I've never tried mescaline, so the idea that something can be that putrid you can't even knock it back as fast as possible intrigues me haha. I mean I've downed some nasty tasting shit before, usually medicines....but never has it been DIFFICULT to get down...exactly how much goop do you need to get down? More than a cup?
It earns every bit of its reputation.
It usually takes me at least half an hour to finish a cup of peruviuan torch. The reason being that if I drink it too fast or in large gulps, I will almost certainly throw it all back up.
Also, it gets worse every time, out of sheer anticipation. The moment that smell hits my nose, my brain tries to revolt: "A trip is NOT worth this, I'm NOT doing it." It's an act of sheer willpower to get it down, nothing less.
Ayahuasca can also be pretty vile, depending on the ingredients and the way it's brewed. Last time I had it, the shaman gave me a second glass while I was already at the peak. I downed it in a single swallow and spent the next ten minutes gagging in the corner. Because I was already tripping hard, it accentuated every horrible detail of the flavour, and water only seemed to make it worse. But it still wasn't as bad as cactus.
My advice is to boil it down to something you can down in a couple of shots. You don't want to have to struggle through more than 100mg. The downside is it will be triply as awful as 300mg (seriously), but at least the ordeal doesn't last as long.
jackie jones said:
Just don't call it cactus "snot". It is disrespectful to the plant.
There is actually some truth to this, but it isn't to do with the plant, it's to do with our relationship to it. Ayahuasca can open your mind to the nature of symbols, meaning and interpretation. By calling it 'snot,' you not only make the experience of drinking it even worse, but you add a slight influence of irreverence to the entire experience. It's up to you whether this matters, of course, but I doubt shamans would refer to it as snot.