CANNATIQUE FARMS

J RILEY CALIFORNIA MULE

CANNATIQUE FARMS LEMON CHERRY GELATO ROLL-UPS

TANNINS J RILEY CALIFORNIA MULE 8.3% ABV>> J Riley is a Redlands, CA-based distillery founded in 2015 that specializes in small batch American whiskey and bourbon, but also produces vodka and gin products as well. The California Mule is a canned, pre-made Moscow Mule crafted in partnership with Cock-N-Bull energy drink company and was first launched in 2018. The can mimics the classic copper mug the cocktail is historically served in, providing an appealing aesthetic and mobility so you can take your beverage to-go. The drink looks just like the handmade version of the cocktail, with its semi-opaque and hazy, faint yellow hue. While most canned cocktails I’ve sampled are incredibly sweet and have at least some trace of an artificial tasting ingredient, this California Mule is on point and tastes exactly how you would imagine it in your head - with just enough whiskey to make its presence known, but not overwhelm.

TERPENES CANNATIQUE FARMS LEMON CHERRY GELATO ROLL-UPS 22.78% THC / .07% CBD >>Cannatique Farms is an exotics-focused, indoor cultivator based in Oakland producing ultra premium quality flower for California’s adult-use market. Their creation, Lemon Cherry Gelato, is a cross of Sunset Sherbet, Girl Scout Cookies and an undisclosed genetic. The aroma is gassy and doughy with only a hint of fruit, however when lit, delicate citrus and berry notes become apparent. The effects are swiftly realized and quite heady, a definite departure from the heavy-handed body high effects typically associated with Gelato strains. The smoke is light bodied and easy on the lungs, making for an enjoyable puff you won’t hesitate to repeat.

THE PAIRING Bringing together a tried-and-true classic and a new school exotic, the Moscow Mule (served pre-made in a can) and the Lemon Cherry Gelato (served in the form of a pre-roll) has a noticeable high-brow, low-brow feel - but in the very best kind of way. The mashup is a complex entanglement of fruity, citrusy, spicy and gassy flavors, taking your palate on a wild rollercoaster ride. As one might expect, the liquor brings a looseness to the tongue and allows hesitation to fall away and be replaced with liquid self-confidence. When paired with a full gram joint of exotic smoke, I was immediately inspired to kick off my shoes, turn my music way up and invite some friends over for a socially distant sip n’ rip session.

@jrileydistillery / @cannatique.farms

VIV & OAK - SHIMMERING SCARLETT Viv & Oak is an alternative beverage company brought to life by founder and entrepreneur Alana Burstein. After deciding her relationship with alcohol needed to come to an end, she began seeking a healthy alternative to her beverage of choice - wine. When she couldn’t find a quality replacement, she took it upon herself to create one. In 2016, she sold her home and used the funds to begin laying the foundations of what is now Viv & Oak. After countless hours of R&D, testing and jumping through hoops to get compliant with the state, Burstein and her team brought their vision to life. The brand currently offers six different infused beverages, available in a variety of ratios and featuring two different grape varietals: zinfandel and rosé.

The 50mg THC 750ml version we tried was zinfandel-derived and offers a healthy 10mg in each five ounce pour. Big aromas of grape jam waft from the glass, beckoning you to sip from the dark red liquid from which it came. A pleasant surprise arrives as you begin to drink - rounded tannins are layered between sweet grape preserve and blueberry flavors - capped off by an enjoyable and familiar fruit skin-esque astringency. vivandoak.com

RICKETT BREWING JOLIE FLEUR PINK

If someone served you a glass of Rickett Brewing’s Jolie Fleur Pink, unless they specifically told you it was an alcohol-free beverage, you’d likely never guess that was the case. This drink begins its life as a Russian River derived sauvignon blanc, before alcohol is removed and it’s finally infused with nano-enhanced Cannabis. Each 375ml bottle has 10mg of THC and only 25 calories, so you can enjoy a whole bottle without feeling guilty.

