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One for the Road: Talking Cannabis in Bars & Restaurants

Bar & Restaurant News is introducing a number of new content pieces in 2024, including Polls, From the Editor, and this column, One for the Road.

In this monthly column, we ask a question about a theme or topic covered during the month, and industry experts weigh in with opinions, advice, and real-life experiences.

For January, we’re revisiting cannabis in the on-premise industry. If you missed our deep dive into the topic, check out “Welcoming Cannabis into the Bar & Restaurant Industry.” We asked some industry experts: 

Do you think cannabis consumption and/or cannabis-infused food & drink will find its way into more bars and restaurants in the future?

Warren Bobrow

Warren Bobrow, CEO & Co/Founder of RTD THC-infused cocktails Klaus the Gnome, Inc.

I wrote the first book in the world on infusing cannabis (THC, not CBD or hemp) into craft cocktails of my own invention. As a master mixologist, former rum judge/ former day drinker, and now the creator of Klaus in California, I have some very defined thoughts on the addition of THC to food/drink. 

I believe that you will start seeing those ubiquitous hemp-infused seltzers around in places where it is permitted by law. They are pretty uncomplicated and very low dose, more akin to a light cocktail or a mocktail in strength, which means you probably won’t feel very much of anything. [It will be] similar to the addition of the CBD craze in craft cocktails a few years back. You can’t feel anything with CBD, there is no buzz whatsoever, but I digress.

If you are looking for a THC edible or a cocktail with THC in it, I’m hoping these will make their appearance sooner rather than later. But everyone has different metabolisms, and eating cannabis can be problematic for some people. Care needs to take place, especially when mixing alcohol and THC. I should know a bit about this topic!

I’d love to see the combination of food and cannabis-infused craft libations like my own alongside a carefully prepared meal, or even tacos!

Read more here at Bar and Restaurant! https://www.barandrestaurant.com/operations/one-road-talking-cannabis-bars-restaurants

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5 Questions Articles Interviews Skunk Magazine

FIVE CRISP QUESTIONS WITH TEDDY BANG, CEO: CALI FLWR FARMS

The other day, I was perusing through some emails that I hadn’t dug into yet- and I saw one from a guy named Teddy Bang. It was quite forward, actually… He was asking me to interview him.

I replied that it had been a while since someone asked me to interview them… Usually, it’s the other way around, with me doing all the pitching. And that’s ok because it’s nearly impossible for me to find all the best… Because I’m seeking something intangible.

“Sir Warren,

My name is Teddy Bang, and I’m a cannabis owner and operator in SoCal. It’d be great to chat and maybe do a 5 question article or fun piece. There are lots happening, developing, and market patterns and insights I could share that could interest you and your audience- like how we can make something work or happen.

Teddy Bang | CEO and Operator
Cali Flwr Farms MHPC | Distribution + Manufacturing
Cali Flwr Farms | Dope Town | Viva Sativa | Sofa King”

This was the letter; how could I resist?

But getting back to Teddy’s story. It’s pretty clear that he’s doing what he loves: working with the plant. In ways that seem to fly in circles, I’ve not yet surveyed in my path. And no, I hadn’t heard of him, not yet anyway. But I think that’s going to change… Thank you, Teddy, for reaching out to me and putting your creativity and craft on my radar. I can’t wait to do a ‘tasting’. Cheers! WB

cannabis world news interviews caricature of Teddy Bang, CEO: Cali Flwr Farms

Warren Bobrow: Please tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Where are you located now? What have you been working on? How did you get to where you are today?

Teddy Bang: Highly educated and have a medical degree- but I sell weed and build brands in Southern California. Born and raised LA, California boy- all the licenses and warehouses are in the Valley or North LA, I live down in South OC- on a beach in San Clemente. I am building a team and culture that can stay calm and positive in a super volatile unknown marketplace- high level. Low level, we’re always trying to stay net profitable and especially create new customers- that’s a big problem. There are too many licenses and not enough consumers. Always looking to learn and get better every day- I’ve found surrounding yourself with good quality people and no bitching or complaining, just focusing on what you want. You are defined by the problems you can solve.

WB: Why cannabis? What did you initially want to be “when you grew up”?…. Tell me about your company (s). What do you do that sets you apart from your competition? What makes you better?

TB: This is personal. For years, I would tell my teenage daughter you have to be passionate, and you have to be purposeful and live the truth of your soul- and one day, she flipped the script and asked if I thought selling medical devices was my passion and purpose, and the answer was no. The things I loved were surfing and cannabis. I reached out to Kelly Slaters’, a pro surfer, wave pool company and got knee deep and realized shit, this isn’t passion, you aren’t surfing that wave every day. It’s emails, meetings, and ex-corporate guys. So, the second one, cannabis- it was going legal in California, and I decided this was it, I’m going for it. Growing up, I wanted to be a playboy photographer, for obvious reasons, or bongo rockstar, because growing up in LA in the 70s, being a rockstar was that bitchin lifestyle- playing by your own rules.

cannabis world news interviews black man with hands handcuffed behind back, with cops arresting him, and business logo

Our companies are dope; we have a lot of fun, a lot of respect, and a great crew. We’re building brands, integrating with the farm, making the whole operation net profitable and reproducible. We don’t pay too much attention to our competition; we just go out to the marketplace and talk to our customers and dispensaries- we hear what problems they have and build solutions around that. We have boots on the ground every day and strong pulses on the market. My partner, Antione, and I will spend 30+ hours a week on the road delivering and talking to dispensaries and customers, what other company has their head operators in the stores, on the ground like that every day. It’s just old-school hustle paired with some serious soul. This is hard to beat.

