Cannabis-infused drinks aren’t legal yet, but that doesn’t mean would-be purchasers shouldn’t be prepared. Here’s what four experts have to say in anticipation of the cannabis cocktail quaffing expected in just a few short months.
Now that Canada is legalizing cannabis beverages, the iterations of alcohol-free drinks containing cannabis are manifesting, quickly. Cannabis cocktails are less odoriferous than smoking a joint and can be dressed up to look just like an alcoholic cocktail, making them a refreshing option for social occasions.
The GrowthOp asked a few experts to weigh in on why they believe consumers will be clamouring to try the new bevvies once they become available to Canadian adults, expected this December.
Forget horses; let’s talk cocktails. “Cannabis cocktails raise the bar on flavour. The language of cocktails is one of excellence, so what we’re looking for with making cannabis beverages is to create flavours and combine flavours that we are unaccustomed to, but that intrigue us.” As a mixologist specializing in craft spirits, Bobrow likes to combine cannabis with low-alcohol spirits, such as vermouth, to create what he calls “lo-fi” cocktails for private clients and at private parties.
The new regulations for cannabis drinkables forbid alcohol to be added to beverages in Canada, but that doesn’t mean cocktail lovers are barred from experimenting with the two substances at home.
“We know about different cultivars and different strains,” says Bobrow, “but when it’s combined with either craft spirits or in a mocktail situation, it brings flavour to a new place where it hasn’t been before, and that’s intriguing,” he adds.
Bobrow also mentions that while a cannabis edible has a delay of up to two hours, someone drinking a cannabis beverage could feel the effect much faster compared to other consumption methods, putting cannabis cocktails more on–par with their alcoholic counterparts.
Kyrsten Dewinetz, Zenabis
Kyrsten Dewinetz’s background in biochemistry is serving her well as she works on a product for licensed producer Zenabis, infusing True Büch kombucha with cannabidiol (CBD). Dewinetz, program manager of food and beverage services for Zenabis, believes that Canadians are looking to enjoy something organoleptically without having to compromise with products that contain unhealthy or unnatural ingredients.
“I think the consumers nowadays are becoming a lot more health-focused. They don’t want to consume the extra calories and sugars, so this is why we see some of the new sorts of vodka-based sodas where it doesn’t have sugars, and they’re below 100 calories. This is why they’re flying off the shelves,” she says.
“That same sort of concept is what may help the cannabis-infused beverages,” Dewinetz notes. The idea is for companies to “show that they’re lower in caloric intake, that you can still have this sort of same fun in a THC-infused beverage as you would with a regular sort of alcoholic drink, but without the hangover, [and] without the calories that you might see associated with some of those more typically fermented drinks.”
Dewinetz says she foresees a future where she gathers with girlfriends over a bottle of something cannabis-infused, rather than the conventional alcoholic wine.
“Canadian consumers will likely guzzle a significant amount of cannabis cocktails because Canadian producers are investing in these types of products at a higher rate than producers in other countries. More competition and scaled production will drive lower prices and product variety which, ultimately, benefits the Canadian consumer,” says Jeff Maser, CEO of Tinley Beverages Co., a California cannabis beverage company.
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