Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails & Tonics
What is a cannabis mocktail?
A cannabis mocktail is a creation that offers all the pleasure of smoking cannabis with none of the sometimes intense and overpowering odor of smoking cannabis. The mocktail part of the equation is the lack of alcohol in the mix. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love mixing cocktails with infused craft spirits or mixers. For this article I’ll teach you the basics of how to make a lovely libation that just happens to include the key ingredient, cannabis. And for those of you who are crafting mocktails and cocktails with hemp-based CBD, that’s just “snake-oil”. It does nothing for you medically, and you’re being taken to the cleaners because alcohol only negates CBD. Those couple drops of CBD isolate (the cheap gas station variety of CBD) that your bartender has dribbled over your cocktail will only lighten your pocket. Ask me why. I’ll be glad to enlighten you.
Nur’ó’c Mía | Iced, Medicated Vietnamese Sugarcane Juice
How do I do it?
The Basics. Decarb first. What does it mean to decarb?
Decarbing is a function of heat and time. Without diving deeply into the oft confusing science, let’s imagine that bag of weed over there on the table. One of the great misconceptions of life is that un-burned bag of flowers and the THC it supposedly contains. If you don’t add fire to the relationship, nothing will happen to you. And should you want to eat the bag of weed instead of smoking it, again… nothing will happen, you’ll never get stoned. Ever. What happens when you smoke your cannabis? The THCa (the A) flies off with heat, in this case the fire, leaving the active THC to do its magic in your lungs. THC gets you stoned. THCa does nothing at all to your head. Sure, there are medical benefits, but if you want to get ripped, then you have to decarb your cannabis first!
The same thing THCa/THC happens when you add heat to your cannabis in a closed container. I happen to enjoy using a piece of tabletop, high technology instead of using my oven. Why would I use this technology to convert THCA to THC? Because your decarbs won’t be flawed by fluctuations of heat and time. Your oven varies in temperature as much as sixty degrees and those massive temperature variations contribute to an imperfect decarb. Making your beverage flawed. We don’t want that!
I sometimes use the Ardent FX for my decarb. This machine gives me 100% bioavailability from as little as a gram of cannabis. Your decarb will be perfect every single time.
And if you want the all in one solution that does it all for you from decarb to infusion, making you look like a pro, may I recommend the Levo2. This device that looks like a desktop coffee machine has all the stuffing that you’re looking for if you make edibles or in my case, drinkables.
The first thing you will do is fill the internal basket with your finest herbs. Set the digital timer to decarb your herbs. You can dial in the time/temperature to your needs for THC. When the decarb is finished, you add up to one cup of the liquid of your choice to infuse. I like to infuse condensed milk. It’s so versatile. Adding that little lagniappe (a little bit extra) to your mixer. It’s now a cannabis infused condensed milk, all ready for your morning Vietnamese coffee or Vietnamese-style crushed sugar cane juice.
But why mix cannabis into a cocktail or a mocktail? Because they taste amazing and you’ll get really stoned while doing it. Isn’t that why we smoke cannabis in the first place? Just like the folks who relax with a Martini at the end of a long workday, I enjoy sipping on a cannabis libation. It doesn’t upset the family members who don’t care for the smell of burning herb filling the air!
You’ll get pleasantly comfortable after only a few sips and realize that I’ve ruined you for your bartender. They cannot make a drink as delicious. Why? Because your afternoon sipper has just the right amount of weed in it to get you lit up. In other words, destroy you and all your friends, just like I did on Viceland Live a couple years ago. It was quite memorable.
I love the way condensed milk slides down my throat with alacrity. The juicy quality of the sugar cane with almost a rum-like taste – if your rhum (French spelling of distilled fresh cane juice) is actually Agricole or agricultural rum and not molasses-based rum which is just too sweet for this recipe.
Whatever kind of rum you end up using is up to you. Or none at all if you are planning on staying vertical for the rest of the day. To make a batch of Vietnamese sugar cane juice, go to your ethnic grocery section of the market and get a can of the salubrious juice. If you live in a city with Vietnamese grocery stores, you may be able to find freshly crushed juice. A plus!
RECIPE: Infused Condensed Milk
To your Levo2, fill the internal basket with decarbed cannabis.
Add a cup of Condensed Milk to the internal container.
Set the timer to 3 hours at 160 degrees.
Relax and wait for the machine to do the magic.
After three hours, the machine will turn off and you will have steaming hot, infused condensed milk.
You can pour the amount of this creamy liquid into a mocktail, a cocktail or into a tres leches cake where you’ll get stoned with each savory bit.
RECIPE: Nur’ó’c Mía
a.k.a. Iced, Medicated Vietnamese Sugarcane Juice
Even if you’re not drinking it yourself, there’s something inherently refreshing about watching Vietnamese street vendors crush freshly cut sugarcane into brimming glasses of the aromatic juice known as nur’ó’c mía. The juice’s sultry flavor is strangely reminiscent of Rhum Agricole from Martinique—and even of Brazil’s potent patron spirit, cachaça—just minus the alcohol. Now you can make a medicated version at home. Just top up sugarcane juice with a dose of your THC-Infused Condensed Milk: it’ll invigorate you right down to your toes. Make your condensed milk with a Sativa strain, which promotes mental clarity and focus, such as Asian Fantasy. Its spice- and grape-tinged aromatics complement both the sugarcane juice and the rich, sweet milk.
INGREDIENTS
Coconut Water Ice Cubes
6 Ounces (180 Ml) Nur’ó’c Mía (Fresh Sugarcane Juice), Chilled
2 Ounces (60 Ml) THC-Infused Condensed Milk (See Recipe)
Thai Basil Leaves, For Garnish
PROCESS
Fill a Collins glass with coconut water ice cubes.
Add the sugarcane juice, and
top with the THC-Infused Condensed Milk.
Mix gently. Garnish with a leaf or two of Thai basil.
Add a colorful straw, and serve immediately.
Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails & Tonics is available in Indie Bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo Books.
Warren Bobrow is the CEO of Klaus Apothicaire, a 6x Author, Chef, Barman, Cannabis Alchemist, Master Mixologist. Some of his cannabis awards include: SXSW Cannabis Disruptor 2018, Berlin Bar Convent-Cannabis, and Moscow Bar Show-Master Class-Rum. He is the author of Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics, Available in Indie Bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo Books. See his cannabis creations on instagram.
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