[pnoon]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Looks really interesting. What does it taste like?

Well, it tastes like mezcal. Mezcal is similar to tequila but very different. This one happens to be really smoky - like a peaty scotch. Runs ~$35.

"Mezcal is the Mexican name assigned to ANYTHING distilled from the maguey plant (usually referred to as agave) ASIDE from tequila. There are also dozens of types of maguey. Therefore the flavor varies widely with mezcal, moreso than with tequila.

Obviously with both of the them, the flavor varies greatly depending upon aging and other distillation differences, but generally tequila will be smoother and less harsh.

Tequila of course, is never produced with a "worm" - it's not allowed by law. The worm is sometimes found in mezcal, but usually cheap stuff marketed to US college kids. The worm isn't even really a worm either, its a larva.

Both are essentially distilled from the same thing (the heart of a cactus) and thus have a certain similarity of flavor, but ultimately they are altogether different, with often people favoring one or the other and not really both."