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Interviews Skunk Magazine

Scarlet Fire Cannabis Company: Deadhead /Entrepreneur David Ellison

David Ellison

ONCE IN A WHILE, YOU GET SHOWN THE LIGHT: GRATEFUL DEAD-INSPIRED CRAFT CANNABIS STORE SCARLET FIRE OPENS IN TORONTO

The unexpected, one-of-a-kind store celebrates Dead Head founder David Ellison’s passion for cannabis, music, magic, and psychedelia.

Former Toronto securities lawyer, David Ellison, tuned in, turned on, and dropped out of the rat race to open a Grateful Dead-inspired cannabis store Scarlet Fire Cannabis Co. (scarletfirecanabis.ca), that Marijuana Venture Magazine calls “a dispensary experience unlike any other”. The offbeat and funky cannabis retail store reflects the founder’s love for the iconic American counterculture band. Dead Heads and those looking to experience the band’s magic can revel in mesmerizing decor and wax cosmic with the highly knowledgeable team of cannabis experts. While listening to the Grateful Dead and other jam bands the Dead inspired.

The store was designed by SevenPoint Interiors (www.sevenpointinteriors.com), an acclaimed design and manufacturing firm specializing in cannabis retail. The team transformed what had been a soulless check-cashing store into a colorful, sophisticated tribute to the iconic band’s aesthetic to transport customers to an altered state of consciousness. Outside the front window, people first see a series of portholes cut through scarlet-stained panels backdropped by a circular screen of moving psychedelic images—dubbed “The Rabbit Hole.”  This creates a somewhat hallucinatory optical illusion to curious passersby that often stop and curiously stare at the unique psychedelic visual trying to figure out what it is. Once inside the store, customers realize what they saw was not an illusion, but very real and entirely different from what they thought they saw from outside.

“At Scarlet Fire, we wanted to create a customer engagement so different from what they are used to,” says Ellison. “We start our customers on a journey and educate them. We’ve created a place where cannabis, music, magic, and psychedelia merge.” 

Warren Bobrow: Please tell me about yourself. Why the Grateful Dead? What was your favorite show? When are you bringing your concept to the USA for all of the USA-based deadheads?

David Ellison: First and foremost, I’m a father to three amazing kids (Abby 15, Aliya 13, and Josh 10). I’ve been privileged to hold a number of titles in my life, but Dad is the one I’m most proud of.  I used to be a corporate securities lawyer before I decided to drop out of the rat race, open Scarlet Fire, and follow my bliss.  I think I got trapped doing something that wasn’t me.  After 20 years of practicing law, I got tired of making rich people richer.  I’m 48 and I want to enjoy the rest of my life and do something to better people’s lives.  Our mission statement at Scarlet Fire embodies that: To improve the quality of people’s lives with cannabis.  We do that every single day.

Why the Grateful Dead? That’s an easy answer to feel, but an almost impossible one to explain with words.  It’s food for your soul and I if had to explain, it just couldn’t be understood.  The Grateful Dead is part of my identity, part of who I am.  Something happened to me the day I saw my first show at the age of 17, and the Grateful Dead became just as much part of my identity as my name.

I never had intentions of bringing the brand to the US.  It’s possible, I guess.  Although, I can’t see bringing the brand to the US until at least the time that the US federal government gets its head out of its ass when it comes to cannabis.

I don’t have a favorite show.  There are so many great shows from so many different periods of the band’s history, I just don’t know how to “rank” them or claim one as a favorite.  If I started to go through the shows I most listen to, I think I’d go about 5 times over my allowed word allotment here.  I don’t have a favorite per se, there is a show that is the most memorable or meaningful to me.  In 2002, I saw Bob Weir and Ratdog open for B.B. King at the Pistoia Blues Festival in Pistoia, Italy.  I managed to get my hands on a backstage pass, and how that happened is a story all to itself.  I went backstage after Ratdog finished and just as B.B King came on stage.  I saw Bob Weir, and I mustered up enough courage to walk up and say hello.  He was so nice and friendly, and I was so nervous.  We chatted about the blues and Willie Dixon for a bit and then stood beside each other and watched B.B. King from behind the stage.  I’m standing there thinking to myself somebody needs to pinch me, so I know this is real.  That’s something I’ll never forget.  Once I bumped into Billy Kreutzman wandering the streets before a show looking or the venue.  I showed him where the venue was and helped him out of a jam, I guess.  That was pretty memorable too.

WB: Tell me about your company? What are your six-month and twelve-month goals?  Indoor or outdoor grown for you?

DE: I think we created something special with Scarlet Fire.  It’s more like a living, breathing, and evolving life form than a company.  It’s not something that can be duplicated or cookie-cut like a chain store or a franchise.  Every person who works here brings something different and unique that enhances the store and the vibe we create.  Add a person or take one away, and the Scarlet Fire organism changes organically.  We have some of the best and smartest people in the industry working here.  They are cannabis sommeliers, not budtenders.  You can’t go to university and get a degree in weed, but if you could they’d all have earned a Ph.D.  We pay our staff more than what is standard in the industry, and they also have an opportunity to share in the profits.

It’s really important to us that our customers get a really good product and pay a fair price. I’d say our prices are 10-15% cheaper than most stores.  A lot of it is based on mutual respect.  We are humbled by the respect our customers show us by shopping at Scarlet Fire and coming back, and we return that respect by making sure our customers get the most for their hard-earned money.  We work hard and spend countless hours curating our menu.  Nothing comes through our door unless we can stand behind it.  If we make a mistake and bring in something that we don’t like, I’d rather destroy the product under controlled conditions than see a customer walk out of the store with it.

As far as what the 6 months, 12 months, or future beyond holds, I don’t know.  We have our own branded cannabis coming in October sometime, starting with a 10-pack of pre-rolls.  We wanted to do something with old-school cultivars that you might find in the Dead lot.  We are crossing an Oaxacan landrace sativa, indigenous to Mexico and Central America with Mazar Kush, having roots in the Hindu Kush mountain range between Afghanistan and Pakistan. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m pretty excited about it.  We have some other pretty cool shit up our sleeve, but we are keeping tight-lipped about it for the moment.  Otherwise, it’s tough to predict how the retail market in Ontario is going to evolve.  So, I guess the answer is…I don’t know what I’m going for, but I’m gonna go for it for sure.

WB:  What kind of cannabis consumer is your favorite?

DE: First, I love all my customers.  They are all such beautiful people from all walks of life.  The diversity is amazing and it’s a real cross-section of humanity.  Meeting all of these wonderful people allowed me to look at the world through a second lens.  Not many people are lucky enough to get a second chance at living, and for that, I am eternally grateful to my customers.

I guess my favorite customers are those that want to listen and learn from us just as passionately as we want to talk about weed and educate them.  I love it when a customer walks in and says something like the weed I suggested for them the last time was amazing, they loved it and was exactly what they wanted.  Then they ask, what else do I have? It’s the customer that doesn’t want anything twice no matter how good it is that keeps us on our toes.  Cannabis is a never-ending journey, and I love being a guide to their journey.

WB: Tell me about your food memories. What is your favorite meal? Made by whom? Where?

DE: Growing up, my favorite meal that my mom made was a vegetarian lasagna. I love it just as much to this day and she always makes it for me for special occasions.  I also love BBQ and low n’ slow wood-fueled cooking.  At one time, I owned five different BBQs.  I have paired this down to two BBQs, but I always want to add to the collection.  I make pretty mean BBQ if I do say so myself.  A lot of my friends are pushing me to try entering a BBQ competition.  Maybe next year.

WB: What is your passion?  

DE: My first passion is my kids, for sure.  Aside from my kids, my real passion is music.  When I first saw the Grateful Dead and heard Jerry Garcia, I was like…. I wanna play music just like that!  My grandfather bought me an acoustic guitar for my birthday, and away I went.  If I could do anything in this life, I would be a musician.  However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I lacked the necessary natural ability to pursue music professionally.  That’s a nice way of saying, I’m not very good.  While I am a fledgling musician at best, I like to think of myself as a professional listener of music. I love the way talented musicians can convey feeling and emotion and imagery through what they play.  Maybe that’s why I love Garcia so much.  The man could tell a story of a thousand words with just one note.  He could also bring you to tears with the same note. Maybe you need to be born with a tortured soul to play like that.

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

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Events Klaus Klaus Apothicaire

Klaus’ Excellent Adventures

Klaus and I have taken a trip, so to speak. We’re currently in Santa Rosa California to attend the Hall Of Flowers but took some time today to explore both the Cannadel and Jane Dispensaries! Incredible service and people!!!

https://janedispensary
https://cannadeldispensary.com/

Categories
Events Klaus Klaus Apothicaire

Klaus is at Hall Of Flowers!

Klaus!!

https://www.hallofflowers.com/

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Uncategorized

Five Captivating Questions for Nick Saad Co-Founder Sitka™

Traditional, Middle Eastern craft hashish is something very rare in the USA. There are only a handful of hashish connoisseurs who are even knowledgeable enough to produce traditional European/Middle Eastern style hashish. The commercial marketplace has quickly become a wasteland of high-priced “ice-water” finely powdered hash that enterprising dab-heads get super high on. More concentrated cannabis flavor and aromatics are apparent in each dab of powdered hash. It does nothing for me.

I much prefer the traditional hash of my travels around the globe throughout my life.

While working as a journalist who specializes in cannabis, I’ve tried to focus on reviewing Organic and Biodynamic cannabis flowers. I’ve always hoped that someday the arcane talent and knowledge to make European/Middle Eastern style hashish would come back into vogue.

Decades went by while I waited for traditional hash to arrive, the hash from my somewhat misguided teen years in the 1970’s. Hash was plentiful then, I remember coveting little chunks of black Nepalese hashish from a friend’s dad who brought it back from a pilgrimage to Nepal. Stamped in gold and oozing with sticky oil, this represented a smokable art form. One that I’ve finally found with Sitka.  

I had some decent old-world style hash in Jamaica back in the 1990’s… They have a way of extracting hash oil that resembles the distillation of rum, but I digress.

Traditional hashish is part of global history. Study the history of hashish and you start to learn about the earth in a manner not taught in prep school. The early adventurers and explorers of the globe sailed to the furthest reaches known to man. With them, they took elixirs to make the long sea voyages a bit easier to take. Buccaneers for example were probably not smoking just tobacco in their pipes. I’d take a guess that it was weed! Maybe even hashish? After all their ropes to haul the sails were made from the fibers from hemp, I’m sure they didn’t just throw out the flowers if they were already smoking tobacco or distilling alcohol from sugar cane molasses. They like to get messed up to forget their pain.

As a former sailor I learned there are moments that stretch into weeks without wind or good humor. Discovering the globe comes with vices. Rum wasn’t the only thing that sailors partook on their long sea voyages. Hashish was and still is a commodity, like molasses, just a different set of rules. Some legal, others less than legal.

Is it a wonder why the global rum industry dates back to the 1762 in Amsterdam, the European capital of weed?

What binds the tradition together is time.

When I smoked Sitka for the first time it was like being a young man again, smoking history, experiencing, and deepening my nearly fifty year relationship with the plant.

Please allow me the pleasure of introducing you to Nick Saad.

Nick Saad
Warren Bobrow=WB: Why hash over flower? Do you take a craft approach to the plant?

Nick Saad=NS: There isn’t a right answer, just a preference of what you’re looking for at the time.

This question to me is like asking why Wine over Beer, or Espresso over Coffee.

Hashish is basically a concentrated version of flower which makes it more potent in Cannabinoids. but also, more limited in flavor varieties as hashish’s flavor profile changes from bright and flowery to spicy and earthy. Overall hashish tends to have a much more mellow effect on the user, rarely bending into the Anxious/Paranoid realm. It also has a much fuller robust & spicy flavor than flower. Flower can come in all flavors of the rainbow, while hashish tends to always have a bit of a “hashy” flavor unique to itself, which can be a comforting and trusted flavor and consistent experience one can crave. So, strangely I’m concluding that Hashish while it can come in. many forms and slight variations it offers Potency, Consistency, & Reliability.

WB: Who was your mentor? Inspiration?

NS: I never had a mentor; I’ve been self-taught in almost everything I’ve done professionally. I have always looked at that as a disadvantage or some insecurity; namely, the fact that I didn’t have a chance to study under someone. Now I feel that was a blessing. The best way for me to have learned was to have had the freedom to learn, make mistakes, learn, & repeat. I’d say my inspirations have always been other self-taught makers and craftsmen. I can say I’ve drawn inspiration from family, coming from a line of self-taught makers and craftsmen from farming to plastics, to footwear, to toys. Anybody who can put his or her focus and creativity, make something out of nothing is incredibly inspiring to me.

WB: First time you smoked real hash? With whom?

NS: Sheesh. It must have been around 1998 when A friend of mine showed up with a little brown chunk wrapped in aluminum foil and showed me hashish. back then we didn’t know crap about pot strains, and hashish was literally foreign to us as we’ve only ever experienced flower in the states. I remember being in awe as it bloomed when we kissed it with a lighter flame to soften it. Then we rolled it into a horrendous spliff that got us much higher than we expected. I loved the experience but wouldn’t get to meet hashish again till 16 years later when I created my own in Seattle!

WB: Please tell me about your company.  Six and twelve month goals?

NS: We have smoking paraphernalia and other ancillary products in development to complement the famed Sitka dome, all of which are for sale on Sitkashop.com.  That’s a really fun process, collaborating with craftsmen from the Pacific Northwest. We also find that some items can be made overseas. Part of the joy in making the journey abroad is to source products more affordably for our consumer. Plans for Sitka® long term?  Continue expansion beyond Washington and California while always maintaining the quality of our output.  Come check us out at the Hall of Flowers in Santa Rosa or Palm Springs this year and at sitkagold.com and Instagram etc.

WB: What is your passion?

NS: To be honest… Right now my 2 year old son is my passion.

Categories
Articles Interviews

Five Swift Questions With Sackville’s Lana Van Brunt and Hayley Dineen


Lana Van Brunt and Hayley Dineen are the duo behind Sackville & Co., a style-focused contemporary cannabis lifestyle brand and design studio behind some of the coolest brands in cannabis (Miss Jones, Select, Quill, etc.) They also have several high profile fashion collaborations set to debut, which will further solidify their design studio as the go-to for brands looking to delve into the cannabis space.
Prior to bonding over their shared frustration of not being able to find chic cannabis products to fit their personal styles, Lana & Hayley worked for luxury companies such as Yeezy, Vivienne Westwood and Vice and product development and experiential marketing whizzes. They launched the design studio to help brands break into the space on their own terms, along with a Sackville collection comple

te with oversized gold grinders, key chains, starter kits and more. In late 2019 Sackville & Co was acquired by a public company; after three months the company changed leadership and the new CEO decided to pull out of all previous acquisitions. Hayley & Lana bought Sackville & CO
back in 2020 and have been running it independently ever since.
Swift is how I would describe the wunderkinds behind Sackville. What they have accomplished even before being acquired is masterful. How they became independent again is a lesson in entrepreneurship.
What they are now is self-determined, outside the impenetrable silos that represent the corporate world. They are self-made and on a path to deep achievement, the kind of metaphor that acts towards following one’s dreams and setting goals towards certainty.
The last time that I spoke to the gals at Sackville they had just entered the world of someone else’s money. This is an update to what they were then, moving forward into who they are now.
I think it’s quite enlightening!

Warren Bobrow=WB: Since last we spoke, what have you been working on?

Lana Van Brunt and Hayley Dineen=LVB & HD: At the end of 2019 we were acquired, then after a change in the CEO at the new parent company and ultimately a change in the direction of our new parent company, we spent the second quarter of 2020 fighting to buy our company back, which we did successfully! We are back to being completely private, a two woman team, and absolutely thriving! Right now, we’re working on a few exciting collabs with brands and artists that we are so honored to be able to work with, so keep an eye out for those drops coming soon!

WB: What are your six and twelve month goals? What about next week? 

LVB & HD: We have a revenue target for the remainder of the year so right now we’re focused on continuing to work towards achieving that goal. As for 12 months, we are working on several high profile collaborations, as mentioned above, that we can’t quite yet speak to but are beyond excited about. Next week, well we’re just trying to keep up… and also find a minute or two to soak up the remaining days of summer if we can!

WB: Please tell me about your company? What makes you different? 

LVB & HD: Sackville & Co. is built from the ground up by the two of us. It’s not made in a boardroom by a bunch of executives trying to figure out how to tap into the female or design market, it’s from our hearts and every single part of what you see comes from the blood, sweat and tears of both Hayley and I alone. In terms of the branding and products, we are a design-first brand: we are completely reimagining the smoking experience from an industrial design and high-end home goods perspective. We believe that cannabis accessories should be displayed and not hidden away and are determined to continue to progress the de-stigmatization of cannabis for women and in general through this design lens.

WB: What is your favorite food?  Wine? Indoor or outdoor cannabis?

Hayley: I love all ice cream in all forms. Milkshake, straight up scoops, just give me the ice cream.
Loving Vino Verde the Portuguese green wine!
Outdoor always.


Lana: I’m more of a salt/savory gal, so I love things like chips and popcorn for snacky vibes. I think my fave dish is ceviche though, I can always be in the mood for it.
I’m really into pat nets right now.
Outdoor always.

WB: What is your passion?

LVB & HD: We are incredibly grateful to do what we love and live out our passions for art, design, and creativity through our work. It’s such a trip to be able to do this every day!


Categories
Cannabis Cactus Magazine Recipes

Infused Cocktail: Mexican Sleep Cure

Jump straight to recipe below.

I was conversing via Instagram this morning with a cocktail and cannabis alchemist from the Midwest. This person was deeply influenced by the convergence of cannabis and cocktails, and she discovered my work through my first book Apothecary Cocktails and also my ground-breaking book, Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics. She told me that she had experimented with my cocktail named Mexican Sleep Cure and added her secret ingredient, cannabis to my recipe with amazing results.

I knew at that moment exactly what I was going to re-engineer for this article. Or reverse engineer. Or something like that. And that cocktail? The Mexican Sleep Cure cocktail from my first book, Apothecary Cocktails. The secret ingredient is adding weed to the mix. 

It’s traditional in places like Mexico to drink bittersweet hot chocolate with mystical spirits like Mezcal. First of all, Mezcal is not at all like her industrial cousin named Tequila. Mezcal is smoked in the ground for a period of time. Each droplet is enfolded by smoldering pinion wood smoke that gives Mezcal the distinctive charred flavor so well appreciated by connoisseurs of distilled spirits. Mezcal happens to offer flavors that compliment land-race strains of cannabis. Ones that are not sugary sweet, nor candy-like. Mezcal, as I said, is a mystical beverage with healing properties, not unlike cannabis. Cannabis and Mezcal seem to work very well together in diversified drinks such as the Mexican Sleep Cure. 

Bitter chocolate is the base for this deeply sedative sip of succulent proportions. Sure, there is a touch of heat in this drink. I like a scant teaspoon of cayenne pepper mixed with turbinado sugar (to taste) added to the pot of hot chocolate. I recommend adding enough to offer a drop of bite to the finished potion. 

Choosing the right Mezcal is also important. If your Mezcal has a worm in it, throw it out. This is not real Mezcal, but something concocted by Madison Avenue to imitate the hand-crafted, quality spirits that come from Mexico. Mezcal can be made from over 30 different types of agave, with the vast majority made from a plant named Agave Espadin. Espadin is primarily cultivated in Oaxaca, Mexico, a constituency known as the historical home of Mezcal. As in many spirits that come from Mexico, reverence must be paid to the gods when working with or drinking Mezcal. I recommend pouring a small portion of Mezcal into a one ounce ceramic cup and pouring it on the ground. Why is this done? For the same reason that I add THC to craft spirits. To awaken the life-forces themselves. As in everything mystical, there is a place in the universe for memories and the Mexican Sleep Cure will certainly make them. 

Creating the THC infusion is especially easy with this recipe. What you will need is about a cup of pure vanilla extract. I recommend decarbing at least an ounce of the highest grade cannabis that you can buy. If you can find landrace strains like Mexican Brick Weed, that will work, but if that isn’t readily available, you should utilize something higher end. I tend to prefer earthy and dank aromatics for the Mexican Sleep Cure. These old-fashioned strains go well with Mezcal, spices and dark chocolate. 

Stuff a bunch of weed (minimum of one ounce that you’ve decarbed at 240° for 45 minutes in a closed container) then place in a Ball jar with the pure vanilla extract. Let steep for at least thirty days and thirty nights in a cool, dark place. Strain the weed out (make High Chai with the stuff) and place the Ball jar in a dark colored paper bag in a sunny spot for at least another couple weeks. This activates the THC in your vanilla extract, the process may also be done in a double boiler, not more than 160° on a hot plate – no gas stoves allowed here. Your vanilla extract will be much more concentrated if you use the heating method. Use this activated THC/vanilla extract in your Mexican Sleep Cure.

Recipe: Mexican Sleep Cure

Ingredients:

  • 3 ounces (90 ML) Mezcal, infused (see cannabiscactus.com for
  • detailed instructions & infused liquor recipes)
  • ¾ cup (175 ML) Whole milk
  • ¼ cup (60ml) Heavy Cream
  • ¼ pound (115g) grated bittersweet chocolate
  • Vanilla extract, to taste
  • Cayenne pepper, to taste
  • Dark brown sugar, to tast

Directions: Mexican Hot Chocolate

Combine ¾ cup (175ml) of whole milk with a ¼ cup (60ml) of heavy cream. Add ¼ pound (115g) grated bittersweet chocolate. Heat slowly, do not boil, and whisk constantly until smooth. Add cayenne pepper and sugar to taste.

Directions: Mexican Sleep Cure

Mix the Mezcal of your choice (not that stuff with a worm in it!) with 1 cup of your Mexican “Spicy” Hot Chocolate. Adjust your sugar and cayenne if needed. Add vanilla extract. Stir well. Serve in pre-heated ceramic mugs.

Sleep is sure to follow…

https://cannabiscactus.com/infused-cocktail-mexican-sleep-cure/
Categories
Articles Books Klaus Klaus Apothicaire

Who’s Who in Beverage

Warren Bobrow

Cocktail Whisperer

Warren Bobrow

Warren Bobrow is an American mixologist, writer, cocktail industry consultant, and cannabis alchemist.

A New Jersey native, Bobrow has worked as a dishwasher, television engineer, and fresh pasta manufacturer. In 2009, after 20 years in the private banking industry, Bobrow returned to school at New School University and the French Culinary Institute to develop his passion for food writing.

Walter Bobrow is the author of five books, including: Apothecary Cocktails: Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today; Whiskey Cocktails: Rediscovered Classics and Contemporary Craft Drinks; Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails: Restorative Vintage Cocktails, Mocktails & Elixirs; Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails & Tonics: The Art of Spirited Drinks & Buzz-Worthy Libations; and The Craft Cocktail Compendium: Contemporary Interpretations and Inspired Twists on Time-Honored Classics.

In addition, Bobrow is the founder of cocktailwhisperer.com, a “Top 25 Cocktail Blog.”  His work has appeared in Saveur, Voda, Eater, Distiller, and New Jersey Monthly¸ among other publications. He is a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award nominee, and was featured on “The 2010 Saveur 100” list of inspiring people, places and techniques.

https://bevvy.co/who/warren-bobrow

Categories
Articles Cannabis Cactus Magazine Reviews

Leira Cannagars

Leira-Cannagar
Leira Cannagars

I’m fortunate to have enjoyed a very special gourmet cannagar, made all by hand for a captivated party. Myself! 

Why do I call a cannagar gourmet? Because experiencing a hand-crafted Leira Cannagar is an other-worldly experience that surpasses the appreciation for the finest cuisine and wines in my opinion. How does a humble plant raise itself to the pinnacle of ultra-high end food and wine? When you experience the kindness of a Leira Cannagar your overall experience will approach the studied depth of fine cuisine. And the appreciation of fine wine. You just have to try one! This is cannabis raised to a “higher” level, one ebullient puff at a time.

http://www.leiracannagars.com/

Categories
Articles Interviews Skunk Magazine

Five Questions With Raw Garden’s Khalid Al-Naser: Head of Product

Khalid Al-Naser

Raw Garden represents to me a certain coherence with the plant. The highest possible quality flowers are extracted through technology into each of their brilliant products.

Now, Raw Garden is offering a new education program for budtenders. Each session raises the bar on the sense of superiority and their taste of the place or terroir.

Raw Garden’s portfolio of experiences offers a timely and tangible vision into the healing art of cannabis.

These are some of the best examples of what your money can buy in the art of cannabis concentrates.

Warren Bobrow=WB:

Please tell me about yourself and your passions. What are you working on right now?

Khalid Al-Naser=KAN:

I am currently the Head of Product at Raw Garden but have worn many hats since the company’s inception.  Whatever hat I have on, the passion has always been about constant process improvement and delivering the best Cannabis products we can. This is the driving force behind the entire team at Raw Garden.

WB: How are you training budtenders? Do you talk to them about terroir? What about aromatics/terps?  

KAN: Raw Garden has launched The Raw Garden Social Club which is an interactive trade education program designed to champion budtenders and build community.

We love engaging with budtenders and letting their questions and curiosities guide the conversation. When it comes to training, it usually revolves around aromas and getting the audience in tune with how we do what we do, and what makes Raw Garden different. We want to convey that controlling the process from seed to finished product allows for greater quality control. The result is a more consistent product for the consumer.  

The conversations about quality and supply chain usually center around cultivation, our drive to perfect cultivation, and our push to innovate with the ingredients the Cannabis plant provides. This is one place where I often talk about aromatics and terroir. I like to highlight the fact that we depend wholly on the Cannabis plant to provide our product ingredients.  For instance, we are one of only a few companies that do not use non-cannabis flavor additives to their vape oil. We depend solely on the natural aromatics that come from the plant we grew.  

Aromatics are an important part of what the Cannabis plant produces, and just like other agricultural commodities, the terroir and growing process impact the outcome. With higher value goods, like wine, those outcomes are usually enhanced by the recording of vintage and provenance (or location).

One of our goals is to help guide budtenders and consumers toward entirely Cannabis based products, and away from the mass of non-Cannabis flavored THC products in the market today. We want to elevate the experience through using nothing but the plant’s natural aromatics. These aromatics drive the cannabis connoisseur, and by association, the budtender is expected to be that connoisseur.  

WB: What was your inspiration for this path in cannabis training?

KAN: The inspiration comes from my love of craftsmanship, artistry, food, and aromas!  You pair that with a hunger to learn about the things I enjoy –like getting high and providing great products to the consumer– and the training just happens naturally and with serious pleasure. The Cannabis plant truly facilitates the joys of learning. 

I think there are a lot of similarities between cannabis and wine, and cannabis and food. When you consume something and form a close relationship with it, the “art” of consumption (in part) becomes about the critiquing of that “thing” and the willingness to slow down and assess it, savor it. 

I believe this awareness enhances the experience and I want the consumer and the budtenders to have the best experiences possible.

WB: What is your favorite food? Made by whom? What’s your favorite wine?

KAN: Right now, I am really enjoying the food made by Chef Budi at the Gathering Table, which is a great little place at the Ballard Inn in the Santa Ynez Valley. — They make dishes inspired by the Chef’s experiences and likes. He often leans into Asian infusion creating incredible dishes that are unique, fresh takes on traditional dishes. Everything from the Hamachi to the Pan Fried Noodles, the Sliders with Pork Belly and Quail Egg or the Lamb Chops are all winners! Everything on Chef Budi’s menu is great! I usually like to go with a group and order as much of the menu as possible. I always recommend the Chef’s Caramel Budino to anyone looking for a real treat at the end of the meal.

(Wine) I would have to say more broadly, the Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in the Santa Ynez Valley (where we farm) has been where I have spent most of my time recently. I have found that I really like the medium bodied pinots with notes of date and caramelly raisin. I also really enjoy the diversity of the grape; it offers lots of different experiences.  — I have also been enjoying drinking and learning about Tokaji. It’s a Hungarian dessert wine with a long and storied history that inspires me to want to learn more about its process and history. 

WB: What is your favorite, indoor or outdoor grown?

KAN: Outdoor and indoor grown THC is the same molecule.  One method may produce slightly more or less of this active ingredient within the same plant.  However, the biggest differences in the two methods can be recognized by the richness of the aromatics produced.  Anecdotally, most of my favorite aromas have come from the plants we’ve grown outdoors.

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Baker’s Cannabis Company: Soul Transportation

Baker’s Cannabis Company

Baker’s Cannabis offers a premium cannabis experience within your budget.

Iknow cannabis is expensive. Every time that I visit a dispensary it’s very difficult to leave without spending many hundreds of dollars on the good stuff. That’s right, I hate to skimp when it comes to cannabis. That’s exactly why Baker’s Cannabis Company offers something different than the fray. It’s less expensive than their peers.

What do they do well:

What they offer is creativity, something not everyone can do. I think they do a great job and I want to tell you why.

Baker’s talent involves the agility to build a product that’s different than their colleagues. Baker’s is much more than just a sum of its parts. They use really funky strains rolled in cannabis oil and kief. Like a well-made bowl of Andalusian gazpacho soup, each heady pull from their fat, kief dusted pre-roll joints reveals different flavors and a myriad of lavish effects.

It’s really remarkable what Baker’s has created in the cannabis realm for less money than their peers.

Baker’s offers a uniquely creative solution to this vexing cannabis purchasing difficulty.

How to acquire something that gets your really stoned for less money and something that doesn’t suck.

Baker’s really surprised me. Each one gram joint lasted me several days because it is that convincing in effect. I would take a hit or two and let the joint go out. It’s only me smoking, so I can make a joint last quite a while.

Each experience was delightful and the money I saved… At the end of the day that really matters too. I believe this is part of their overall marketing strategy. Make something really good for less money. A consumer’s win/win, and a smile to the universe.

What it is:

Baker’s Cannabis Company is more than just a company that uses esoteric cannabis strains. None of the varieties I’d ever heard of prior. They utilize strains like Meat Breath (l love this name), Garlic Breath, just as it sounds and Peach Ozz. Which is, quite literally like biting into a juicy summer peach, the way the warm, sun-drenched liquid drips down my chin. That is the experience here, but more of the descriptions in the tasting notes…

What it is not:

Expensive. Baker’s is not an expensive, nor is it a pretentious cannabis brand!

This is carefully grown and most importantly gently cured flower. They do their technical job very successfully. Each of their pre-rolls come gently filled. These joints burn evenly and very slowly, each one lasting a long time. Smart and savvy!

Tasting Notes:

Meat Breath is a pre-roll, kief, oil and flower.

Some say that meat breath smells dank, like soil and earth.  I’d definitely agree with this accurate description. I’d also add descriptors like bursts of lamp oil, turned loam, diesel fuel, dried Mt. Rainier cherry skins and crushed, salt-slicked stones to the mix. Meat Breath is not for the cannabis beginner. I’d take my time smoking this whether you are a neophyte or even a seasoned toker. The high comes on slowly but with great resolve. If you are having trouble sleeping or if pain needs to be gone, may I please recommend this strain to you.

Sure, it’s got a strange name, but smoking the Indica leaning Meat Breath really works the magic of the plant upon your healing experience.  I love it!

Tasting Notes:

Garlic Breath is a pre-roll, kief, oil and flower.

If you’ve ever peeled and crushed garlic with the palm of your hand, then you’d be very familiar with the first whiffs of Garlic Breath. It’s the literal description of oily Gilroy garlic, the way it melts against a slice of sourdough toast. That is what I smelled when I opened the pre-roll tube. Garlic Breath is Indica in derivation and the pleasure that I got when I smoked this doobie was deeply amusing. Darkness envelops the outer space with the vernal equinox well past, yet the inner space was stimulated at first, then the persuasive aromatics and flavors slowly oozing through the synapsis of my brain into that deeply mesmerizing couch-lock experience that I seek. Garlic Breath takes your hand gently and leads you down to the river where ducklings are frolicking peacefully in the cool water. Try some and experience this phenomenon.

*Just my impression*

Tasting Notes:

Peach Ozz is a pre-roll, kief, oil and flower. If summer peaches are your thing and you seek cannabis strains that remind you of opulent stone fruits, perfectly ripened by the sun. This is California cannabis personified. The peach juices that drip down your chin are warm and sensory in volatility. Each pull of the Peach Ozz preroll captivate the consumer, but don’t let your guard down too much. This is a Sativa strain. You may find yourself doing things that you haven’t done in a while, like cleaning the entire house top to bottom. Peach Ozz is reminiscent of that first burst of cool fall air when you throw open the windows. You are refreshed, full of energy and ready to smoke this joint with fervor. It’s that good and what a mind-stimulating high. Chock-full of all the reasons why we smoke cannabis in the first place. To heal what ails us, even if there is nothing wrong with us at all. It helps us with all life’s problems. Sure, that sounds incredibly intimate, each person perceives the buzz differently. Always keep firmly in mind that healing with cannabis is well rooted in history.

Peach Ozz unlocks that creativity in my brain in a peaceful, yet pertinent manner without putting me to sleep afterwards.

And in my opinion, this means: Class Act!

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