THE HERB SOMM

the TANNINS & TERPENES issue The Herb Somm

JAMIE EVANS

IF YOU MUST DO SOMETHING, try to do something you love. If you can craft a calling out of multiple passions, even better. As the creative mind behind The Herb Somm, a lifestyle brand and blog focused on treating Cannabis as a highend ingredient worthy of culinary exploration, Jamie Evans has done just that, by blending a rich career in wine with a zeal for terpene-rich weed. We connected with Evans to talk about the journey that led her to a career in Cannabis, her books and her new project, Herbacée – a line of Cannabis-infused sparkling wines inspired by French tradition, set to launch this fall.

Jamie Evans

“It’s about thinking about Cannabis as a gourmet ingredient, rather than just something that can get you high.”

-Jamie Evans, The Herb Somm

NEW BUDS ON THE VINE

As with so many people, Evans wound her own unexpected path to the Cannabis world.

Evans, a Certified Specialist in Wine with a Bachelor of Science in Viticulture with a concentration in Wine Business, spent much of her career on the track you’d expect from someone with the degree – working with companies such as Kendall-Jackson, and Folio Fine Wine Partners from industry heavyweight Michael Mondavi.

After the better part of a decade, she came to find that it was difficult to rise in the ranks of the established corporate culture. In 2017, she started turning her view to the blossoming Cannabis industry.

“I really started noticing that Cannabis was becoming such a point of conversation around the Bay Area,” she said. “Especially around the culinary world and Cannabis.”

Evans had some experience with Cannabis, going back to when she was studying the intricacies of wine in college.

“I would come back from my sensory evaluation classes and smell different Cannabis, and I would think, ‘There are a lot of similarities in the way these things smell,’” she said. “I have always been drawn to the way that Cannabis smells.”

In 2017, Evans had been using Cannabis and CBD tinctures to battle trauma-induced insomnia resulting from witnessing a horrible car accident, and had tremendous respect for the healing power of the plant. She decided to attend a Women in Weed conference in the Bay Area, and after seeing so many female entrepreneurs who’d built their futures in Cannabis, she realized she’d found her calling.

A CULINARY ADVENTURE

It all started over dinner. Well, dinners. Plural.

Evans began hosting infused culinary experiences, blending her knowledge of hosting wine events with the pairing potential of Cannabis.

“It’s about thinking about Cannabis as a gourmet ingredient, rather than just something that can get you high,” she said.

Evans worked with chefs to build four-course meals paired with wine and Cannabis, with each pairing inspired by terpene profiles. She would have glasses filled with terpenes, so attendees could pinpoint specific characteristics and leave with a more well-rounded knowledge of the intricacies of the plant.

“Once they make that memory association with a certain smell, then it’s easy to pick it out,” Evans said. “It’s just about training your nose on the different terpenes … I really wanted to bring this concept of pairing, and incorporating Cannabis and food, into a meal. It was just so cool, because about 10 percent of these people who would come to these dinners would come without any Cannabis experience.”

Many attendees who did have Cannabis experience had limited experience – think of that person who ate a super-potent pot brownie in college and never tried it again. With her lower-dose, experience-based meals, Evans was on a mission to unlock the potential of the plant for those people.

A CULTIVATED CALLING

In wine, a sommelier is a certified specialist in wine and wine pairing. It’s an intensely difficult designation to achieve, and a skilled sommelier can elevate an experience from the ordinary to the transcendent. It’s this concept of meticulously considered pairing, curation and creation that Evans hopes to achieve with The Herb Somm. Her first book, “Cannabis Drinks,” was published in April 2021, and explores the world of infused cocktails, made both with and without alcohol.

Evans is thrilled by the concept of low-dose infused beverages that can be shared and experienced the way people have traditionally enjoyed alcohol. That’s why in addition to her books and events, she’s preparing to launch Herbacée – her own line of sparkling non-alcoholic infused wines, blended in the traditions of Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley, Provence and of course, Champagne.

“Wine country is weed country, and weed country is wine country,” Evans said. “What grows together, goes together.”

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Try it at home

Recipe from “Cannabis Drinks” by Jamie Evans

BLACKBERRY GINGER BRAMBLE

Colleen Eversman

Originating in London in the 1980s, the Bramble traditionally incorporates dry gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, crème de mûre (a blackberry liquor), and crushed ice. As an old classic, here’s a fun and refreshing Cannabis- infused blackberry ginger Bramble you can try at home. Rather than using blackberry liqueur, try adding fresh blackberries, then muddle with your ingredients including cannabis-infused ginger simple syrup. Add a splash of ginger beer and an optional dash of bitters for an extra kick of flavor!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup (43 g) fresh blackberries 1 ¼ ounces (37.5 ml) fresh squeezed lemon juice 3/4 ounce (22 ml) dry gin 3/4 ounce (22 ml) Cannabis-Infused Ginger Simple Syrup (find the recipe in the book) Cracked ice Ginger beer Dash of Angostura bitters Blackberry and a lemon twist, for garnish

Preparation:

In a shaker tin, muddle the blackberries with the lemon juice until the berries release their juices. Add the gin and infused simple syrup, then add ice and shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Fill an old-fashioned glass with fresh crushed ice. Place a Hawthorne strainer on the top of the shaker tin, then strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer over the old-fashioned glass to remove the seeds. Top with a splash of ginger beer and a dash of Angostura bitters. Give the drink a stir, then garnish with a blackberry and a lemon twist.

Equipment:

Shaker tin Muddler Old-fashioned glass Hawthorne strainer Fine-mesh strainer

Target Dose:

12 mg CBD | 3 mg THC per drink (using Cannabis-Infused Ginger Simple Syrup, find the recipe in the book) or your preferred dose (using commercially made CBD or THC tincture of your choice).

Credits:

Text © 2021 Jamie Evans – Recipe from Cannabis Drinks: Secrets to Crafting CBD and THC Beverages at Home

Editor’s Note: When mixing Cannabis and hemp products with alcohol, it’s best to proceed with caution and stick to the low side of the dosage range, which is reflected in the recipes found in the cocktail section of Cannabis Drinks. Above all, start low and go slow. See more of Jamie’s cocktail recipes at LeafMagazines.com.