Celebrate high summer with these 5 taste-bud-tickling weed drinks
Just in time for high summer — and even higher temperatures — our Elite Beverage Tasting Squad, a cadre of cannabis consuming co-workers and friends, is at it again after forming last year to taste-test some pot-packed, palate-pleasing potables worthy of picking up and icing down.
The big takeaway this time around? What a difference a year makes! Last summer, the squad sipped, swirled and spit its way through 17 beverages and found it challenging to pick five good-tasting ones from a sea of weedy White Claw wannabes.
This time, of the 18 drink options representing a dozen brands, the off-putting weediness of last year's drinkable contenders was largely absent. And in the rare instances where it was noticeable this year, the taste of cannabis seemed to lean into — instead of detract from — the overall flavor profile of the beverage.
Another noticeable difference is this: the infused beverage market appears to be moving away from putting all its eggs in one fruity seltzer basket. There are still plenty of those out there. (For example, Wynk's juicy mango and black cherry fizz seltzers were in the mix this season. They were announced as gold and bronze medal winners, respectively, in the water/sparking water/seltzer category at the inaugural L.A.-based High Spirits Awards.)
Replacing those White Claw wannabes in the market is a variety of tasty beverages. There are high-performance sports drinks — yes, you read that correctly — like the one recently launched by that throws a dose of the amino acid L-theanine in alongside THC, CBD and CBG.