WB: What are your six and twelve-month goals? How do you anticipate getting there? Do you have a mentor? Did someone teach you?

TB: We are so in the moment, we have some big visions but its fluid. Ultimately, we want to be net profitable, have fun, make sure everyone is passionate and the culture is tight, and bring as much reproducibility as we can- just solve problems over and over. Our team is the vehicle to get there; it’s all about the culture, communication, love, and kindness. No one gets irritated when someone makes a mistake. The team just jumps in and helps- no blame. Tik Tok is my 2024 mentor, the algorithm knows what I wanna hear and when I want to hear it. But overall, I have always been a slow learner and have to figure it out myself- still, till this day, I like to figure out the problem or system before handing it off to someone, just because I don’t ever want to ask someone to do something that I am not willing to dig into or do.

cannabis world news interviews Cali FLWR Farms logo on indoor cannabis cultivation operations

WB: What is your favorite kind of food? Restaurant? Where? Do you cook? What do you eat for lunch?

TB: I eat basic whole food, nothing in boxes with weird chemicals that I don’t know what they are. I cook lots of steak, chicken, lettuce, carrots, vegetables- real basic foods and just add salt and pepper. Sugarfish is the go to celebratory spot, sometimes Miley Cyrus meets me there… Okay, only one time we were there at the same time…
https://sugarfishsushi.com/

WB: What is your passion?

TB: My passion is passion. I am a very soulful person; I love what I do. I love to listen to people talk about things they love and see the world through their eyes, and build a connection with people built on genuine acceptance. I also have two beautiful dogs, and a passion project is to make sure they just have the most dope, peaceful life possible. Which usually includes daily beach trail walks, ocean swim sesh’s and many, many fetch hours in the park.

For more cannabis industry insights and breakdowns, follow cali_dopecrew on Instagram

Photos credit: The black and white cityscape, sunset swing photo, LA mural, and arrested photo; Norman Schwartz 

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Klaus

Merry Christmas

To those who celebrate!

https://drinkklaus.com/

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5 Questions Reviews Skunk Magazine Tasting Notes

LEX CORWIN OF STONE ROAD CANNABIS: HIS SUCCESS FROM PASSION

To say that I’m a fan of Lex Corwin’s success is a huge understatement. From the very moment that I met Lex out in Los Angeles, I knew that this was a man who is following his own dreams. And what vivid dreams they are. From Connecticut to La La, the land of dreams! And what a trajectory he has achieved. While others with formidable provenance have crashed and burned, Lex continues to open new markets and persevere in his chosen art. The art of gorgeous cannabis that smokes just like his personality.
Deeply ebullient!

When Lex got into weed it was still illegal in the East coast. I know, because I’m a tad older and I’ve struggled with this illegality since the early 1970’s. Not only was cannabis illegal, but it was and still is, deeply stigmatized by the old school who run things in the suburbs. Lex has transcended this stigma by developing his own path in life, away from this stifling environment of suburban suburbia. In the vividly glowing sunshine of California and now New Mexico, Lex is achieving success that he probably envisioned in “High” School and now it’s the thing that drives his life. Gourmet Cannabis that tells a deeper story. A story of personal success, individual entrepreneurship, and intricate passion. Cheers! WB.

Warren Bobrow: It’s been a while since we’ve come across each other professionally. Hope all has been well. From the looks of it, your company is growing exponentially. That’s good! Always proud of your success, being an East Coast person. What have you been working on? I’ve always been a fan of your flower; how do you maintain your demand for excellence?

Lex Corwin: Always a pleasure Warren. We were due for a catch-up!
We have been busy! We are working on a ton of exciting projects – this week we launched in New Mexico (our fifth market) and solidified our partner for our launch in NY.
Sabrina, my coo, and I are also working on bringing an edible to market in CA. Exciting but challenging times. Besides that, we are working on a few other states – Missouri, Montana, and Mississippi. While of course continuing to expand and improve our farm and products in the ever-changing CA marketplace.

WB: Please tell me about your new project in New Mexico. I love the cannabis there, btw. I’m a huge Albuquerque cannabis fan. I believe there is real benefit in growing cannabis in natural soil, at altitudes over six thousand feet. And the cannabis tastes so good in this zero-humidity environment! What are you looking for in your pheno hunts to make your New Mexico flowers the best you know? Any pro tips for my readers?

LC: We are so pleased to finally launch in New Mexico. It’s been a wild ride! We partnered with our Oklahoma partners, Stashhouse Distro, to bring the brand to NM in our first revenue-sharing deal. We are excited about this deal structure because it gives us a lot more control over the products we bring to market and our supply chain in general. We know exactly what is coming to market and when, rather than our prior structure of a purely licensing deal where we had little visibility into the products going to market.
I agree the flower is fantastic in NM and there are some really talented growers based there. In terms of our pheno hunt – we stuck with what we know – strains that are bright, fruity, sour, and delicious. We have a formula we like to follow in CA and all our states and didn’t want to deviate from the genetics we knew people loved and expected from us.

WB: What are your six-and twelve-month goals for Stone Road in New Mexico?

