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Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Cannabis drinks are coming, even if you don’t live in a state that legalized recreational marijuana.
The Farm Bill of 2018 regulated THC products derived from hemp so long as the THC content within is less than 0.3 percent. As a result, liquors and seltzers that skip the alcohol in favor of THC and CBD have slowly gained prominence in gas stations, distributors and supermarkets across the country.
That’s a logical move. The hard seltzer boom proved there’s a market for low-calorie, moderate-buzz drinks beyond beer. That’s where Cann’s THC-infused social seltzer comes in.
Cann clocks in with a slightly higher calorie count than some competitors at between 50 and 60 calories in its 12-ounce cans. Those “Hi Boys” also carry more THC and CBD than the other cannabis drinks I’ve tried in this space — five milligrams of THC and 10 of CBD per can. The question is whether or not it will have much of an effect on me, as all my (assuredly legal) forays into weed have had lackluster results.
All I’m looking for is a pleasant mood and some good sleep behind a tasty sip. Let’s see if Cann delivers.
Lemon Lavender: A
The eight ounce can is a bit lighter than the 12 ouncer — it’s got two milligrams of THC and four of CBD compared to five and 10 for the “Hi Boy.” I’m gonna start here and see how I’m feeling.
It smells like… well, dang, it smells like fresh citrus without a hint of the THC below. The first sip is sweet (but not cloyingly sweet) lemon, tempered slightly by the lavender. Nothing is especially floral. That was my concern, but this doesn’t taste like a weed-infused drink. It just tastes like a soda or like a carbonated version of the final sips of a Del’s frozen lemonade (shout out to any Rhode Islanders out there).
This tastes great at 35 calories across eight ounces. Let’s see how the effects take hold.
I’m not feeling much an hour after cracking the cann. Let’s dig into another shorty.
Blood Orange Cardamom: A
It’s got a definite orange juice smell to it, though the cardamom leaves it a little different than a glass of Tropicana. It’s maybe… spicy? Here’s where I admit I have no idea what cardamom is.
This tastes pretty much just like orange juice with a bit of fizz and an earthy finish. Again, there’s hardly any indicator you’re dealing with THC, since the bitter, spicy tinge of marijuana-adjacent Delta-8 is hidden in a way Triple or MXXN don’t do as well. This could pass as a seltzer or soda, which could make it a bit dangerous but, hey, we’re not dealing with alcohol so at least it’s safer.
After about two hours, I’m feeling relaxed and pleasant. I’m watching an old MTV video countdown from 1986 on YouTube and keep blanking things, but I think that’s just because it’s badly edited. The weed effect is still pretty minimal right now, but there’s at least something to be found there.
Grapefruit Rosemary: A
After two eight-ounce cans I forgot to pour the third before snapping this picture. I feel this is a point in Cann’s favor.
This one smells a bit more weed-y than the other two versions. That does sneak through into the first sip, but it’s counteracted with a grapefruit fruit that feels like it upped the sugar content to balance out that sourness. The end result is rich and tangy and, yet again, barely tastes like anything with THC in it.
It tastes lowkey great; all Cann’s drinks have an extra richness and depth that goes beyond typical seltzers. And, possibly due to the compounding effect of the THC, it definitely seems to taste better as it goes. Well, hey, looks like we’re 2.25 hours and 18 ounces into the game and I’m beginning to feel a soft glow around my brain.
Three eight-ounce cans of, uh, Cann appear to be the sweet spot. I’ve got a persistent buzz akin to lo-fi instrumental music playing in the depth of my skull. My dreams that night were good weird and not scary weird. A few times I woke up and saw something that isn’t there, stuck halfway between sleep and consciousness. But ultimately I got some decent REM cycles and woke, as promised, hangover free.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?
This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Cann’s infused seltzers over a cold can of Hamm’s?
I’d have one of the Hi Boys or a couple of the shorties, but I’d probably stop there. That put me in a nice place — a spot from which I could sip some non-alcoholic beverages and enjoy the pleasant hum inside my brain for a while. But yeah buddy, I’ll be coming back to Cann.
Would I drink it over other THC-based drinks?
This is a more fair comparison, but a limited one since I’ve only had a few cannabis-infused beverages thus far.
For me, Cann ranks above MXXN and Triple High Seltzer thanks to both its flavor and the potency of the THC and CBD within, While those other two produced minimal effects, Cann finally provided the warming fog I’d always associated with my highest, dumbest friends. It was nice to finally join them.
“}]] Cann’s seltzers taste legitimately great. But you can’t indulge too much, because they pack a punch. Read More