Reviews / La Penca con Gusano
Review · · by The Editors
La Penca con Gusano
Con gusano at 40% – the worm is doing rhetorical work the agave isn't
Score: 2.0/5 agaves
- Producer: La Penca Mezcal
- Region: San Luis Potosí
- Agave: Salmiana
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $35 ($)
Verdict
La Penca con Gusano is the category's oldest trick – a sub-par 40% espadín sold on the theater of a larva in the bottle rather than what's in the liquid. Monte Alban did this for forty years; it doesn't get better because a newer brand does it. Skip. Vida drinks better at similar money and doesn't insult you with props. No consensus on file; our 2.0 is the score.
The worm was never the point. It was never even the distraction
Tasting notes
Nose: Sweet cooked agave, then faint smoke, a vegetal note under cane sugar
Palate: Soft and sweet at 40%. The gusano-in-bottle format is a 1970s marketing gesture that has no relationship to traditional mezcal production; what's in the glass is a commercial espadín at minimum proof tarted up with a dead larva
Finish: Short, sweet, faintly smoky, forgettable
The bottom line
Skip. The worm is marketing; the mezcal is filler
Where to buy online
We found this bottle at 3 US retailers. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.
- Spec's
- Mission Liquor – $34.99
- Old Town Tequila