LC: We really hit the ground running in NM – considering this is our fifth market we knew exactly how to approach this launch. In other states, it took us 2-3 months to get product to the market whereas in NM we had fresh products hitting the shelf in less than a month after our last packaging components arrived. Record time for us!
So, in six months we’d love to be in 50 stores considering our supply chain is fairly mature and developed. I think we can handle it. And then in 12 months we’d love to be in over 100 stores. A large number indeed – but with our fantastic partners I believe this is attainable.

WB: Do you have a favorite city in New Mexico? Maybe a favorite restaurant? Where? Food type?

LC: I love Santa Fe. It’s so special. It’s so spiritual and just drop-dead stunning. The food is also amazing and the locals warm and friendly. Fun fact: it’s also the oldest capital city in the US.
My aunt lived there for 9 years so I was lucky enough to visit a few times. We had a great time visiting all the local galleries and walking the trails by the river.
We had a number of sensational meals, but I vividly remember Arroyo Vino. They have a large garden on site, so the produce is top-notch. Plus, the hospitality was so warm and welcoming – I look forward to going back!

WB: I know this is a broad reaching question, but what is your passion?

LC: My passion is finding joy in life. I love my job, surfing, and just hanging out with friends and family. In this tumultuous industry – finding and holding joy is extremely important. While I work pretty much 24/7, I always find time to take trips and explore the world. I figure as long as my job is crazy stressful, I might as well enjoy the journey!!

Tasting Notes for a pre-roll joint from Stone Road in California

Birthday Cake and THCA Diamonds and Hash

Nose: Tangles of tangy/sour oven roasted fruit lead into the aroma of freshly sliced, California fruit salad, laden with citrus zest and sea salt slicked shells. Crushed minerals in the nose bring the anticipated results, laughter ensues and the deeper experience of hash and the rush from the THCA Diamonds make this not your usual pre-rolled joint. It is a thing of rare beauty.

Mouthfeel: Brown Butter, sizzling hazelnuts, and crunchy French Toast soldiers dripping in steaming hot dark maple syrup. Truly patient curing at work here, no coughing at all!

Stone: This is not your beginner’s cannabis, so plan accordingly. You can smoke the entire joint or share it with friends- it’s up to you. The indulgence of smoking a one gram joint alone, by yourself…., well that is best left to the studied professionals. Cannabis as elegant and carefully nurtured as this brings pleasure and craft to the forefront and teaches us a little bit about the humility of Lex Corwin’s success in every meted puff.

Follow online: https://stoneroad.org/

Feature photo credit: Morgan Leigh English

Read More Here At Skunk Magazine: https://skunkglobalmarijuanaculture.com/ungategorized/lex-corwin-of-stone-road-cannabis-his-success-from-passion/

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Reviews Skunk Magazine Tasting Notes

VERITAS CANNABIS SOUR DIESEL IS A COMBINATION OF SUPER SKUNK + CHEMDAWG. COMMENTARY AND TASTING NOTES

It’s a Sativa by nature, but sometimes it feels more Indica-leaning- but certainly not like hybrids… It reminds me of the fine cannabis that I used to get in southern Maine back in the mid-1980s. This was when I first discovered really fine East Coast weed. I was reared on mostly West Coast flowers early on. It was that or the “whatever we could get,” which was nothing to write home about in the 1970s and 1980s. Unfortunately for me, whatever we could get still remains vivid in my imagination; it was that brick stuff, brown and pressed. But the strains that taught me something were grown by really passionate people who loved the plant.

Smoking these early craft strains was like nothing I had ever experienced before, especially since the overall quality level of the swag I’d get in NJ was pretty low in the 1970s! This was until someone introduced me to New York Sour Diesel at a nightclub in NYC circa the mid-1980s. Nothing else smelled like that. Like sour cream, lemon curd, European gasoline, and roasted orange zest. To this very day, every time I smell Sour Diesel or the myriad of incarnates, I’m blasted back to that first hit of Sour Diesel and my experience of that day, so many years ago.

The Veritas Cannabis Sour Diesel reminds me of the years of wandering on the streets in Boston if you knew the right people of course… It’s what we smoked during weekends up in the New Hampshire mountains or up on MDI in Maine. It was this famous, now infamous Sour Diesel—probably grown in Western Massachusetts—or otherwise it was Blueberry, from Southern Maine. And that was it. And I’m pretty happy of those years of smoking flowers that remind me now of those years because they were formative in my experience of smoking truly gourmet/craft cannabis. Something that would follow me forward. This is quite important to me.

Every time that I smoke Sour Diesel I’m brought back to a day before yesterday, and it forces me to re-examine the flavors that are known as the classics. What Veritas has achieved is remarkable in this regard. I would like to make mention of a couple things before I dive into the tasting notes. Cannabis that is grown and cured in high altitude and dry places like Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada…smoking this cannabis I’ve discovered a big something shocking. (At least to me…) I react far differently with cannabis grown and cured at sea level. It’s just a different experience. I’ve done some experimentation on this axiom, purchased cannabis that has been grown at 6000 ft plus and opened the container at nearly sea level with lots of New Jersey humidity filling the room, well it’s an entirely different experience. In a plus way, certainly not a minus way.

Something biophysical takes place by growing and curing in a carefully engineered humidity adjusted space, but what I experienced at sea level was something completely different. I’m very impressed by the flavor and terpenes I sensed at 650 ft. instead of 6500 ft. The cannabis almost reacted like cryo-cured flower, dried, perfectly cured, and aged in a fraction of the time, leaving an end result that is encapsulated in time and space. And when I smoked it at 650 ft. with lots of humidity? What I experience is bliss…

Veritas Fine Cannabis: Sour Diesel

Nose: It’s that baby skunk that’s lurking under your bedroom window. Someone stuck a couple gallons of buttermilk under there too, the sour-lactate rich liquid is stuck up inside my nose. Coming into view, snapping a canna-flower in my fingers, I smell crushed, juniper wood smoked chiles, a tangle of caramelized lemongrass shards and slivers of just snipped back yard chives, sauteed in brown butter. This is friendly cannabis that layers the inside of my head with softly folded whipped cream and unleashes the nasal driven memories that say springtime in Portland, Maine-1986. The overall nose is sometimes salty, sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, leading into the funky, but certainly- always memorable.

Mouthfeel: Veritas in Colorado has re-created the classic mouthfeel of Sour Diesel that some would say exemplify the early cannabis strains like New York Sour Diesel. Laden with European Petrol, Kerosene, and Baby Skunk, it’s unmistakable. Others say the classic Sour Diesel smells like citrus juices and cracked white pepper. I think it’s a combination of Pan-Asian spices, baby skunk and kerosine lamp oil. Citrus oils and the act of licking wet shells at the beach in the summer make your palate sing.

Veritas Sour Diesel unlocks my mind after inhalation. Remarkable in the depth of the experience. The mouthfeel is rich, savory, and full-bodied. After a couple small hits, I’m ready to experience the Veritas Sour Diesel in my Chill Bong- instead of my usual one hitter. The reason why I want to share the Chill Bong with you is the cooling experience that you feel when using this masterful piece of cannabis accoutrement.

Stone: This is not cannabis for the beginner. Of course, you have to start on the really strong stuff in your own way, but the pro-tip is take your time. There is no rush in cannabis, all those magical cultivars, so many that I forget which one is my favorite. I will say that Sour Diesel of Veritas Fine Cannabis is elegant and charming. It also gets me to another place with alacrity. There is no lack of amusement when imbibing Sour Diesel from Veritas Fine Cannabis. This is a Sativa that acts to help you get the job done. Scrub the tub, wash all the kitchen floors, take out the trash that is lurking in the hallway. There aren’t enough hours in the day because you’ll be full of steam to get all the things behind you and still other tasks to be hatched.

If Veritas Sour Diesel doesn’t take you to the next Bardo, I don’t know what will. Ok, you may not discover DF Tram on your own personal musical journey, but it did stimulate your inquisitive nature. This nug of perfectly cured cannabis is the Sour Diesel of my dreams. It takes me places that money can’t buy. Experience gleaned from emotion and being able to taste great cannabis like Veritas teaches me lessons not yet taught.

Cheers.

https://chill.store/

https://www.veritascannabis.com/strain-library

Photo Credit: Warren Bobrow

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5 Questions Articles Skunk Magazine

RAINBOW BELTS 3.0 PHENO #22, ZACH TAYLOR OF BOUNTIFUL FARMS

What I received from Bountiful Farms was more than generous. The handsome wooden box, delineated with openings containing four pheno strains, and the question, which one would I choose if I were in charge of this quandary? Obviously, I’m not the one who would make that decision. But wouldn’t it be nice if my written notes on the flavor profiles could be taken into consideration and appreciated? 

Well, that seems like the answer to the question. 

I chose the Rainbow Belts 3.0 Pheno #22. It’s teeming with vaporous notes, crumpled salt-slicked seashells, crisp brioche toast soldiers bathed in molten brown butter, oozing with thimbles of green Chartreuse VEP and tangles of stone ground mustard at the finish. This is the essence of what I consider to be a most magnificent flower, perfectly cured with opulent droplets of pulled sugar and wisps of sticky Southern summer heat. The inexplicable scent of pluff mud, but only for a second, leads to deeper notes of roasted brown tea across my palate. The high/stone is quite cerebral, and then it becomes very emotional. 

Each draw into my lungs brings an extremely personal experience. Every hit comes easily, and that one offers a candy-colored kaleidoscope smearing over your view and scope like Vaseline applied over a motion picture camera’s lens. 

Warning: This is not cannabis for the neophyte or first-timer. It’s just more potent than most on the open market. But to a well-seasoned imbiber, Pheno #22 is truly pleasure-driven stuff. This is the brand of (kind) flower that lends itself well to cannabis-infused beverages or simply my Stonedware purse pipe for a quick hit. There are amazing terpenes that expose themselves to the scent-sensitive… So please pay attention before firing it up! 

If a simple cannabis cocktail were in the works, I’d use my Levo2 to decarb and then infuse some of this pheno into raw honey to speed me on my way to the other rainbow over yonder. Maybe add to your steamy pot of sophisticated essences some perfumed Jasmine Tea? Check your neighbor’s raw honey infused with an infusion of Rainbow Belts? That pheno? Oh, yes. A dosage of freshly juiced European cucumbers. Mix together and serve over a large cube of ice? 

Maybe some Chinola floated over the top? 

Yum.  

Are you reading my mind? Yes, yes, yes…. 

And what about that alley cat sitting on my lap? Only she knows for certain.  

cannabis world news interviews Zach Taylor holding award cup

Warren Bobrow: Please tell me about yourself. Where are you from? What brought you to the cannabis industry? It certainly is an enlightening industry. 

Zach Taylor: I’ve been around plants my entire life. When I was growing up, my father had an interior plant-scaping business, which is what initially sparked my passion for agriculture. My father would design various displays both from an aesthetic perspective as well as agricultural (i.e., which plants will thrive under certain conditions). This combination of art and science is parallel to what I do today as a grower. My father passed when I was 11, and if he were still alive today, I have no doubt we would have gone into the cannabis business together. He was the most knowledgeable plant whisper I know. Additionally, when I learned about cannabis and the life-changing benefits it can provide, I developed a passion for the human-cannabis relationship that has only gotten stronger each day.

I’ve been part of the medical cannabis industry since 2007, when I began growing as a caregiver under the initial medical cannabis statute in Colorado. I was one of the first 18-year-olds to receive a medical license in the state at the time and was one of the first 5,000 licensed employees in the country. Before Bountiful Farms, from 2011 to 2017, I managed cultivation at a large cannabis cultivator in Colorado, which provided me with a great foundation and a good understanding of growing at scale.

Today, I am the Chief Cultivation Center at Bountiful Farms in Massachusetts. We have a medical dispensary in Natick, MA, a 40,000-square-foot cultivation center in Lakeville, MA, and more than 100 retail partners who carry our products. I joined the Bountiful Farms team upon its inception in 2018 and am proud to have had the opportunity to grow it from the ground up and have been able to control the design of the space and how we operate. I equate it to a chef who’s working in a kitchen that they’ve designed – I’m fortunate to have that opportunity.

cannabis world news interviews three award cup trophies surrounded by foliage

WB: Please tell me about your company. What sets you apart from your competition? What kind of strains are you doing right now? Please tell me about the pheno-hunting exercise. 

ZT: Bountiful Farms is a commercial grower who focuses on craft cannabis, and we’re proud to be one of the most awarded growers in the state. We had the honor of winning “The Best Cannabis in Massachusetts” two years in a row in a People’s Choice blind taste test, which is pretty cool.

At Bountiful Farms, we’re focused on being “devoted to better,” and what I think sets us apart is our artisanal, “hand-made” approach. From hand trimming our flower to hand packaging, everything we do is completely hands-on. With a focus on quality and consistency, we look at the “whole plant” and all aspects of the plant, including how it looks, how it smells, the dry and the cure, how it smokes, and finally, the high itself. There is so much more to cannabis than just THC levels and price points – it’s important to look at the mind, body, and soul of the entire plant, and for us, it’s the unique combination of art and science. 

One of the most important parts of our cultivation process is our pheno hunt, which is the process we use to find the best strains with the most desirable characteristics that we’re looking for. 

At Bountiful Farms, in 2020, we conducted one of Massachusetts’ largest pheno hunts, beginning with 4000 seeds with superior genetic lineage from 30 breeders to help select the best strains to release in the market. In 2022, we went at it again, this time asking for some assistance from our customers. It’s selective agriculture, and for us, it is essentially planting a bunch of seeds, all of which showcase specific characteristics and qualities, and then deciding which phenotypic variation is the best representation of that strain. When we’re hunting, we’re looking at the whole picture – cannabinoid content, terpene profile, potency, color, the overall health of the plant, the yield, etc. At the end of the day, this means we’re proud of the genetics that we’re putting out into the market.

With our new Bounti Hunters at-home pheno hunt kits, we’re inviting our community and consumers to join us in this hunt and asking them to weigh in on our next strain, more specifically, the pheno that they feel best represents the genetic potential. In the kit, we are providing kits with two 1/8s of the same strain but with different phenos and asking people to provide feedback on each via a survey. We’re dedicated to innovation and education, and the best weapon against stigma or misconception is information and knowledge. That is really what our Bounti Hunters kit is all about.

We’ve always tried to elevate cannabis to the same level of scientific sophistication as other agricultural plants, and we recently opened a tissue culture lab at our cultivation center with the goal of genetic preservation and viroid-free tissue. Tissue culture is where our industry should be headed, and as growers of an agricultural plant, we’ve seen firsthand the devastation viruses and phenotypic plasticity can have on any crop, and our goal is to alleviate these variables in order to bring the best quality product to consumers. Without viroid-free plants, the cannabis sativa species is in jeopardy, and we could lose a huge percentage of the genetic lineage that helps make up the strains we all love, so this is hugely important to us and our industry.

cannabis world news interviews Bountiful Farms buds on bud jars

WB: When was the first time that you discovered the plant? How old were you? Do you remember who you were with? 

ZT: I began growing as a caregiver at an early age because I saw the life-changing benefits of the plant not only for myself but for my patients. My first patient was my best friend’s mom, who suffered from lupus, and to smoke with “Lady” was one of my favorite pastimes. 

WB: What are your six and twelve-month goals? Do you have a mentor? Who? 

ZT: We are always looking to innovate, experiment, and educate, so we’ll continue to do that in the coming months. And we’re constantly working on popping others’ gear as well as some of our own whilst trying to grow and produce the best possible strains for our consumers.

My mentor is my 90-year-old grandfather, who has taught me, amongst many things, two key components/ philosophies to live by: treat others how you want to be treated and never compromise or be afraid of failure – “chase your dreams.” We are all students/stewards of the plant, so I am learning something new every day.

WB: What is your passion?  

ZT: Outside of my family and my new baby, it may sound cliché, but I am living my passion every day with the work I get to do. I work with such an amazing community of people who all have a mutual love and respect for the plant, and I couldn’t ask for a better job. In fact, almost 18 years in, I do not see this as a job but as a way of life. 

