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Originally Posted by reynold
Why is there a worm in bottles of tequila?
First let's get a few things straight. There's no worm in tequila, or at least there isn't supposed to be. Purists (hah!) say the worm belongs only in a related product, mescal. Strictly speaking, mescal is a generic term meaning any distillate of the many species of agave (or maguey) plant, tequila included. Today, however, mescal is popularly understood to mean a product bottled in the region around the city of Oaxaca. For years this stuff was basically home-brewed firewater consumed by the locals, but in 1950, Mexico City entrepreneur Jacobo Lozano Paez hit on the idea of putting a worm in each bottle as a marketing gimmick. Stroke of genius, eh? I don't get it either, but that's what separates us from the visionaries.
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Wikipedia tells it a bit different...
The worm: The originator of this practice was a man named Jacobo Lozano Páez. In 1940, while tasting prepared agave, he and his partner found that the worm changed the taste of the agave.
Also, with regard to the scorpion:
The scorpion is another marketing gimmick that is associated with Mezcal. However unlike the worm the scorpion does not change the flavoring of the Mezcal. The scorpion is edible as the stinger and all the posion is drained before being put into the bottle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezcal