When buying tequila, many experts advise only purchasing products that contain 100% agave.
However, this isn’t as easy as one might think, as recently noted by TikTok user Crim (@callmecrim_) in a video with over 1.2 million views as of Sunday.
In her video, the TikToker stitches another video in which someone claims to still be sober after their 13th shot of tequila in Mexico. The reason for their continued sobriety, they say, is that “the tequila in America is toxic.”
In Crim’s video, she says that this is, at least in part, true.
“Some years ago, I had taken a family trip to Mexico, and we had taken a tequila class,” the TikToker explains. “And man, when the instructors told us that they don’t necessarily put 100% agave in the tequila made here in the U.S.—man.”
“In fact, it doesn’t even have to be 50% agave,” the TikToker continues. “It can be 45%, and that’s good enough for companies to put 100% agave where they would use the other—what? 50? 55?—it’d be other chemicals, which is what actually causes hangovers in tequila.”
So is this true? In general, a tequila advertising 100% agave has to have close to 100% agave in order to make this claim. However, there are still some ways that non-agave products can make their way into these bottles.
“By law, a producer can include up to 1% by weight of these additives in their tequila without having to indicate so on the label,” explains Misty Kalkofen for Liquor.com. “This means that a bottle labeled ‘100% agave’ could still contain a small amount of additives, and while 1% or less may seem miniscule, it can have an outsize impact on the final product.
Does 100% agave prevent hangovers? Not necessarily, though some have found that drinking 100% agave tequila means it is less likely for them to feel bad the following morning.
“The purity of 100% agave tequila – at least, the white, un-aged variety – leaves less damage the next day,” writes MexLocal. “This is because, without sugary syrups and wood aging, there’s less chance of ‘congeners,’ the types of chemical impurities that rough up your system and increase the hangover pain.”
However, as the Mayo Clinic notes, drinking 100% agave tequila is not a get-out-of-hangover-free card.
“Congeners are more likely to produce a hangover or make a hangover worse,” their site reads. “But drinking too much alcohol of any color can still make you feel bad the next morning.”
@callmecrim_ #stitch with @Aliceey’a and Ilyana ♬ original sound – CRIM
In the comments section of Crim’s video, users spoke to the efficacy of her advice.
“I literally blacked out in Mexico because I kept drinking cause I was like this taste like water,” wrote a user.
“Facts. Just came back from Mexico and I was tore down. But nooooo hangovers. At all!!! Like we took all kinda shots,” offered another.
“This is why I don’t drink no cheap tequila. I never have hang overs,” declared a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Crim via Instagram direct message.
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