When does the worm in the bottle of a tequila die before or after being placed in the bottle?

After i think….Eww Not thirsty all of a sudden :P

After!

Notably, the worm is only present in certain mezcals (never tequila) and is more of a marketing gimmick than anything else:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezcal#Production_of_mezcal

However, I would expect that the worm is killed by the mezcal, otherwise you have to kill them some other way (which gets complicated, eh?)

I believe it is after, but don’t really think it matters all that much. Bottom line is you have a pickled worm in the bottom of your bottle.

If I recall, the whole idea was to demonstrate that the booze was actually made from an agave plant because the agave plant is the preferred home of that particular variety of worm.

@YoBob what’s amusing is that the worm (actually a moth larvae, IIRC) is that the worm is a sign of an infestation, which is bad for the crop…

He dies in the bottle, but he dies happy.