Cocktail WhispererKlaus 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!!!
Cocktail Whisperer
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.
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.
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.
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…
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!
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!
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*
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!
The Stone Age Potcast interview with the CEO of Klaus Apothecaire LLC, 6x Author and Master Mixologist Warren Bobrow. We had a great time getting to know Warren and learning about craft cannabis infused mocktails. In fact, you can learn from home by purchasing one of his books off amazon. There are hundreds of recipes he has created that are sure to make to your next party a huge hit. Coming soon to California, Warren created Klaus which is a drink infused with 10mg of live resin. You can expect a unique terpene profile to accompany this craft drink along with a kick of fresh frozen thc extract to put you in that right state of mind. Available soon in Cali. Check out his column in the Cannabis Cactus Magazine online or print, an Arizona based cannabis magazine full of culture, entertaining stories, news, and much more. Make sure you check out their website and follow Warren to learn how to get cross faded the correct way.
Last month was my sixtieth birthday. And with this said, for my birthday I enjoyed a particularly wonderful cannagar, one completely hand-made by Artisan Cannagars. It was a six gram version, all flower and no extracts. I smoked it over several days, it was that succulent. Patience is a virtue with a cannagar, especially if you smoke it without the assistance of another person. Artisan hand-crafts their cannagars using the finest ingredients available. I’m particularly happy to announce that I had taken a break from smoking for a week or so because I had some work done in my mouth. My dentist told me to stop smoking for a bit. When I finally started using cannabis again, the first thing that I smoked was the six gram Artisan Cannagar. Impressive to say the very least. They do amazing work with the plant. There is something really sophisticated about smoking a luxury cannagar. There is no mistaking what it is and what a cannagar represents. Pure indulgence!
Artisan Cannagars from California.
For all Cactus Approved, click here.
Warren Bobrow is the CEO of Klaus Apothicaire, a 6x Author, Chef, Barman, Cannabis Alchemist, Master Mixologist. Some of his cannabis awards include: SXSW Cannabis Disruptor 2018, Berlin Bar Convent-Cannabis, and Moscow Bar Show-Master Class-Rum. He is the author of Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics, Available in Indie Bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo Books. See his cannabis creations on instagram.
John Bayes is Green Bodhi. He practices a very personal cannabis growth methodology known as Intentional Horticulture.
Quite simply, this is his own, very personal methodology. I believe he is deeply influenced by Rudolph Steiner, the father of Biodynamics. I don’t think that Green Bodhi is Biodynamic, but I do believe that the flowers are nurtured using the highest respect for the earth and the individual ability to find them in the realm of healing. Whatever the true inspiration for John, I can assure you that the experience of smoking his cannabis transcends the usual, into the deeply personal. That of course is my experience. His cannabis unlocks my brain and allows me the benefit of the cultivars as not anticipated by my pen. Or in this case, my keyboard.
It’s cannabis that helps my creativity and takes the path of inquisitiveness. Cannabis like this makes the art of the word a thing of rare beauty. You do get thirsty for just one more hit when you are in Oregon. Lucky is the person to smoke the herbs that John Bayes nurtures. It truly does magical things to my brain.
Back to that nug. The nose is spicy, Pacific Rim-style spices like cardamom, garlic oil and lemongrass intertwine with dark, bittersweet chocolate and gobs of pine sap. There is an element of crushed rose petals each whiff is woven deeply into treacle based pudding. Further whiffs remind me of late-summer peach jam smeared on brioche toast.
The smoke is pure milk chocolate that leaves a thick veneer of pine sap on the inside of my teeth and under my tongue. This is cerebral cannabis that rivals the finest herbs that I’ve smoked in my pursuit of excellence.
The stone is not an afterthought, it is the reason why you arrived here in the first place. The high is Excalibur. You’ve searched a lifetime to discover something that was always here, yet undiscovered. The experience is clarity, wit, and wisdom. You may take up glass-blowing or some other creative pursuit. I mentioned that smoking Green Bodhi is akin to unlocking the brain. Cannabis smoking is a deeply personal experience. The art of cannabis is similar to wine in this regard. What I taste may be only my reflection on the integrity of the plant, or glass of wine. The terpenes, or flavors and aromas are the paints inside the paintbox.
