Cocktails are fruity, flavorful drinks that many people love, but have you ever thought about adding some cannabis to your cocktails, creating marijuana-infused cocktails or CBD cocktails? Is it even possible to make cannabis cocktails?
Absolutely! For now, the cannabis-infused alcohol scene is still in its infancy, but there are already lots of people across the US and other parts of the world enjoying intriguing and delicious cannabis drinks. In this guide, we’ll explain more about how cannabis cocktails work.
What Happens When You Mix Alcohol and Marijuana
Before you start whipping up any of your own cannabis cocktails, it’s important to understand the risks. Both alcohol and marijuana can affect your senses and impair your decision-making abilities, so you have to be careful with any kind of marijuana drink.
There haven’t been many studies into how alcohol and marijuana impact the body when consumed together, or if they have any real effects on each other. But we do know that, individually, these ingredients can have sedative effects, so need to be taken in moderation.
Benefits of Drinking Cannabis
With so many different cannabis products out there and methods of consumption, from edibles and cannabis tinctures to joints and vapes, you might be wondering if there are any advantages to drinking cannabis rather than consuming it in other ways.
Well, one of the main advantages is the fact that this method doesn’t involve any smoke. Smoke can damage the lungs and respiratory system, but drinking cannabis cocktails is a smoke-free consumption method.
Not only that, but many people appreciate the fun flavors and variety that you can find in cannabis cocktails. It’s possible to make all sorts of liquid marijuana cocktails and include your favorite flavors and ingredients.
How to Make Your Own Cannabis Cocktails
So, how do you make your own cannabis cocktails and drinks? Well, you’ll first need to make sure you’ve got all of the necessary ingredients. Just like with a regular cocktail, you’ll want to assemble the various juices and alcoholic mixtures involved, as well as cannabis.
The cannabis you use will need to be decarbed (heated up beforehand) in order to activate the main cannabinoids like CBD and THC to produce some of the desired effects. You can decarb your own flower or buy products like cannabis oils and tinctures that have already been decarbed to mix in with your drink blends.
Here are a few handy tips to get started with:
- Start off slow – Cannabis and alcohol can form a potent mixture when combined. To avoid any unwanted reactions or excessive effects, start off slow.
- Avoid alcohol, to begin with – For your first cannabis cocktail, you might simply like to combine a cannabis tincture with simple syrups or fruit juices to make a non-alcoholic drink.
- Test it out at home – Try your first cannabis cocktail in a safe space, like your own home, as there’s a good chance it could make you feel quite high and sleepy.
- Be patient – Just like with edibles, cannabis drinks may take a little time to have an effect, so wait a while and listen to your body before taking a second drink.
- Ask the pros – If you’re not sure about which ingredients to use or want to find the best quality cannabis products for your cocktails, contact us for more info.
Dosing is Easy
Dosing an infused drink like cannabis vodka or some other infused liquors is easy, as long as you know how. It’s all about making sure that you don’t add too much THC or CBD to your recipes. The easiest method is to use cannabis oils or tinctures that show the exact amount of THC/CBD in each drop and then use that to work out how many drops you should add.
Cannabis-Infused Mixers
There are quite a few ways to prepare cannabis cocktails and get cannabis into your favorite alcoholic drinks. Here are some common methods you can use:
- Cannabis-Infused Liquors
Infusing cannabis into your drinks is a really easy method. All it involves is pouring your chosen spirit – like vodka – into a mason jar or infusion jar, adding the cannabis in, and giving the mixture time to infuse.
- Cannabutter, Cream, or Syrup
Using cannabutter or cream is quick and easy to get cannabis into your beverage rapidly and conveniently. It doesn’t require too much waiting around, perfect for drink preparation before parties or events.
- Cannabis Tinctures and Oils
With tinctures or oils from your local Los Angeles Marijuana Dispensary, it’s very simple to control your dosages and place individual drops of the oil or tincture into your drink to create a CBD cocktail recipe.
- Cannabis Bitters
You can also try cannabis bitters. They’re just like regular bitters used in many cocktails but come with cannabis-infused into the mixture. You only need a small number of bitters to have a big effect on any drink.
How Do Cannabis Drinks Taste?
If you’ve used cannabis in the past or consumed cannabis edibles, you should be quite familiar with the unique flavor of this plant. A liquid marijuana shot or cocktail may have that same taste, but it’s usually overpowered by the alcohol and juices of the drink.
The precise flavor of your chosen cocktail will really depend on what ingredients you’ve used. The cannabis itself may not be too noticeable, although some people say it adds a herbal or floral note to the cocktail, while others have said cannabis cocktails taste like sunflowers.
The Bottom Line
There are more ways than ever to consume cannabis and enjoy its effects, and if you’re looking for a new method, brewing some of your very own cannabis cocktails could be a fun way to spend a night with friends. Just remember to be careful with dosing and start off slow to avoid any unwanted effects.
