Cocktail Whisperer
The Daily Leaf’s Stephen Gold & Andy Yashar PHOTO CREDIT: SAM GEHRKE
If you take a few seconds away from the day-to-day journey that most people take, from wake to sleep, there are very few opportunities to do what you love. That is especially true on the East Coast of the USA, where the search for success often clouds over the chance to actually do what you love.
DECEMBER 19 2018
Hospitality Sessions
I will be giving a presentation in Toronto on December 19th. If you are in Canada, make a reservation! Cheers!
HiFi co-founder and brand and communications officer Lee Henderson and co-founder Richard Vinal at HiFi Farms in Oregon.PHOTO CREDIT: SAM GEHRKE
Clean Green Certified Cannabis might not mean anything to you right now, but it should because what you put into your body should be of the greatest importance. With that said, out on the left hand coast of the United States, the thought of being and doing more than just what is necessary really caught my attention. I’ve made a concerted effort to attempt to extract the nerd stuff first and the marketing stuff way down the line. I’m always excited about packaging and the aromatics of a product, but at the end of the day it’s the way a product feels when I imbibe it. No amount of pretty labels, nor expensive swag will change my mind in this regard. It’s the finest that money can buy, or nothing at all. I refuse to cover the 9/10th’s of the cannabis business because it’s just not the very best! What catches my attention is a product that puts the health of their customer in front of the profit. Admirable is the word that describes HiFi Farms because of their Clean Green Certification. They aim to exceed the already high standards set by the USDA/National Organic Program. From a 30,000 foot level, the deep dive on low carbon footprint and good health to the earth, just make sense to the high-end consumer who wants the very best cannabis products that contribute to their healthy lifestyle.
Alex Shah at WorkPHOTO COURTESY: ALEX SHAH
Editor note: Recently I had the rare opportunity to share ideas on the telephone with one of the most intriguing individuals I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to in recent memory. Alex Shah is that person, and he is brimming with enthusiasm and purpose. He is highly conversational, and our interview went into all tangents, but what intrigued me the most was his passion for creativity and even cooking! It is through conversations that surround food that I find the deeper meanings in life. Not only work, but what makes us tick. And that is through the love of food. I saw, very clearly, that this man is not just a thinker. He’s a theorist and a creative being. Photography, food and life, not a bad way to work, doing what you love. It’s crystal clear that Alex is a success in whatever he sets out to do.
Alecia Winters cooking in the MasterChef studio.COURTESY OF MASTERCHEF.
Midwest native Alecia “Chef Bae” Winters, lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has the golden touch when it comes to cooking and baking with the deeply intrinsic herb named cannabis. That doesn’t mean that Chef Bae only works with medicinally infused foods— far from! As a talented and enthusiastic culinary artist, it takes more than the buzzy parts to make a meal into a lingering memory. An entrepreneur with a true passion for cooking and cannabis infusions, Chef Bae participated in Season 9 of MasterChef, placing in the top 19 home cooks in America. Her specialties include Mexican, Italian, French, Lebanese, American cuisine and her delectable pastries over at Pretty in Pink Edibles.
Hosted by Beverage Trade Network, the Cannabis Drinks Expo will take place in San Francisco on 25 July 2019 and will be the first event of its kind.
The exhibition and conference will “give worldwide drinks industry, and North America in particular, the chance to come together and look at ways it can start addressing what has been described as the biggest ever threat to its future”. The headline speaker for the inaugural event will be Bruce Linton, chairman and CEO of Canopy Growth Corporation – Canada’s largest producer of marijuana. Linton will speak about the “future perspectives” of the industry in North America.
Other speakers at the event include mixologist and journalist Warren Bobrow; Omar Figueroa, founder of the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa and cannabis law expert; and Alex Howe, co-Founder and COO of Rebel Coast Winery.
Ariel examining my 1800’s gnome: Klaus the Soused GnomeWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
The email read like this: Hello Warren, Great news! A Viride GeoPipe is heading your way. More info on the GeoPipes by Stonedware: http://stonedwarecompany.com
Why Viride chose to collaborate with Stonedware: “I choose to partner with Ariel after learning more about the craftsmanship that goes into each Stonedware piece. We spent a lot of time collaborating on the design elements to make the pieces promotional but organic. I wanted to design a branded product that was still beautiful to display as a home accessory. The finished pieces are ones that everyone is enthusiastic about and the functionality rivals any other pipe on the market.” — Sarah Remesch, founder of 270M & Managing Editor of Viride
Also, here is a Viride link speaking about the collaboration. https://www.viridelife.com/provisions/2017/11/24/stonedware-and-viride-collaborate-on-custom-pipes?rq=stonedware
One of my GeoPipes and a Geode from Brazil WARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
Amy Margolis in the CommunePHOTO CREDIT: SAM GEHRKE
Why You Should Know The Initiative & The Commune Founder Amy Margolis
Amy Margolis, a prominent 17 year practicing attorney and founder of the Oregon Cannabis Association, is an uncompromising go-getter. A deeply entrepreneurial attorney who’s made a career focusing on the Pacific Northwest (and beyond) cannabis space, Margolis is whip smart and uncompromisingly concise. She has dedicated her career in helping her clients and the industry as a whole navigate through the brave new world of cannabis legalization— a very new direction, one that is certainly not the divorce, tax, real estate or the multitude of legal careers she could have followed. Amy is a famed cannabis lawyer and she’s darned good at what she does. That’s only a very small part of what Amy has accomplished in her young life in Portland, Oregon, though. She recently announced the launch of both The Commune and The Initiative to ensure that the cannabis industry remains the most progressive and balanced emerging industry yet.
Farm to Jar AwardPHOTO COURTESY: BULL RUN
If the words, Farm to Jar mean something to you, then you’ll know that corporate weed is far from your go/to for pleasure, medication and relaxation.
As It Says: worn by John PlummerWARREN BOBROW-IPHONE X
And, if the quality statement, Certified Kind and the term Farm to Jar are unknown to you, then perhaps a short coast-to-coast flight from here to Oregon will enlighten your mind and your sensibilities. You’d be in for a massive treat and certainly the experience will be otherworldly for your East Coast, buttoned-down sensibilities and your inner dreams and imagination. But what does this have to do with Farm to Jar? Let’s just say that out on the ‘left’ coast, growers have been propagating and harvesting the finest craft cannabis for decades, with tasty results that consistently charm and mystify.
Bill cooking up muffins at The Doctor’s House.PHOTO CREDIT: BRENDA ROSE
Why You Should Visit The Doctor’s House, the Most Charming Bud and Breakfast in Portland, Oregon
If the alluring scent of freshly roasted and slowly brewed coffee, intermingled with tantalizing whiffs of brain captivating, toasty, handmade muffins and perhaps a juicy ‘wake and bake’ bowl of the finest Oregon-grown cannabis jump-starts your imagination, then this is the Bud and Breakfast for you.