On Monday we showed a couple of spirits products containing meat, in the form of Mezcal worms. Today we have a variation, Mezcal with a scorpion. Scorpion is the main brand in this category. The importer explains that all varieties of Scorpion Mezcal come with a real scorpion in the bottle:

Is the scorpion harmful or poisonous? No, the scorpion is not harmful or poisonous. The stinger has been removed. In fact, this product has been FDA approved! … We do not recommend eating the scorpion but if consumed please chew it up adequately before swallowing. Does the scorpion change the flavor of the Mezcal? No, the full smooth flavor is retained and the scorpion imparts no flavor. The scorpion novelty is successful for gift markets and creates immediate interest in the product.

Most people expect fruit and vegetable matter in their spirits. Less commonly, they expect — meat. And yet it’s not so very rare. The most obvious “meat,” in common use, is the lowly worm that’s been sitting at the bottom of your Mezcal bottle for many years. Gusano Rojo Mezcal is a good example, because the label has a nice little picture of the worm. Mezcal Beneva is a second example. The Beverage Tasting Institute explains:

The famous “worm” that is found in some bottles of Mezcal (con gusano — “with worm”) is actually the larva of one of two moths that live on the agave plant. The reason for adding the worm to the bottle of Mezcal is obscure. But one story, that at least has the appeal of logic to back it up, is that the worm serves as proof of high proof, which is to say that if the worm remains intact in the bottle, the percentage of alcohol in the spirit is high enough to preserve the pickled worm. Consuming the worm, which can be done without harm, has served as a rite of passage for generations of fraternity boys.

We’ll deliver more meat in a day or two.

Something tells me, the less said, the better. Nice Jugs is California wine produced by Kaz, of Kenwood, California. Censored is made by Crushpad in San Francisco, California. This location and the ropes remind me of SNL’s excellent skit about Nancy Pelosi.

Consider this a public service announcement, so you will never face the awkward predicament of confusing one of these for the other, especially since TTB has approved wines made from dozens of different types of berries. We will try to show many of them, starting with these. The berry on the left is the marionberry. It is used to make this wine from Scatter Creek of Tenino, Washington. This berry is closely related to the blackberry and “the relative complexity of its flavor has led to a marketing label as the ‘Cabernet of Blackberries.’ The more powerful flavor of the marionberry has led to it dominating current blackberry production.” It is not to be confused with Marion Barry, Washington, DC’s practically unstoppable mayor, from 1979 to 1999. On the right is a thimbleberry. It is used to make this Threefold Vine wine in Garden, Michigan. Wiki says “Thimbleberry fruits are larger, flatter, and softer than raspberries, and have many small seeds. Because the fruit is so soft, it does not pack or ship well, so thimbleberries are rarely cultivated commercially.”

Yesterday we showed a couple of beers made with chestnuts. It was not a fluke, and there are a great many other malt beverages made with nuts. All of these will bear a prominent warning about nut allergens someday soon. Today we have two beers made with pecans (as opposed to pecan flavor). The Shiner Holiday Cheer is Ale Brewed with Peaches and Pecans. The 512 Pecan Porter is a Malt Beverage Brewed with Pecans. 512 is a microbrewery in Austin and apparently takes its name from the telephone area code. The owner explains that “brewing brings together both my passionate, creative side and my organized, controlled and diligent nature. Engineering + cooking: a real dream job!!”