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The first thing we learned when trying to make cannabis cocktails is that it's really, really hard to find liquid cannabis that won't get you high. In this state at least, our liquor control commission is very adamant that THC and alcohol don't and can't mix. So when we discovered that two famous vegan spots in Los Angeles, Gratitude and Gracias Madre, were making high-end cocktails using an over-the-counter tincture containing only CBD—the Xanax-like cannabinoid that causes relaxation and pain relief but no impairment—it was way too good to pass up.
Related: Want to smoke weed without feeling super high? Try these high CBD strains.
If L.A. has cannabis cocktails, surely Portland should have them, right? Well, we don't. So, short the money for the plane trip, we decided to remake Gracias Madre cannabis cocktails ourselves.
The big problem was getting the CBD oil. Every time we tried to pick up some form of CBD tincture, it contained too much intoxicating THC to be sold to us legally without a medical card. Local company Messina Bitters makes cocktail-ready cannabis bitters—but only in THC versions. We ordered online and when the site failed to deliver for a week, we tried to make liquid out of a solid, sticky CO2 oil.
Related: Marijuana-infused alcohol could be the next frontier of weed—if the OLCC doesn't ban it.
But that thing about oil and water not mixing? It's totally true. Even when the liquid was heated up, trying to dissolve the CBD oil into liquid was like dousing rubber cement. The oil stuck to every solid thing—everything we stirred it with, and every glass we put it in. Our office now has some very relaxed toothpicks.
But finally, we were able to get hold of that cannabis oil website and procure some liquid 4 percent CBD hemp oil—a dark and viscid substance that looks like old balsamic vinegar.
Related: Five Anti-Anxiety Cannabis Strains to Try
Gracias Madre's Stoney Negroni costs $20—a variation on the classic Italian-style gin-vermouth-amaro cocktail that includes a bar spoon of ruby port and five drops of CBD tincture. At the restaurant, their orange slice was stamped with a silly little script saying "Puff. Puff. Pass." We did not do this.
After mixing the negroni, however, we discovered that the CBD oil and liquor still didn't quite mix. Even stirred, it formed discrete spheres of brown inside the drink, surrounded by lighter brown slick—an unappealing adulteration that also showed up as a grassy, herbal tang in the nose. The drink tasted like a nice negroni—thank you very much—with a slight weirdball aftertaste, as if it were steeped with clover and hay.
Even at its low dose, though, the CBD made a difference—presenting as a wash of relaxation and an odd halo effect around my sinuses. One suspects a bit of synergy with the alcohol.
Cocktail two was far more successful. Again, we dispensed with the cutesy presentation. The Rolled Fashioned is a play on the Old Fashioned that goes half-and-half between bourbon and aged Mezcal (we used Scorpion), and uses sarsaparilla syrup instead of sugar cube or simple sugar. Gracias Madre hangs a dime bag stuffed with a vegan churro on the outside of the glass—we almost did this, but with mini churros from Jack in the Box. We used syrup from Nob Hill martini spot Bartini—a lovely woody version—and though the oil still swam weirdly in the drink, the smokiness of both mezcal and syrup masked the weird herbal notes entirely. It was a damn fine drink with smokiness more subtle than overpowering, and the darkness of the liquor blended better with the oil. Apparently, when making cannabis cocktails, use smoke.
Two CBD cocktails after a workday turn out to be remarkably relaxing. It was difficult to persuade myself to go to dinner.
So, here's the drink we recommend: 1 ounce W.L. Weller wheated whiskey, 1 ounce Scorpion Mezcal Añejo, half an ounce sarsaparilla syrup (available from Fee Brothers online), squeezed orange twist, two taps angostura bitters and five drops 4 percent CBD hemp oil. Combine over ice.
Willamette Week