From Highspresso to Tequila Highrise, Drinking Your Weed Has Never Been More Fun

A lot of people are not comfortable with cannabis. There's always that one friend who will skip the smoke when the joint is passed around. Ask them why they'll tell you - 'I am not into it. It's just not for me.' But if you could drink cannabis and have it behave like alcohol — wouldn't that be the Holy Grail of cannabis produce? 

With the rise of the cannabis industry, there has been a rise in cannabis manufacturers who bid to win the market with drinkable cannabis — a category of edibles on its own. So, it's no surprise if cannabis cocktail options keep showing up in your local bar menu (given that cannabis is legal for recreational use and sale in your state). 

Readily available cannabis drinks are usually low-dose and infuse spirits or simple syrups as a basis. As of recently, Lively Spirits also released purejuana, a product described to be "America's first dry spirit brand." As Emily Price notes for Forbes, "it's essentially a soluble powder you use instead of liquor in a drink."  The powder can be dissolved in seltzer or soda, and it can be boosted by adding it to a nitric cocktail. The effects of drinking one such cocktail and its duration are comparable to what you get from a typical alcoholic cocktail. 

However, not every glass of drinkable cannabis has been made equal. If this one brand is safe, with a dose of it similar to single-serving liquor, it doesn't mean other brands or homemade products in the form of drinkable cannabis have the same weight.  Whether it's tea, coffee, or liquor stirring some pot, it will more probably have the same onset, effects, and downsides as other edible cannabis products — think your space cookie if you are milking too much THC in that cocktail. 

Drinking Your Weed

The reason why cannabis drinks are not as widespread as other edibles is the difficulty in producing them. Cannabis oil and water would typically separate, resulting in an entirely inconsistent product where each sip comes with a different dose of cannabis, and the taste might sometimes feel bland or unusual. A single drink would contain super amounts of THC, which is an issue for consumers who prefer to increase their nightly intake of THC gradually.  

New technologies have helped cannabis product manufacturers surpass challenges in cannabis drinks production, so the market, although small compared to other edibles — it's growing. For instance, Cann has emerged as a brand of THC- and CBD-infused sparkling water. It took the company a next-level tech to be able to bind cannabis oil on the one end and water on the other so that it can have a consistent product. 

Each 8-fluid-ounce Cann contains 2 mg of THC and 4 mg of CBD, flavored like lemon lavender, grapefruit rosemary, or orange cardamom in a bid to resemble tastes and flavors of different cannabis strains. However, the drink still tastes and feels more like seltzer than a pot drink. 

Another producer, Outbound Brewing, has specialized in nonalcohol THC- and CBD-infused beer, bolstering 12-ounce bottles with soft liquid. A single dose uses 10 mg of THC or 20 mg of CBD. For some of these brands, it has taken years to develop a consistent drink that would not be chunky or lumpy, Rolling Stone reports. 

How to Make Your Cannabis Drink?

You've tried a cannabis drink downtown, and now you want to make something drinkable at home, too. Is it easy? Well, it depends on how much of a weed chef you already are. If you have already worked your way with weed in the kitchen, baking cookies and stuff, if you are familiar with delicate procedures such as emulsifying or decarboxylating your weed, then you are good to go trying cannabis drinks. With drinks, first, you need to settle the basis. The basis could be milk, alcohol, coconut oil, syrup, honey, or you name it. Once you successfully infuse the base with cannabis, you then have the freedom to create any drink that suits your taste and lifestyle.

Cannabis-Infused Milk

Not everyone is fortunate to live nearby a coffee house where they serve a nice luscious foamy cup of coffee with cannabis. But if you can prepare the milk at home, you don't need the coffee shop. Half a gram of weed per quart of milk will do it. If you want it more potent, go with a gram per quart of milk.

Crunch the weed in chunks and add it to a cooking pot with milk. Let the mixture reach a boiling point, after which you reduce to a simmer and begin to stir every once in a while for the next two-three hours. You can also bring water to a boil in a pot. Then, use a steel bowl where you have the milk and ground weed together. Leave it on simmer for a couple of hours. This way heat will not affect the milk and will prevent the mixture from burning or clotting.

Once you are done with preparing the milk, strain the concoction through a cheesecloth. When the potent weed-infused milk is ready, you can create any drink that you would usually have with regular milk. Put it in your coffee or tea or experiment with more luscious beverages such as bubble tea, milkshakes, or protein shakes you take for your workout. The dosing comes down to your personal preferences and how strong you want your joe. Start with a half cup of cannabis milk in the beginning to test strength. Add more to find the dose that works best for you and your routine.

Cannabis Alcohol

Ganja drinks definitely smell like more fun. Isn't that the dream ingredient of every party? Alcohol drinks mixing cannabis are here to excite your home drinking bar and make you the queen or king of the evening. You will need a 1/8-ounce bag of high-grade marijuana per 750-milliliter bottle of the liquor of your choice for canna alcohol drinks. Just take precautions when you work with alcohol in the kitchen since alcohol is flammable.

Start by decarbing the cannabis. A common practice is that you set up the weed on a tray in an oven at a low 240ºF temperature for about an hour. Stir the buds occasionally to avoid churning them. When it's ready, grind the weed, but avoid powdering it. After you are done with the decarboxylation, take a large pot and half fill it with water. Use an electric stove or hot plate to bring the pot to boil, at 212ºF. Then, turn the heat to low. Add the marijuana and liquor into another smaller pot or the top of the double-boiler with the water. Stir and then cover the concoction. Leave the mixture for up to three hours and come back to mix occasionally and to check that the stove temperature does not surpass 170 degrees.

Once you have the magic alcohol, you can basically use it for any cocktail you usually do — from Highjito to Tequilla Highrise. Just bear in mind that you wouldn't need too many rounds before entering a happy-go-lucky mood. Your friends may love you for doing cannabis cocktails for them; don't get them used to it because they'll crawl to your house for more drinks before you know it.

Cannabis Coconut Oil

Last but not least, try a cannabis concoction that instead opts for oil. Cannabis coconut oil might be the perfect bonker for this. Check instructions here on how to prepare cannabis coconut oil. 

Once you have your canna coconut ready, you can add it to a number of recipes, and you always have the freedom to experiment with something entirely new.  Coconut oil will combine well with sugary drinks such as rum, so you can easily create a high version of hot buttered rum. Instead of butter, add some cannabis coconut oil and add some cider. For a more summery drink, have the rum and coconut oil with a slice of pineapple or pineapple juice. Blend the mixture with a food processor, add ice, and you are good to go sunbathing on the balcony this summer.