Separate from cultivation, some people also find it interesting that I have a passion and appreciation for fashion. When I’m not wearing scrubs at the cultivation center, you can find me in a funky hat or pair of boots, and I love creating my own custom jackets. There’s something really cool about being able to express yourself through fashion. 

Follow online:

https://www.bountifulfarms.care/

Photo Credit: Bountiful Farms

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Interviews Podcasts

Warren Bobrow: Bestselling Author & Cocktail Whisperer Reveals the Secret Ingredient for Crafting Cannabis Beverages

https://the-dime-177afd40.simplecast.com/episodes/warren-bobrow-bestselling-author-cocktail-whisperer-reveals-the-secret-ingredient-for-crafting-cannabis-beverages

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Recipes

The BEST Delicious Whiskey Cocktails You Can Make

Whiskey Cocktails
Late Summer Fizz/Photo by Glenn Scott Photography

Whiskey is one of my favorite things. I’ll go to lengths to describe the way it makes me feel and especially the way it performs in craft cocktails. What? Whiskey cocktails? Don’t look away; it’s perfectly acceptable to mix cocktails with whiskey. By the way, if you’ve enjoyed a whiskey smash or a mint julep, you’ve had a whiskey cocktail. And if you’ve treated your glass of whiskey to a splash of soda or a muddle of fruit, that is a cocktail too.

Yup, your world just got a bit bigger and you haven’t event gotten to the Manhattan’s or the Rob Roy Cocktails yet!

One such creative cocktail from my recently published book, The Craft Cocktail Compendium is named “A Pleasant Little Gentleman.” It takes a bit of rye whiskey, raw honey simple syrup and whiskey barrel aged bitters and twists them up a bit.

A Pleasant Little Gentleman

  • 2 oz. Fernet Branca
  • 1 oz. rye whiskey
  • 1 oz. raw honey simple syrup (1 cup raw honey to 1 cup hot, but not boiling, water)
  • 2-4 shakes Barrel Aged Bitters
  • Boiling water for hot tea (Lapsang Souchong)

Boil tea. Add the liquors. Sweeten with raw honey to taste. Add the bitters. Serve.

Another little taste of deliciousness is the “Late Summer Fizz.” It includes Pimm’s Cup. Now you know what to do with this cucumber-scented slice of heaven.

Late Summer Fizz

(Pg. 110 of The Craft Cocktail Compendium)

  • 2 oz. rye
  • ½ oz. Pimm’s No.1. Cup
  • ½ oz. apple cider
  • ½ oz. sweet white vermouth (I used Carpano Antica Formula)
  • ¼ oz. allspice dram
  • Sprinkle of sea salt
  • Lemon bitters
  • Splash of club soda

To a Boston Shaker filled ¾ with ice: Add the liquors and the apple cider. Add the dram. Cap and shake hard for 15 seconds. Pour over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Splash club soda. Dot with lemon bitters. Sprinkle sea salt over the top. Serve.

The next one is my take on the classic Old Fashioned. It involves roasted fruit that you split, add light balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar and Demerara sugar, roasted, cooled and muddled. Pretty spectacular.

Grilled Peach and Thai Basil Roast

  • 1 oz. roasted peaches (split, sprinkled with sugar and 1 tsp balsamic and roasted for 1 hour at 350 degrees until soft and charred)
  • 1 oz. roasted oranges (split, sprinkled with sugar and 1 tsp balsamic and roasted for 1 hour at 350 degrees until soft and charred
  • 4 oz. bourbon whiskey
  • 1-2 sprigs Thai basil

Muddle the roasted peaches and oranges with Thai basil very lightly, just to release the aromatics adding a bit of bourbon along the way, muddle some more and add more bourbon (I used Barrell Bourbon Batch 11). Strain the mixture into a rocks glass without ice or if you want, with one large cube of ice and a bit of the muddling mixture. Garnish with a sprig of Thai basil.

How can you go through summer without a take on the Moscow Mule, but with whiskey instead of vodka? This one takes a bit of a different tack. It involves making a very quick Shrub — no, not a shrubbery, but a little concoction that adds a bit of apple cider vinegar to the usual ginger beer. Kind of a ginger snap in your mouth!

Son In The Foreign Legion

  • ¼ oz. apple cider vinegar
  • 3 oz. ginger beer (cane sugar-based)
  • 2 oz. blended Scotch whiskey (Like Johnny Walker Red)
  • 4-6 drops Angostura bitters (or like)

To a cocktail mixing glass: Fill ¾ with ice. Add the whiskey. Add the ginger beer. Add the apple cider vinegar. Stir well to chill but not dilute. Pour into 2 coupe glasses. Dot with bitters and serve.

The last cocktail is also from my book The Craft Cocktail Compendium. It is simply named “Bill Monroe’s Country Cooler,” paying homage to the master mandolin player himself.

Bill Monroe’s Country Cooler

  • 1 oz. peach nectar
  • 1 oz. apricot nectar
  • ½ oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 oz. sweet iced tea (sugar to your own taste of course!)
  • 2-4 oz. white (un-aged) whiskey
  • 2-5 dashes Angostura bitters
  • Fresh mint (picked in the shadow of the roots of an ancient oak tree, where sweet branch water bubbles forth in a belly laugh)

Add all the liquid ingredients to a cocktail mixing vessel filled ¾ with ice. Stir well to chill. Strain into ball jars. Dot with bitters. Slap the mint against your palm and garnish. Serve and quickly prepare more! They go down quick!