In the wine world, especially the garage-wines that I crave, a very similar process takes place. This hands-off elegance commands the attention of the cognoscente. Not normal is this style, therefore I want to drink it. Think Abe Schoener and get back to me.
And what about this cannabis that is in the little jar, the Green Bodhi? I have to smoke it. It compels me. This cannabis exposes my creativity and gives the act of smoking cannabis of this quality a certain level of authenticity. At least that’s what it does for me.
I hope if you are fortunate to taste Green Bodhi, your experience will also be deeply introspective and kind. It’s the way of the plant. Intentional Horticulture.
What John has achieved is unforced, yet vividly imaginative.
Thank you.
WB
https://www.skunkmagazine.com/my-special-smoke-of-the-day-green-bodhi/
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
from ‘Munkey Biz Issue 20’STONE FRUIT + FRESH CANNABIS S…BY WARREN BOBROW
Morristown, NJ is a nice mid-sized town located about an hour drive west/northwest of New York City. I’m born and raised here, which offers the opportunity to share some of my hidden places to get high.
The list is a long one, as I’m not just born. I graduated from prep school, Morristown-Beard in 1980. You can do the math on that one. I’ll be covering a couple at a time. So, you can enjoy the visuals of my walking tour.
Cannabis has only just become quasilegal in Morristown, NJ. I’m still pretty careful about smoking weed in the street. This isn’t New York City where all you smell these days is the stickysweet taint of weed burning. Not that I don’t like it, far from that- smoking cannabis in Morristown, NJ is probably still not such a great idea.
No matter what the voters have said in New Jersey regarding cannabis legality. The long-standing stigmas against smoking cannabis in public still rules the roost here.
But all is not doom and gloom. I’m sharing with you my hidden “underbelly” of where I like to smoke weed where I probably won’t get arrested, nor frowned upon by strangers. I own a gnome. His name is Klaus. Klaus is my mid 19th-century drinking gnome. He used to follow me around the globe when I was a master-mixologist and rum judge in the on and off premise beverage trade. Klaus traveled with me everywhere and he became quite famous for his rum fueled antics, but all that came to a crashing halt during Tales of the Cocktail in 2018. The halt was my leaving the liquor industry, forever when I quit drinking distilled spirits.
It was at Tales that Klaus suggested that I enter the cannabis industry, both as a journalist and as an author of the book, Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics. This suggestion probably saved my life because I’ve dropped nearly sixty pounds since leaving the liquor industry. Sure, he’s a drinking gnome, however Klaus enjoys the weed business much more. Travel is in his little terracotta heart and he loves getting stoned with me.
Klaus is starting this local journey today with a little bit of foot travel around two favored places in Morristown, NJ. This is the place where George Washington rested for a very cold winter during the Revolutionary War.
The first place that I got high over the years, where it was so risky to get stoned there, getting arrested was a probability. The Green in Morristown. The fountain, pictured is a good place to start any respectable journey into getting High in Morristown, NJ. I paused for a one-hitter (Green BodhiTenzin Kush) and remembered that just around the corner on the Green stood the pre-Colonial courthouse, long gone, and the Hanging Tree, also long gone.
The energy in this place is pronounced as this was quite the historic town during the Revolution. I’m sure many unsavory characters throughout history met their end at the bottom of a rope in this spot. You can feel it in your bones if you pause long enough.
On the back side of the Green is the First Presbyterian Church and just behind this grand stone edifice is the historic Churchyard and their preColonial cemetery. Back when I was a teenager, this wasn’t a place where you wanted to walk around in at night. It still may have that stigma with vestiges of a recent homeless camp off set just off into the poison ivy laced underbrush.
But during the day it’s a pretty place with headstones dating back to the early part of the 1700’s. I like to pay homage to the long-departed by smoking cannabis in this cemetery. It’s a serene place to get lit up and reflect on the residents who once graced the town. Their names are often intriguing in the study of history. I’m convinced that very few Morristown residents even know that this place exists… Much less come here to get stoned. It’s part of the journey in this town. To find places that are just off the beaten path, excellent for catching a fire.
It’s my pleasure to share these places with you!