The beverage pours a beautiful, soft pink color and emits a sweet and tart, strawberry lemonade-esque aroma. As you move the drink from the glass to your palate, your mouth becomes aware of a beautifully delicate carbonation, giving way to an array of flavors that continue to develop on the tongue - notes of white grapefruit, lemon zest, raspberry and apple all become apparent as you sip and savor. The beverage is crisp and dry with just a touch of sweetness, and is housed in an extra light body making it a highly quaffable offering. The nano-enhanced THC molecules are fast acting, delivering a quick onset felt within only a few minutes. rickettbrewing.com

REBEL COAST PINK PASSION

Rebel Coast was founded as a traditional winery and began their journey in Cannabis in 2016, when they first decided they wanted to infuse their wines and offer them in California’s newly legal adultuse market. After realizing that California legislation prohibited such a product from existing, they set out to figure out how to remove the alcohol from their wines and replace it with Cannabis.

Their Pink Passion beverage is true to its name. It’s both a stunning shade of pink and delivers big flavors of passion fruit, grapefruit and ripe melon. This delightfully tart and effervescent beverage is made from two main ingredients: fermented grape juice and California Cannabis.

Rebel Coast has moved away from the traditional 750ml glass wine bottles they used for years and are now packaging their products in these smaller format, on-the-go friendly, 12oz aluminum cans. Each can offers a respectable but not overwhelming 10mg of THC, enough to get the job done for most casual users, but not enough to take you to an undesirable level. At only 49 calories per can, you can indulge, guilt-free. Cheers! rebelcoast.com

WEED WINES

It’s 2020 and no longer is alcohol the only recreational beverage available to consumers. Well, at least in states with legal Cannabis anyway. Amazing technological advances in the field of infused beverages is giving way to the rise of a new wave of flavorful and effective liquids. As these products begin to form a new subcategory in the market, we figured this was the perfect issue to dive in and share what we’ve learned about these unique libations.

PRODUCTIVE PAIRINGS

House of Cultivar Orange Vines paired with Green Tea

HOUSE OF CULTIVAR ORANGE VINES The Orange Vines taste like a kiss of sunshine hitting an orange grove in the peak of harvest, transporting the mind to a grassy patch under trees heavy with ripe fruit. Covered in layers of delicious crystals, the beautiful orange hairs ooze with citrus and gassy sap that awakens the mind and brightens the senses with a perfectly stoney bliss (20.5% THC).

GREEN TEA Since green tea’s accidental discovery as a beverage in 2737 B.C., it has been enjoyed as a mental stimulant and as a daily beverage in many cultures. With a sweet and nutty taste known all over the world, many people today are turning to tea instead of coffee for a jolt of mental clarity, and a variety of different flavor options. While this pairing focuses on green tea, combining different Cannabis strains with tea can deliver positive effects for the start, middle or end of the day.

THE PAIRING We sipped a freshly brewed cup of green tea on a lazy weekend, when morning had already become afternoon. Looking for a pick-me-up that wouldn’t cause brain fog or a later energy crash, the first step was breaking up the flower while the tea brewed. The aromatic citrus of the Orange Vines awakens the senses, and the first tokes are bright and energetic with a syrupy exhale. The tea follows big hits with a mellow, sweeter taste that balances the palate and clears the way for the next hit. Enjoying both led to a lightly caffeinated body buzz and electric cerebral effects, with the mind gloriously uplifted and sparkling with a happy and fun high.

@HOUSE.OF.CULTIVAR

Mt. Baker Homegrown Gelato 33 & Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee

MT. BAKER HOMEGROWN GELATO 33 Gelato 33 is a cross between the Sunset Sherbet and Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. Grown with love and attention to detail, this beautiful flower is frosty and rich with orange and berry notes, hiding gassy Cookies in the background. Classics would call this a stoney hybrid, with slowed down contemplative thoughts and a light-feeling, powerfully relaxed body high (27.32% THC).

STUMPTOWN COLD BREW COFFEE Originating in Japan and brewed in the Northwest, the Stumptown Cold Brew is a smooth and tasty way to experience lower acid coffee right out of the fridge. Cold brewed coffee is made by soaking coarse ground beans for 12-24 hours, resulting in a higher caffeine brew that doesn’t have the oils and fatty acids of hot brewed coffee. This delivers different flavor profiles and a smooth taste, whether enjoyed black or with a favorite cream or flavor.

