This drink quickly gained popularity among us and, as is often the case with anything new, gave rise to many myths. Below are the most common of them.

 

How to drink tequila

In our country, it is generally accepted that tequila should be drunk only in the “lick-tip-bite” way (lick the salt, knock over the tequila, and you need to bite a quarter of a lime, and not a lemon at all, as many of us do).

Misconceptions about tequila

However, this is far from the only way to consume tequila. For example, connoisseurs and connoisseurs drink tequila from special stacks with a thick bottom (caballito – "little horse" in Spanish) slowly, sipping sips to fully enjoy the bouquet.

By the way, the “lick-tip-bite” method also has an amusement-erotic variety. Salt must be licked from the shoulder of the lying girl, tequila should be drunk from her navel, and the girl holds the lime in her teeth. And all this is done without hands.

 

Tequila doesn't give you a hangover

This opinion is quite common and to some extent true. The fact is that in tequila the content of fusel oils (by-products of alcoholic fermentation) is practically not regulated, moreover, they are successfully masked by a light herbal shade.

Misconceptions about tequila

This is why tequila intoxicates much faster than other spirits. However, if you drink a lot of tequila, then there will definitely be a hangover.

 

Worm in a tequila bottle

Many people think that real tequila is the one in which the worm swims. In fact, there is no worm in real Mexican tequila.

Misconceptions about tequila

It is added to the bottle by some manufacturers, not because it is a special recipe, but mainly to impress foreigners and increase sales.

But in some varieties of mezcal, they really add a caterpillar of a butterfly that lives on agave plantations. But this "worm" does not float in the bottle, but is in a bag tied to it on a cord. In addition to gusano (worm), there are also salt and chili.

Many people think that tequila and mezcal are the same thing. However, unlike tequila, which is made from one type of agave, mezcal is made from five different types of agave. They also have different strengths – in tequila it is usually 38-40%, and mezcal, as a rule, is much stronger.

According to tradition, when using mezcal, you must eat a worm. Those who want to try it should not be afraid – gusano is grown specifically for mezcal, it is always brewed and well alcoholized.

 

Tequila is cactus vodka

It's a delusion. Not a single Mexican alcoholic drink is made from a cactus. Tequila is made by distilling the juice extracted from the core of the blue agave, a perennial herbaceous plant in the lily family.

Misconceptions about tequila

Agave usually grows in the same area as cacti, and even looks like them, but it is not a cactus. Interestingly, 136 types of agave grow in Mexico, but tequila is made from one – blue agave. Harvesting for the production of tequila is carried out according to modern standards of producers only in the 12th year. Farm workers use koa to first remove the prickly leaves and then the roots of the agaves. After that, a large core weighing 35–90 kilograms is subjected to heat treatment to extract juice, fermentation and distillation. Other traditional Mexican drinks such as mezcal and pulque are also made from the blue agave using slightly different methods, but also extracting the juice.

 

We offer you to watch an interesting video about the production of tequila: