Warren Bobrow’s Craft Cannabis Cocktails

Picture a musical about two young people in love but being together in the real world turns out to be more complicated. Clad in a pink poodle skirt and a white button-up is the craft cocktail, a positive darling of the food and drink world. In walks cannabis, the misunderstood Schedule I bad boy in a rolled-up black T-shirt, a joint behind his ear and a leather jacket tossed over his shoulder. 

Will these two ever share a glass? Will society let them?

The truth is, these two main characters are great together, no matter what federal law says. Just ask famed master mixologist and cannabis writer, Warren Bobrow, who wrote the insanely comprehensive Cannabis Cocktails Mocktails & Tonics: The Art of Spirited Drinks & Buzz-Worthy Libations.

The book opens with some background on our Mr. Misunderstood, who was once a healing herb just like any other. But the cannabis plant has been held back by a few sadistic school principals—namely the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act and the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Today, cannabis is still trying to shed the stigma created by politicians since Prohibition, with some state-by-state success since the 1970s. California is one of those states that has legalized cannabis for adult use—and it’s the most populous state in the country.

This bodes well for Bobrow, who, when he isn’t writing, runs California-based Klaus Cannabis-Infused Beverages. The company sells ready-to-drink THC-infused, terpene-forward canned mocktails (state regulations don’t yet allow edible cannabis products as alcoholic beverages). The emulsifying technology he uses for these drinks, from a company called Vertosa, is only in California right now, and Klaus is only licensed for sale in the state.

But before the Nanogen technology Vertosa uses even existed, Bobrow’s cannabis cocktail book introduced 75 delicious recipes—many of which allow our star-crossed lovers, the craft cocktail and cannabis, to be together at last. Take the Mezzrole Cocktail, for example, a Manhattan-style drink made with cannabis-infused sweet vermouth.

The book teaches readers how to decarb cannabis at home to safely make pantry items, including tinctures, syrups and shrubs. Decarboxylation was a very new concept to most at the time the book was published (2016), and though Bobrow didn’t invent it, he’s known for perfecting the process.

Bobrow still sees cannabis—good old THC—as an herb, with the ability to heal and make you feel good. He doesn’t bother with CBD, which he likens to “snake oil.” “It’s sold in gas stations,” he says, remaining skeptical that it does anything good or bad. “There’s no feeling in it.”

The slogan for his business is “Klaus cares,” Bobrow says, because “he really does care; he cares about what you put in your body.” (Oh, did I forget to mention the eight-inch-tall face of the company, Klaus the Soused Gnome?) That’s why Klaus makes drinks that are only 16 calories, and six-tenths of a gram of sugar. Someone who cares this much has taken the time to get to know what cannabis has to offer and is keeping that summer romance with craft cocktails alive.

The Mezzrole Cocktail

 I’m a huge fan of Manhattan-style cocktails; they make great aperitifs. This drink is named after Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, a jazz musician who lived in New York City’s Harlem in the 1920s. And, as Mezz himself would’ve known, the term for a well-rolled cannabis cigarette was a “mezzrole”—so I just had to commemorate both man and medicine in this elegant cocktail.

It combines cannabis-infused sweet vermouth, handmade cocktail cherries and quality bourbon into a small, but well-formed libation that’s deeply healing. When you’re infusing your vermouth, consider choosing a Sativa-Indica hybrid strain called Cherry Pie. It’s redolent of sweet and sour cherries, and it complements the toasty, oaky flavors inherent in the liquors. As for making crushed ice, it’s best to place the ice in a Lewis bag—a heavy canvas bag that’s made for the job—before whacking it with a wooden mallet or rolling pin.

The Mezzrole Cocktail is a Manhattan-style drink made with cannabis-infused sweet vermouth.

Ingredients

  • 4-6 greenish cocktail cherries
  • 1/2oz (15ml) cannabis-infused vermouth
  • Handful of crushed ice
  • 1oz (15ml) bourbon whiskey
  • Aromatic bitters


Instructions

Muddle the Greenish Cocktail Cherries with a wooden muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon, then top with the vermouth. Continue to muddle for 30 seconds to combine the flavors. Cover with the crushed ice. Top with the bourbon, then dot with aromatic bitters.

This story was originally published in the print edition of Cannabis Now.

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Alpha-Pinene Terps Shine in this Sparkling Cannabis Cocktail Recipe

Holiday drinks enjoyed while celebrating friends, family and finding the light through dark winter nights is a tradition long held around the world. With pine trees inextricably part of those same warm gatherings, few things so strongly mark the arrival of the winter holidays quite like the unmistakable smell of fresh pine.

Did you know the fragrant terpene alpha-pinene is directly responsible for that unique scent we all hold near and dear during the holiday season? Found abundantly in edible plants all over the world (i.e., rosemary, juniper berries, eucalyptus, holy basil and the like), alpha-pinene’s charm also shines through in specific cannabis strains like Jack Herer, Cherry Pie and Purple Kush.

These holiday drinks in particular were inspired by pine needle syrup, a traditional Scandinavian remedy for sore throats made from pine needles foraged when the trees are just budding (the young shoots have the best flavor). Since it stunts the trees’ growth to remove the fresh buds and since not every pine tree is safe to eat, I recommend foraging with an expert or sourcing the pine needles from a reputable local or online shop. Longleaf, Shortleaf, Virginia, Spruce and Loblolly are some of the preferred trees for making pine infusions, but as with all plant consumption, take care with identification and defer to experienced knowledge before eating any plants.

There are two versions of this wintery, celebratory pine and cannabis drink: one made with sparkling wine and no added sugar, and the other infuses a simple syrup to be mixed with sparkling water–dealer’s choice.

Happy holidays, cheers!

Ingredients

1 1/2 – 2 cups cold filtered water

3.5 g dried and cured cannabis flower or trim

1/4 tsp liquid sunflower lecithin (found in health food stores or online)

1/2 cup organic cane sugar (if making simple syrup, omit if making mixer for champagne cocktails)

1-2 cinnamon sticks

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (plus one sprig each per serving)

Sparkling white wine or sparkling mineral water (for the mixer)

Decarboxylate Cannabis

Preheat oven to 245ºF. Keep an eye on the heat using an oven thermometer.

Coarsely chop/breakup cannabis flower.

Spread cannabis evenly over a parchment lined baking pan, then cover tightly with two layers of foil.

Bake for 25 minutes, keeping an eye on the heat with an oven thermometer.

After baking, let cool fully before removing foil.

Spritz cannabis lightly with Everclear/high-proof alcohol (to help break down plant matter and cannabinoids, a genius method developed by Tamar Wise).

For Mocktail with Pine Needle Simple Syrup (no alcohol)

Boil 1 1/2 cups water, then add 1 cup pine needles.

Turn down heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Continue to simmer for 30 mins.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Strain needles out through a fine mesh strainer, returning the liquid to the pot.

While the liquid is still warm, whisk in 1/4 tsp liquid sunflower lecithin.

Stir in 1/2 cup sugar until it’s completely dissolved.

Pour liquid into a heat-proof glass jar (with a tight-fitting lid).

Add the decarboxylated cannabis, 2 sprigs of rosemary, and 1-2 cinnamon sticks to the liquid.

Let cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge for 12 hrs/overnight, shaking the mixture periodically.

Strain the solids out of the liquid through a cheesecloth and fine mesh strainer (more than once if necessary to get all the bits out of the liquid).

Label clearly as containing cannabis and at what dosage.

Add desired amount of the now cannabis-and-pine-needle-infused simple syrup to sparkling water over ice. Stir, garnish with a sprig of rosemary, and serve.

For a Sparkling Cocktail (mix with your favorite sparkling wine)

Boil 2 cups of water, then add 1 cup of pine needles.

Turn down heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Continue to simmer for 30 mins.

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Strain needles out through a fine mesh strainer, returning the liquid to the pot.

While the liquid is still warm, whisk in 1/4 tsp liquid sunflower lecithin.

Pour liquid into a heat-proof glass jar (with a tight-fitting lid).

Add the decarboxylated cannabis, 2 sprigs of rosemary, and 1-2 cinnamon sticks to the pine-needle infusion.

Let cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge for 12 hrs/overnight, shaking the mixture periodically.

Strain the solids out of the liquid through a cheesecloth and fine mesh strainer (more than once if necessary to get all the bits out of the liquid).

Label clearly as containing cannabis and at what dosage.

Add the desired amount of the now cannabis-and-pine-needle-infused liquid and a sprig of fresh rosemary to your favorite sparkling Brut. Cheers!

Dosage: Both recipes make about 1 2/3 cups liquid. I use tablespoons as my measurement for dosage, with 1 tablespoon per drink. There are 16 tablespoons in a liquid cup, so 1 2/3 cups is very loosely 26 tbsps, or 13 servings. If I start with a cannabis flower that tests at around 20% THC, using 3.5g would make the total amount of THC in the syrup all in about 700mg THC. Dividing that total by 26 tbsp. servings, each tbsp. would contain approximately 27mg THC per serving.

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