THE PAIRING Known as a hippie speedball, or occasionally as a Seattle speedball, the combination of coffee and Cannabis is truly a match made in heaven. Nothing pushes the senses forward while simultaneously dulling them like the sweet bliss of being speedballed in the morning. Our favorite buzz combines a heavier or stonier strain with strong coffee, to allow the effects to balance and meet in the middle. Hence, a speedball. The stoney euphoria of the Gelato 33 delivers a perfectly grinning daytime buzz, while the high caffeine content and strong, chocolatey flavor of the cold brew wash it all down with a perfect amount of pep in this writer’s step.

@MTBAKERHG / STUMPTOWNCOFFEE.COM/COLD-BREW

Evolvd Lemon Diesel CO2 Cartridge & Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate

EVOLVD LEMON DIESEL CO2 CARTRIDGE 67.95% THC When it comes to curing the midday blues, we often turn to a 1:1 CBD cartridge or a con0.10% CBD centrate high in CBG. Luckily we had this Lemon Diesel cartridge ready to go, with nearly 4.86% CBG 5% CBG and a heady dose of THC and terpenes. CBG is not only highly medicinal - fighting 7.73% Terpenes inflammation, pain and nausea while fighting cancer and IBS - it is also a supreme mood stabilizer. CBG releases anandamide, the body’s native ‘bliss’ molecule, which can help with anxiety and provide a happy, uplifting vibe. Choosing either a CBD or CBG-rich high in the afternoon can help with productivity, especially when paired with a little caffeine.

GUAYAKI ORGANIC YERBA MATE RASPBERRY TERERÉ Yerba Mate is a tea-based beverage made from the plant’s leaves, from which the drink draws its name. Served hot or cold traditionally, today a wide variety of flavors and carbonated or noncarbonated options exist to tease taste buds and deliver a potent caffeine buzz. With less acid than coffee, many choose a bottle or can of yerba mate in place of a cup of coffee or energy drink. Yerba Mate also contains B and C vitamins and antioxidants, making it a healthful choice when making a T&T pairing.

THE PAIRING Perfect for on the go, both the resealable bottle and the portable nature of the cartridge make this a great daytime pairing. The Lemon Diesel slips into the lungs with a bright citrus inhale and an earthy-gas tingle on the exhale. The terpenes and CBG interact wondrously, dropping a blissful euphoria onto the mind, while relaxing the body without slowing it down. The Raspberry Terere is perfect to wash down the vapor, with a lightly sweet berry-tea flavor that is both refreshing and energizing. After a dozen healthy puffs and a full bottle of mate, we were completely ready for whatever the day had to offer, adventures guaranteed.

EVOLVDCANNABIS.COM / @EVOLVDCANNABIS / GUAYAKI.COM / @GUAYAKI

Artizen Dutchberry Flower & GT’s Synergy Kombucha

ARTIZEN DUTCHBERRY Artizen is one of the largest producers of Cannabis in Washington, and they’ve found success by maintaining their craft approach and love for the plant as the company has grown. Their 27% THC Dutchberry is a combination of DJ Short Blueberry and Dutch Treat, delivering a ton of happy energy and a unique flavor profile that combines the deep Blueberry of the DJ Short with the hazy, piney freshness of the Dutch Treat.

SYNERGY GRAPE CHIA KOMBUCHA Kombucha is a fizzy and fermented tea drink with as many flavor offerings as potential health benefits. The full line of GT’s Kombuchas are raw and organic with live cultures, probiotics and active enzymes. These help support gut health, ease digestion and boost immunity. Perfect for an afternoon or evening substitute for alcohol, or a mid-morning boost, kombucha offers a unique world of fun and fizzy drinks.

THE PAIRING The Dutchberry bursts with rich berry flavors that swirl around the palate as visions of dark sweet berries fill the mind. Much like the fizzy pops of the kombucha as it’s being poured, the aroma of the Dutchberry grabs all the senses while waiting to be consumed. Taking a bright and smooth inhale of the flower delivers a sunny euphoria that melts the mind into the body. Chasing a hit with a sip of the grape-forward drink is refreshing and rewarding, as the bubbles tingle and are chased down with the yummy chia for a little added texture in the finish. Nutritious and uplifting, this pairing will help keep motivation high during a long afternoon, or is the perfect alternative to an alcoholic happy hour.

ARTIZENCANNABIS.COM / @ARTIZENCANNABIS / GTSLIVINGFOODS.COM

TALKING ‘BOUT Terpenes and terpenoids seem like the yin and yang of what creates the TERPS balance and wholeness we all look for in a robust and pleasurable high.

Let’s just say I’ve been occasionally smoking Cannabis for 15 years as a holistic mental/physical/spiritual maintenance routine, and no one ever taught me about terpenes or terpenoids until a month ago. Crazy. So you mean to tell me I can choose and steer my Cannabis experience by choosing which chemical compounds or terpenes I wish to have in my inhale? Yes. OK, weed connoisseurs, I’m late. Sad, I know. But thanks to California and all the canna gurus I’ve met along the way, I can now tell a friend that maybe asking for a limonene strain would be best if he intends to drive to San Francisco from L.A. at eight in the morning. Especially after three bagels with cream cheese.

As I’ve been on my journey to optimal happiness, I think of the many unnecessary times in which I could have possibly avoided a panic attack while too stoned and googling to find a way out of it. Up until this year my knowledge of the blessed plant was pretty elementary.

I never attributed terps to that skunk-like scent that made me giggle with curiosity, or changed my mood around friends.

For me it was either sativa - the upper that helped me organize my closet by color and size while dancing disco - or indica, the chronic overthinker and meditation inspirer that made corner grocery store trips a two hour affair.

It turns out that it’s not just the THC or CBD count of 23% on the back of the pre-roll pack, or the vague description of indica or sativa. It’s way more - like myrcene and humulene to name a few. Excuse me, what?

If these terms are new to you, trust me, you’re not alone. If you go down the rabbit hole of YouTube you’ll see high grade meals like fresh ceviche prepared by the sea in Ibiza, with terpenes being the main ingredient.

Everyone in the videos seem incredibly happy, as if they discovered a well-kept secret. They love food. They love weed. And somehow they found the way to make them dance together in perfect synergy.

This science is the stuff you want to pay attention to when baking a batch of edible brownies in hopes that people reach nirvana.

Even though the house gets aromatic, I’ve been told it’s best to cover your batch with foil to keep the terpenes from evaporating, as well as identifying the proper temperatures for each. And your best healthy binding agent to keep the molecules intact? Coconut oil.

Cannabis has an endless and intricate chemical body and intellect - a complex array of what I like to call character traits.

I got to thinking about my whole experience with Cannabis or even the times when I thought I immensely enjoyed deep dish pizza while watching “That 70’s Show,” when really a nice limonene strain could have had me biking, rather than couch-locked at home from a carb coma.

Terpenes and terpenoids seem like the yin and yang of what creates the balance and wholeness we all look for in a robust and pleasurable high - with aromas and psychological qualities that when experimented with and understood - can create a perfect profile for each of our THC dreams. At the core, these compounds provide distinct characteristics such as myrcene, which is commonly found in lemongrass and has that sedative, almost analgesic effect that I really enjoy. Imagine if we all had a specific terpene profile and it meant more to society than our social security numbers? What if we ate by it and lived by it? Healed ourselves by it and made it part of our overall health and wellness makeup, unique to our own personal needs?

What if we went to dispensaries instead of pharmacies with an exact terpene prescription designed for us, by us, based on years of experience with a full understanding of what benefits they hold?

What if we knew exactly which would make us hype when we felt blue, or which would put us to bed when we were restless? Imagine.

Imagine it’s 2025 and your friends just invited you to dinner. It’s been a long day at work, in 114 degree Sacramento weather, so while you contemplate if you’ve got the energy to be social and sift through potentially clean clothes, you grab a zesty pop from your freezer doused in limonene to cool off and revive.

Your salivary glands dance in citrus and after the fourth A$AP Rocky track, you’re amped and tell Alexa to send an iMessage to your amigos confirming you’ll be there at seven in front of Shinrin-Yoku, your favorite Cannabis conscious fine dining destination on 16th & Broadway.

Certain your crush might also arrive, you chew on half a piece of Locomotion, a linalool infused chewing gum to ease the anxiety and head out.

You stop to fill your 2023 Jeep Neo with ethanol at $3.00 a gallon and into your Apple Watch vocalize your customized terpene profile into the SynergyDining app. Given your height, weight, allergies, flavor, mood and chemical preference of the night, the team at Shinrin-Yoku are aware of just how to make sure you and your guests have the ultimate pleasurable and safe canna-culinary experience.

Upon arrival, your over zealous friends are greeted by a host that leads you through a botanical passageway towards the restaurant entry, with alpha and beta pinene misted pine and palm trees recreating Shinrin-Yoku, a Japanese term meaning quite literally, forest bathing.

While you lounge and await your table, you begin feeling the nostalgia of your family as memories of Yosemite perk up in your mind.

Even better, the pinene sends an alert to the cells of your digestive system and your enzymes are ready and activated to enjoy and digest a full meal.

When was the last time you had Blackberry Kush sparkling water before ordering a meal? Too long, so you do and it’s delicious. Not just to your tongue, but your mind and entire being, creating a sensory orchestra. You choose the sashimi salad off the menu with limonene infused Yuzu citrus dressing to keep that fresh energy going, since you’re not 23 anymore and want to at least keep up your social buzz until 10 p.m. Your friends order a platter of spicy black pepper smoked salmon rolls with b-caryophyllene or humulene steamed vegetable dumplings to combat the indigestion that may, or thankfully may not, come later.

Up next, some b-caryophyllene warm chai with cloves and anise to help relieve your friend’s hands from her chronic arthritis, followed by a myrcene infused vegan mango and coconut mochi for dessert, for that friend who can’t seem to get enough sleep in the evenings.

Intentional, mindful, medicinal eating.

You all smile, satiated and head home for what you already expect to be the best slumber of your week. And while expectation can sometimes be a bore, for an uncertain world, sometimes it’s citrus yet sweet to know that you can control your mind and how you feel. Maybe this sounds far from reality, but I like to believe we can create our reality, and that with further knowledge of terpenes in Cannabis, and plant life overall, we can attain a wholeness and use these tools to make a reality that we can not just survive or tolerate - but actually enjoy. Peace.

Forged by heart and hustle and brought to fruition through precipitous circumstance, GW Smoke Break TV brings together bright entrepreneurs Daniel Montero and Sean Perl to form the core team behind this culture-focused media brand. Simply put, the duo are caretakers of Cannabis culture, protectors of the plant, toking tale-tellers and media mavens.

Perl & Montero

GW SMOKE BREAK TV

DANIEL MONTERO

Daniel Montero is a first-generation American and was born in San Jose, California to parents who hailed from Bolivia and Chile. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, gang culture was at its peak and was extremely prevalent throughout the state.

During that time San Jose was not the shiny tech hub that it is today, and the growth in violence that came with the growth in the culture was enough to make Montero’s parents reconsider calling America home.

Montero and his family made the move to relocate to Bolivia when he was 15-yearsold. He spent his sophomore year living in Bolivia and the following summer before he began his junior year in high school, he returned to the States to see friends. It was that summer at a friend’s slumber party that Montero would try Cannabis for the first time.

GW SMOKE BREAK TV AS A BRAND AND BUSINESS, AS WELL AS THE CREW BEHIND IT, SHARE THE SAME REVERENCE FOR THE PLANT THAT WE DO.

His experience with the plant left a profound effect on him and his love affair with Cannabis began. He dove in and became a self-described stoner and eventually moved back to San Jose for his senior year. School provided an opportunity for business and despite the platform being intended for education, his entrepreneurial mind kicked in and he soon found himself hustling zips to classmates. He worked a couple corporate jobs in the tech industry and quickly realized that world was not for him, and in less than 18 months, began selling weed full-time. Through the years, Cannabis would prove to be the thing that kept a roof over his head and food in his belly.

His journey led him through many ups and downs. He would learn how to grow and wound up slanging the infamous deep dark Purps the Bay couldn’t get enough of in the early 2000s.

He would be arrested and serve time in both 2002 and 2009, and after the second time he was arrested, he took a step back and thought he might be done selling weed. It wasn’t long before he was itching to get back in the game and would figure out how to do so, just a little more legitimately.

In 2014, Montero would launch Green Walrus, a medical delivery service that became his full-time endeavor. Everything was going great until 2016, when he was shot point blank in the chest with a .380 in an attempted robbery during one of his deliveries. Miraculously, he survived and made a full recovery, returning to work only a few weeks later.

In 2018, he founded the San Jose Cannabis Equity Working Group. Their efforts have directly led to several progressive changes in legislation, as well as the formation of San Jose’s Equity Cannabis Program.

SEAN PERL

Sean Perl is a Sonoma County native who has been in close proximity to Cannabis as long as he can remember.

Between the era in which he was raised, the area he grew up in and his old school hippie parents, he has pretty much been destined to end up working with the plant.

He first tried Cannabis in high school but didn’t really get into it until college, at which point he became a self-described enthusiast. He went to SF State and his time there revolved mainly around basketball and the plant.

Once he graduated, his friend and industry veteran Nina Parks taught him how to do video editing, and he began editing for a YouTube show called “B Starr TV,” which explored a variety of issues and topics relating to San Francisco. After honing his skills with “B Starr TV,” Perl began a job working for SF-based production company, North Bound Films.

As recreational legalization became imminent, the Cannabis scene began to explode with a frenzy of activity. North Bound Films was contracted to produce rapper Berner’s TV show, “Marijuana Mania.”

The show’s immediate popularity led the company to realize that they’d discovered their niche producing professional level content for the Cannabis industry and decided to launch a sister company to produce and promote this new sect of their business.

The company was dubbed Item 9, after the famed opening scene of “Pineapple Express.”

Item 9 tapped into the growing Cannabis events network and began covering shows for the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Maui Cannabis Conference and more.

In 2019, Item 9 was hired to cover the Original Equity Group’s Equity Sessions Workshop in San Francisco on 4/20.

GW Smoke Break TV has limited availability to take on new projects in 2020. Contact them at gwsmokebreaktv@gmail.com for more information on how to collaborate. youtube.com/gwsmokebreaktv @gwsmokebreaktv

While working the event, he was approached by Montero and asked to film a few interviews after the workshop was over. Perl agreed and the foundations of GW Smoke Break TV began to take shape.

From that point forward, the pair would begin building their brand, handling interviews and creating culture-focused Cannabis content, delivered via their Instagram and YouTube.

In a timely confluence of circumstances, Perl would leave Item 9, COVID-19 would hit, and GW Smoke Break TV would land their first paying client. And after that, he and Montero would sit down to really hash out details on how to create a business from their growing media brand.

GW SMOKE BREAK TV

“Culture is King” - a simple yet powerful mantra you’ll hear Montero repeat on the regular. GW Smoke Break TV has adopted this phrase as their slogan, a terse but accurate description of their business.

This video production company captures exclusive behind-the-scenes style interviews with legendary pioneers in the scene and footage of Cannabis farms that most will never get to set foot on.

As a media company operating within the Cannabis sphere, we have a deep respect for any of our peers who run their businesses with values similar to ours. Both GW Smoke Break TV as a brand and business, as well as the crew behind it, share the same reverence for the plant that we do. Their work honors Cannabis culture and pays homage to the incredible history that exists here.

While still developing as a business, we are incredibly excited to see how GW Smoke Break TV matures as Cannabis continues to step into the mainstream over the coming years. As this transition occurs, businesses like GW Smoke Break TV will be the ones the world looks to for an authentic education on the world of Cannabis.