Tis the season to hang up our wide brimmed, sun shielding hats and start cozying up in our chunky knits. The leaves are changing and the overnight frost is real so why not adjust our date nights accordingly and start snuggling up together at home? When I first started dating my partner we absolutely loved staying in, cooking new recipes, and sharing our favorite albums or movies with one another. At the time that we first met, the boyf was a craft cocktail bartender so he had an absolute ball making new inventive libations on these cherished intimate date nights. It’s with this beloved memory that I share with you some professional tips on how to craft cannabis cocktails for a Fall date night that could just be the best night in that you plan all year.

Colorado based Top Shelf Budtending provide classy, well educated budtending services for upscale events like weddings, birthdays, holiday parties, and more. The owner, Andrew Mieure, also specializes in thinking up genius cannabis infused mocktails that are delicious and pretty enough to be at the top of the menu at any craft cocktail bar. Not only did Mieure let us in on some trade secrets in making fabulous, mouth watering cannabis cocktails he also shared a recipe that puts an Autumn twist on a classic cocktail. Explore how to set up a speakeasy for two right in the comfort of our home in this DIY date night for Fall.

Infusing Beverages with Cannabis

There are some important aspects of preparing cannabis cocktails for a social occasion. First, it’s imperative to infuse a component of the drink recipe with a manageable dose of cannabis. Mieure has been loving cannabis infused sugars lately because they are “quick, unbelievably easy and readily available at many dispensaries”. The mocktail expert makes flavored and regular simple syrups using medicated sugars like Ruby Sweets adding carefully measured doses to various cocktail recipes, but he let us know that there are tons of ways to add cannabis to a drink. Most simply we can just add a few drops of tincture or some cannabis sugar to a drink before shaking it, or even soak fruit & veg in a tincture to infuse them with marijuana. Mieure also suggests using the sugar to rim the glass or garnishing the drink with a cannabis edibles like rock candy sticks or even gummies.

Dosing is equally if not more important than infusion method, especially on an intimate night shared between romantic partners. Andrew Mieure recommends starting with 3mg-8mg of cannabis in the first cocktail shared on the date. This isn’t just because of the marijuana, drinkable infusions tend to be more effective. Mieure voiced, “I always err on the side of caution when using cannabis drinkables, as they can be 4-7 times stronger and the euphoric effects can last 2-4 times longer than smoking cannabis.” With this in mind, it’s smart to start slow. If after the first cannabis mocktail we feel our tolerance can withstand more, then we will make the next delicious treat more medicated. Mieure reminds us that it is always a great rule of thumb to remember, “No one person processes cannabis the same and it is always a great idea to start low and go slow to ensure to great experience.”

There are tons of ways to play with ingestible cannabis at the bar and in the kitchen so Mieure suggests “If you are serious about making cannabis cocktails I would highly suggest the book ‘Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics’ by author Warren Bobrow.” adding that, “The attention to detail in the book is incredible. Many of the infusion techniques I learned and use came from that very book.” As legalization continues to sweep the nation products that can be manipulated for infused beverages have become more readily available. Learning from this book can help us stay ahead of the curve and have readily useable knowledge about ingredients and their abilities while at the dispensary.

Libations Fit For Fall

Just like any industry that feeds off of fresh ingredients, the craft cocktail world tends to make seasonal flavor shifts. When we asked former craft cocktail bartender and whiskey enthusiast Josh Lannan about what to expect on a cocktail menu this Fall he told us “The ingredient set is visually darker, using a liquor base of rum or whiskey, and includes flavors like apples and pumpkin” and implores that “cinnamon is definitely prominent in Fall cocktails”. In alignment with this expert advice Mieure let us in on some of the creations that he’s cooked up in the Top Shelf Budtending kitchens this Autumn.

“Lately I have been experimenting with a few different recipes that have really stuck with me.  Some examples include ‘Caramel Apple Martini,’ ‘Caramel Apple Mimosa,’  ‘Spiced Apple Cider,’  ‘Cranberry Martini,’ and the ‘Pumpkin Pie Martini.’” Since Mieure specializes in mocktails he has had a lot of experience in the change that occurs in the texture and taste when alcohol is removed from a classic recipe. Since he loves to expand on age old drinks making them his own he makes sure to let us know, “it is important to try and replicate the original ingredients using similar taste profiles and textures.”

Andrew Mieure cites a flavor set of vanilla, cloves, apples & apple cider, cinnamon, clove, pumpkin and fig as useful Fall flavors. The owner of Top Shelf Budtending adds “Depending on what you mix these with, you can get some really great results. Many of these mix well with other fruit juices, allowing you to create new single cocktails or large batch punches that still taste amazing.” to which he jovially elaborated, “For your cannabis themed holiday party of course!” Following this post check out Andrew Mieure’s very own recipe for a delicious Autumnal play on the class Moscow Mule that is perfectly fit for a cozy night in with our honeys. Mieure cooked this one up just this season in the Top Shelf kitchens and we’re so excited that he’s shared it here on Love and Marij. Make sure to try this one out and tag us in your photos!

Apple Pie Moscow Mule (Mocktail)  

Infused Apple Cinnamon Simple Syrup

100MG THC infused sugar (Ruby Sweets, or similar product)

2 Cups water

2 Cups apple peels

1 1/2 Cups non-infused sugar

4 cinnamon stick

1 pinch of ground ginger

1 pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions:

In a small saucepan add the water and cinnamon sticks.

Bring the water and cinnamon sticks to a boil.  Let simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the cinnamon sticks and apple peels out. Bring the water back to a boil and add the infused and non-infused sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

Allow to cool and place the syrup in an airtight container, where it can be stored in the refrigerator for 20-30 days.

The Mocktail

4 oz apple cider

2 oz cannabis infused apple cinnamon simple syrup

1 bottle ginger beer

cinnamon sticks / apple slices for garnish

Directions:

1. Fill copper moscow mule mugs with ice.
2. In a cocktail shaker, combine the apple cider and simple syrup and give it a good shake.
3. Pour half of the mixture into each mug.
4. Use the bottle of ginger beer to top the mug until full.
5. Garnish using fresh apple slices and cinnamon sticks.
6. Yum!