My second year in México riding horses on the beach with my wife and youngest daughter. PHOTO COURTESY: SOLDAZE SNACKS
I met Shawn Shevlin at the Emerald Cup, the yearly cannabis harvest festival held in Santa Rosa, California. I was immediately taken by Shawn’s soft-spoken approach and of course his natural mango fruit, cannabis infused edibles. And that he grows all the mangoes that go into his products, that is what caught my attention right off. This is not a product that is created from artificial or concentrated means. It’s authentic, the real thing. I dig it. Nice work, Shawn. I can see you are passionate about what you do, flavor, quality, style. You have a massive fan.
Otis Gardens President John O’Donnell with Pieter Summs & Ellie Walsh. PHOTO CREDIT: SAM GEHRKE
Otis Gardens, located in the lush Hood River Valley, Oregon, is hitting the mark and raising the bar for excellence in craft cannabis. Their cultivation site resides in the shadow of the majestic Mount Hood where a glacial spring nourishes hydroponic gardens powered by 100% renewable energy. Otis takes the approach of good horticulture over pure profit. It’s not that making money isn’t important, but the quality of the product is of greatest importance. Each step in the path from seed-to-sale is thoughtfully mastered, not in knowing everything but discovering what is not yet known. That is what is truly important. The ecosystem of cannabis is interrelated between the known and vividly imagined! Anything is possible in the cannabis family of passionate growers. Everyone should look forward to tasting the indoor terroir and immersing all the senses in the artisanal farm-to-table experience that is Otis Gardens. Who, by their own admissions, truly do grow potent cannabis.
This will be the second time in Portland, OR that a convention of this kind will take place in our city. Every participant & every dollar plays a role in creating this convention, even every ticket.
Starting March 1 we will hold the Cannabis Industry’s 1st EVER TEXT-A-THON!! This fundraiser is to raise awareness for the men & women STILL incarcerated and to encourage the breaking of stigmas associated with cannabis. The funds collected will go toward helping minority-owned cannabis/hemp businesses as start-up capital. Each year the funds raised will be distributed & this is our kick-off year for the #DiversifyCannabis capital fund!
Derek Enjoying A Smoke PHOTO COURTESY: TERRA TECH CORP.
Warren Bobrow=WB: Where are you from? Why cannabis? Did you go to business school? Who is your mentor?
Derek Peterson=DP: I was born and raised in Massachusetts. Cannabis was always part of the culture in the Northeast and I never took to binge drinking alongside my peers in high school and college. I used cannabis recreationally in my younger years, but it wasn’t until an extraordinary surfing accident later in life that led me to truly understand and appreciate medical cannabis. I fractured a vertebrae in my neck and have used cannabis to manage the daily residual pain from that injury for the past 13 years. I put myself through Pepperdine studying finance and business. As a college student I tended bar to pay my bills and it was there that I met a gentleman named Mike Zacarro who worked in finance and encouraged me to intern for him while I finished my degree.
Cannabis Cocktail master Warren Bobrow brings in the new year with a New Year’s day winter punch created with the award winning Saka Pink, and we are all looking forward to tasting it!
Photo Credit: Cocktails de L’Apothicaire By Warren Bobrow
Saka Pink was carefully selected as the perfect mixer for this wonderfully well balanced sipper.It should be served ideally in a coupe glass, which you may remember also used to be used for Champagne.If you are still using them for Champagne, STOP NOW!Only use it for this cocktail.For Champagne, use a Burgundy glass.. much, much better.
Photo Credit: Traci Seville
Saka New Year’s Punch Made even more effervescent with Fruitations Tangerine Syrup and Pickett’s Ginger Beer
RECIPE
Ingredients:
1 750 ml bottle of Saka— THC Infused-dealcoholized Napa Valley wine 6 oz. Fruitations Pure Natural Tangerine Simple Syrup 4- 12 oz. Cans of Ginger Beer- I used Pickett’s – it’s Authentic and in a can! 10 shakes of Fee Brothers Lime Bitters Grilled orange slices Prep: For a crowd Add all the liquid ingredient (except for the ginger beer) into a punch bowl Mix carefully and completely Add a block of ice Add the Ginger Beer fizzy soda Add the lime bitters Add the grilled orange slices Stir again and serve to a very thirsty crowd
Top cannabis influencers are having a real impact on the future direction of cannabis cuisine. Here are some of them.
The Cocktail Whisperer: Warren Bobrow
One of the most visible cannabis influencers from the world of wine and spirits, Warren Bobrow, is a high-profile mixologist who most people simply know as “The Cocktail Whisperer” (www.cocktailwhisperer.com). His primary goal is to transform the world of mixology by infusing (literally) elements of cannabis cuisine. At the first-ever Cannabis Drinks Expo in San Francisco in July 2019, Warren Bobrow was one of the high-profile presenters at the event, showing audience members how he goes about creating some of his most famous cannabis cocktail creations. The importance of this cannot be understated, especially with the growing potential for “cannabis consumption lounges” to become as normal as your neighborhood wine bar. Imagine the buzz that could be created on social media, as mixologists around the nation follow the lead of Warren Bobrow and begin to create cannabis-infused cocktails of their own.
Eric Sklar, CEO and co-founder, fume’ PHOTO COURTESY: FUME’
Warren Bobrow=WB: Why cannabis? Where are you from? When was the first time that you discovered our plant? Btw: Love the name, I came out of Biodynamic/Organic wine as well… Fumé means something to me.
Eric Sklar=ES: As a serial entrepreneur, I saw the incredible opportunities and challenges of creating a new business in a brand-new industry and I couldn’t resist taking the plunge. Brand creation has been the foundation of my career to date. Forming the organization behind the brands has been my life’s work. This was an opportunity to bring both of those skill sets to a new industry; that only happens once in a generation and I wasn’t going to miss the boat. And, like all the industries I have worked in before, I love the product.
I recently had the great honor of tasting SHERBINSKIS Cannabis while attending the yearly Emerald Cup. The Emerald Cup is unlike any other event I’ve ever had the honor of attending. How can this be explained? It is like a massive state fair, but only for cannabis, and you can buy anything that is displayed for awards- within reason and weight legality of course! I traveled out from New Jersey to attend the Granddaddy of all cannabis harvest fairs in the world, but not just around the corner. I knew that I had limited time to spend searching for SHERBINSKIS, even though there was a plethora of dispensaries that carry this ultra-luxe brand, I just couldn’t figure out when I could get away from the task at hand, covering the Emerald Cup for Forbes Vices .