Read More here, at the Fresh Toast! https://thefreshtoast.com/culture/the-best-delicious-whiskey-cocktails-you-can-make/

Categories
Events Klaus

L.A. Spirits Awards

Klaus was awarded a Gold Medal in the first ever High Spirits Awards competition.

High Spirits Awards is a new beverage competition by L.A. Spirits Awards, launched in 2023 and open to all cannabis-derived beverage products legally sold in California and all hemp-derived (CBD/alternative cannabinoid) beverages from anywhere in the U.S.

Categories
5 Questions Skunk Magazine

NECTARBALL: THE HISTORY OF CANNABIS, A BRILLIANT DOCUMENTARY

When I eMet Patty on the interwebs, we were discussing trees, specifically ancient oak trees. We started talking about the plant—not the oak tree—and the way that it heals many ills. As ironic as it may sound, the lives of creative people find themselves in the company of other creatives because of the social lubricant known as cannabis. I was immediately taken by the passion and compassion that Patty has for the plant, and I wanted to get a read on what creative things she and her husband, Mark, are working on. And how I could help them get the word out on their documentary film, Nectarball: The Story of Cannabis.

Ah… Here goes!

Warren Bobrow: Please tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Now? What do you do?

Patty Mooney: Mark Schulze and I are originally from the Midwest but have lived in San Diego since 1970 (Mark) and 1977 (Patty). We met on Valentine’s Day in 1982 and have been sharing adventures together ever since. We own and operate San Diego’s longest-serving video production company, Crystal Pyramid Productions (est. 1981 by Mark). Another company of ours is New & Unique Videos (est. 1985), a producer and distributor of educational special-interest titles.
Our latest project is a documentary called “NECTARBALL: The Story of Cannabis.”

cannabis world news media promo poster for Necterball: The Story of Cannabis documentary
Photo credit: Mark Schulze and Patty Mooney

Warren Bobrow: You mentioned filmmaking. Documentary filmmaking. A soft spot for me with a film degree from Emerson. Please tell me about what you have been working on. What is it about documentary film that evokes such emotion?

Patty Mooney: Mark and I produced the first educational videos of their genre back in the 1980s. As video production gear was super expensive, only a few brave souls – like us – invested in themselves and their ideas. we pioneered videos like “Massage for Relaxation” (1985), “The Great Mountain Biking Video” (1987), “The Invisible Ones: Homeless Combat Veterans” (2008), and several others. One of our earliest titles, “California Big Hunks” (1985), mystifyingly enough (to us) has earned cult status via appearances on Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Whose Line is it Anyway? And RedLetterMedia’s “Best of the Worst: Black Spine Edition #3,” which has now been seen by over 3.1 million viewers.

Our titles were successful because they were new and unique (thus, the name “New & Unique Videos”), and people were beginning to establish their personal VHS video libraries. In the late 1990s, as VHS sales began to wane, Mark and I returned to our earlier business model, shooting and producing video for corporate and broadcast clients.

All these decades of producing videos for Fortune 500 companies and shows like Inside Edition, Extra, Oprah, etc., have led us to now; the production of our latest documentary, “NECTARBALL: The Story of Cannabis,” featuring 52 cannabis luminaries (out of 165 interviewees). We traveled around the world to meet and interview them over a seven-year period. We went to North and South America, Europe, and South Africa. We asked all the questions we could think of regarding cannabis as medicine, building materials, food, and more. We received some important answers from people like Tommy Chong, Steve DeAngelo, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, Nurse Heather Sobel, RN, and so many more. The documentary is structured so that the interviewees tell the story of cannabis from its history, through prohibition, to now and the future, as we focus on the medicinal capabilities, usages, and effects of the plant on the human body. What is it about documentaries that evoke such emotion? People telling the truth from their perspective, reflecting the reality of the moment without embellishment.

Warren Bobrow: What is the topic? How long does it run? What is the premise?

Patty Mooney: The topic is Cannabis. “NECTARBALL: The Story of Cannabis” is 82 minutes long. It’s jam-packed with the wisdom of many. You can imagine that the state of Cannabis legalization varies from country to country and city to city. It has been interesting to check in on places where the plant has been freed and what some of the results are. For instance, in states where cannabis has been legalized for “Adult Use,” both opioid use and alcohol use have gone DOWN. Nobody wants to be comatose from opioids. The option of a gentle plant medicine to maintain and possibly arrest diseases such as arthritis, seizures, and cancer is a welcome idea, especially for seniors like us. It’s just a bit scary for older folks to let go of the stigma that has been pounded into their heads for most, if not all, their lives since the 1930s.

While in South Africa, we visited several social clubs where cannabis is the social lubricant that attracts a “mixed salad” of people with varied skin tones. Cannabis was decriminalized there in 2018 for personal use. You must be a member to enter these social clubs. Some of the most potent weed we have ever imbibed was at The Pottery in Port Elizabeth (now renamed Gqeberha), South Africa.

It was amazing to visit the Montevideo Cannabis Museum in Uruguay. It was the first country to legalize cannabis, abortion, and gay marriage. Ergo, Uruguay is far more progressive than the USA.

Warren Bobrow: Do you have a mentor? Who? And who taught you the craft of filmmaking? What about cannabis? What does outdoor cannabis represent to you?

