescal nor tequila.
However if you drink a “caballito” every day, it will make you a happier person.

The maguey (right) produces aguamiel that ferments into pulque. The nopal (left) is an edible cactus very popular in Mexican cuisine.

Different species of cactus grow all over Mexico, but none are related to the blue agave.