Reviews

Cannabis drinks leave a bad taste

Published on April 23, 2020 by Jenny Neufeld

As much as we love alcoholic wobbly pops on a warm summer’s day I had anticipated that a carbonated cannabis beverage might be a different option for those of us who might like to indulge in a different adult experience. My guess is that they won’t be trending here in the Great White North this summer though.

Darren Bondar from Inner Spirit Holdings (Spiritleaf) said, in a recent webinar, that “Beverages are actually going to have a lot more success in Canada than they’ve had in the U.S., we finally saw Canopy come out with Houndstooth & Soda and we sold out, in a matter of hours, our entire supply.” 

Whereas, Etienne Fontan from Berkeley Patients Group on that same panel, said, “We don’t see that trend in the United States, the drinks have had a more difficult foothold because of manufacturing challenges…and having access to those products. The things we had prior still had that cannabis flavour from back in the day, whereas now due to CO2 and extracts…you can pretty much make anything taste like anything so eventually I think it will catch on in the States but it definitely hasn’t caught on like it has in Canada.”

I have had the opportunity to try both Everie’s Lemon & Lime Sparkling Beverage and Tweed’s Houndstooth & Soda and I have to say they both left me disappointed.

Everie’s offering had that refreshing type flavour you might expect, reminiscent of a 7-UP, but it had little to no effect. It is a CBD blend so I wasn’t expecting a high but I had anticipated the typical CBD mind and body soothing calm. No such luck apparently. I’d drink a regular lemon lime sparkling water before another one of these because it would certainly be cheaper.

Tweed’s product has a cool look and a level of THC that means even as a cannabis novice I was able to drink two cans and got a happy buzz on. Which seems ideal for an afternoon BBQ this summer. Despite the pleasant high  the flavour, or lack thereof, was truly a turn off. Instead of feeling like I was sipping a refreshing cocktail it tasted like I was drinking water with a bit of grass and nutmeg flavour. In fact the prospect of drinking that second can was so averse my partner and I had a chugging contest so at least it would be over with quickly.

I love the idea of consuming edibles without lots of sugars or fats but neither of these products felt like they hit the mark for me. One was flavour without substance and the other was the opposite. I am still hopeful that there will be a product released that will be the best of both worlds to be part of summertime weekend fun.