Patty Mooney: Mark gained his video production education at UCSD, majoring in Communications and Sociology. Both Tommy Chong and Rich “Cheech” Marin were mentors to him during the 1970s when the comedy duo frequently appeared at The Comedy Club in La Jolla. Mark would hang out with them at the age of 20, bringing them “offerings” of Nectarball (what he named the sativa cultivar he grew back then). One time Mark shared a photo of a tall, girthy bud. Cheech quipped, “The plant that ate Chicago!” The cannabis plants appearing in Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie were modeled after Mark’s Nectarball plants.

When Mark and I first met at La Paloma Theater on Valentine’s Day 1982, I was about to appear as a singer in the chorus in a play entitled “Pandora or If Transformation is Supposed to be So Much Fun, Why Am I Gritting My Teeth?” There was only one performance to benefit The Hunger Project. Mark was setting up a video camera to videotape the show from the balcony. I was curious about his camera and walked over to meet him. I’d only seen one other VHS camera before. But with a mother who filmed every milestone moment of our family of eight on a Hi8 camera my dad had won from his sales prowess as a Chrysler Midwest district sales manager, I already knew I loved the medium. And what an entrée to “the business.” Beginning there and then, Mark began mentoring me in the video realm. And when I look back on that moment, I realize that our desire to perform philanthropic deeds throughout our life together began to bud then.

Several beloved and wise people have mentored us. Gina Powell has been a mother to us for decades. Her husband was Robert Powell (also a mentor), author of inspirational philosophical books including “The Blissful Life.” Recently, Keiko Beatie and John Salley, both of whom appear in the video sharing their wisdom, have been mentoring us.

Filmmaking was in its infancy when we first began producing, shooting, and editing video. There were a few manuals we consumed, including The Television Production Handbook by Herbert Zettl (now in its 12th edition). The first edition was printed in 1976, and that’s the one we used. Many we learned by doing. I am a proud graduate of the “Get Thrown to the Wolves” school of video production. On my very first gig as an audio mixer at the San Diego Comic Con, I bopped Lucy Liu on the top of her head with the boom pole. My life flashed in front of my eyes; my career ended before it began! “Oh, I am so sorry, Ms. Liu!” “Don’t worry about it!” she said. What a sweetie. Outdoor cannabis represents many things. Back in the 1970s, when Mark grew cannabis in various locations, there was always a chance that he could get busted by police, taken away in cuffs, and possibly losing home and livelihood. It was bad. Our Green Closet confinement continued into the 1980s. A thief with designs to steal Mark’s Nectarball Collection of buds he had collected since 1972 held us at gunpoint. (He did not get away with the collection.) I was once arrested by two roving cops on bicycles at the beach while I was sitting on the beach wall having a puff. They rifled through my butt pouch and found – gasp!!! – a bud in a film can. For that horrific crime, I was fined $100 (a lot of money back then.) Now, outdoor cannabis represents the freedom to grow a plant in your own backyard and use it for medicine AND as a social lubricant. Why not both? The scent of lolling, crystal-embedded buds near harvest time is so amazing. It’s all about the terpenes, man!

cannabis world news media image of Mark Schulze and Patty with Tommy ChongMooney
Photo credit: Mark Schulze and Patty Mooney

Warren Bobrow: What is your passion?

Patty Mooney: It’s nice that we share various passions since they aid in the enjoyment of life. Of course, cannabis is a big one. It’s the cornerstone of good health for us. Next comes mountain biking. We have been mountain biking together since 1986. Less than a year later, we got married with our mountain bikes in the local mountains of San Diego and even began racing for a while. We still ride together. Patty won first place in the Sagebrush Safari 20-mile race this past year in the women’s category at the age of 68. Mark came in second in his category. It’s a sport that takes us out deep into nature, where we can reach places of beauty. As often as possible, we ride to the “Wedding Spot,” lay out a blanket next to a spring-fed stream, share a bottle of wine and have a puff, watch the dragonflies and the butterflies, and enjoy the shade of an ancient old oak and a 120-foot pine tree. Travel adventures are so much fun. We don’t have children or pets, so we can fly away at a moment’s notice.

We have a passion for video production, aka filmmaking. A filmmaker can create a movie that touches, educates, and moves people you may never meet. And that is exactly what we hope to do with our film, “NECTARBALL: The Story of Cannabis.” We want people to understand the kinds of tools for the improvement of their health that are available to them. We want to eradicate the stigma about the plant. We want to help the world be a better place for all of us to live a “high-quality life.”

The film will enjoy its live virtual World Premiere on October 20, 2023, beginning at 6:30 PM (PT), when people can gather, enjoy a beverage, and smoke a bowl in the comfort of their homes. The 82-minute show begins at 7:30 PM, and then we’ll have a Q&A with special guests, including John Salley, Nurse Heather, and Keiko Beatie. Tickets for this exclusive showing are limited to the first 500 people who sign up and are going fast. So, purchase your tickets before it’s too late!

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WARREN BOBROW 

Warren Bobrow has been a dishwasher, the owner of the first company to make fresh pasta in South Carolina , a television engineer and he even worked at Danceteria in NYC, then a trained chef which led to a twenty year career in private banking. A cannabis, wine and travel aficionado, Warren is a former rum judge and craft spirits national brand ambassador. He works full time in the cannabis business as an alchemist/journalist. Cocktailwhisperer.com Drinkklaus.com Instagram: warrenbobrow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Bobrow