Birthday Watermelon Mint Fizz: A Cannabis Mocktail for Every Celebration

(0:00:03) Welcome to episode 357. Today we are talking about cannabis infused mocktails. Your summer sipping game starts here.

(0:00:17) Welcome back, friends. I'm your host, Margaret, a certified Garnier, a TCI certified cannabis educator, and I believe your kitchen is the best dispensary that you'll ever have. Welcome to Bite Me, the show about edibles. Grab a drink and let's get into it. I was originally going to release this episode closer to around the time of my birthday.

(0:00:38) but I switched it up a little bit, but it doesn't really matter because it's also coming out around the time of what would have been my mother's birthday. So, you know, it's a celebration in any event. June also has Father's Day. It's Pride Month. It's summer solstice, longest day of the year.

(0:00:54) Lots of reasons to celebrate. I haven't had a drink since January. Actually, that's not true. Since December 31st, when we did a community tolerance break together in the Bite Me Cannabis Club, and I have to say, I don't miss it. Not even a little bit. Okay, sometimes I do miss a little bit of wine, but not honestly as much as I thought it would. What I do miss is the ritual. The thing you hold in your hand at a party, the drink that says I'm celebrating, the fancy glass with the garnish, the whole production of it.

(0:01:26) And here's something that people don't tell you when you stop drinking. The hardest part isn't the alcohol. It's the social choreography. It's standing at a birthday table, your own birthday table, holding a glass of sparkling water and feeling like you're the only person not in on the joke. But that's where cannabis changes everything, as it does, because your kitchen is the best dispensary that you'll ever have and it makes a damn good bartender too.

(0:01:51) So today's episode is about mocktails, specifically cannabis-infused mocktails, and why I think this is one of the most underrated categories in the edibles world. We've covered drinks on this show before. Some of you have been here for the mojito episode. Some are margaritas, peach, mint tea, seltzer, blackberry, ginger, switchel.

(0:02:11) You showed up for those in a big way. And the feedback was always, this feels like a treat. This feels like something I'd actually make. And we've also had a lot of guests on the show talking about cannabis beverages in the legalized cannabis space, which I also think is a really exciting category. And interestingly, one of the few things I go to a dispensary to actually buy. I do find a lot of them yet overpriced, especially compared to what you might buy if you're buying an alcoholic beverage at the local shop.

(0:02:41) But sometimes I feel like it's a small price to pay. Sometimes when I'm going out and I am often one of the only people not drinking, I can bring a cannabis beverage and it doesn't feel so, you don't feel so singled out, I suppose.

(0:02:56) But that's what we're going to be doing today. We're going back to what works and we're building on it. We're going to give you a brand new recipe that I've been working on this spring. I want to take a minute on something before we get into the recipe because I think the cannabis mocktail concept gets a little bit dismissed in the edibles world and I think that's a mistake.

(0:03:19) When people think about cannabis beverages, they either think about the expensive canned drinks in the dispensary, aforementioned, many of which are fantastic, the ones that cost like eight bucks. And, you know, depending on which ones you buy, I know which ones to buy now, but they might taste like carbonated regret or your grandma's weed tea, which is just hot water poured over decarbonate flour. And honestly, bless her, but we can do better than that.

(0:03:48) The cost is what often gets me though. But what I'm talking about is different. I'm talking about a beautifully made drink that happens to be infused. A drink you'd serve at a dinner party. A drink that has a layer of flavor, a gorgeous garnish, and a measured dose that you'd actually know in advance. And that last part, of course, matters more than anything else. But one of the things I come back to again and again on this show is that dosing is the whole game.

(0:04:11) That's why I made the Bite Me dosage calculator free, and that's why the Bite Me edibles dose diary exists. I also have the edibles journal, a physical journal as well, that you can track your batches, your doses, your experience, and actually build a body of knowledge about how your body specifically responds to cannabis. And drinks can be a little bit trickier than solid edibles for one specific reason, and that's the base.

(0:04:37) When you're making a batch of cookies, the cannabis fat is distributed evenly across however many servings you get out of that batch, ideally. When you're making a drink, you need a consistent infused base, usually a simple syrup and infused honey and infused oil if it's blended into a drink, and you need to know exactly how much of that base is going into each glass.

(0:04:59) And this is actually one of the main things that comes up in the spilling the teapot episode where I went inside beverage formulation with someone who does this professionally. Shout out to Dan over at Teapot. And I do like the teapot and the Emeril Hour beverages that you can buy at the local dispensary. Now both made with rosin and not a distillate. So those are a couple of my go-tos when I do go to the dispensaries here in Ontario, Canada.

(0:05:28) Precision is everything. And the good news is you don't need a lab or a commercial kitchen to get there. You just need to start from a known base. I've covered magical, medicated, rich, simple syrup on the show. That episode still gets a regular downloads, which tells me that some of you are using it. A lot of you

(0:05:46) are using it if you haven't made a medicated simple syrup yet it's actually your first step and it's the most versatile infused ingredient you can keep in your fridge especially if you're going to be using it in cold drinks hot drinks it works well into sparkling water cocktails mocktails salad dressings anywhere where you'd use sweetness you can use it and that recipe I got from Warren Bobrow he was one of the first five people I interviewed for this show a long time ago I

(0:06:11) when I was just starting out. Bless him for taking a chance on a completely unknown podcaster in the cannabis space. And he's still out there and he has made his own beverage. He comes from the alcohol industry and then switched to cannabis. I would love to try his beverage one day, but alas, he's in the US and I am in Canada and can't get access to it. But a big shout out to Bob who shared this recipe with me and gave me permission to share it.

(0:06:38) When you're making your drinks yourself, you control the dose. And that's partly what taking control of your high life actually means. It's not a slogan. It is a practical instruction, but also a slogan. I want to share something with you because I think it's actually pretty useful. I look at my episode stats, not obsessively, because...

(0:07:02) I'm a niche podcaster in a cannabis space competing with podcasters who have

(0:07:10) big budgets, big studios, and even bigger money behind them. And I don't know if you've noticed, I don't really do ads all that often, if ever, for a lot of reasons, because one, I'm still relatively small, but two, I like to choose carefully who I do promote on this show for a lot of different reasons. You're not going to find draft kings or sports betting or mattress ads on here ever.

(0:07:36) But the drink episodes that have performed the best over the years have a few things in common. And one of the first is that they're approachable. The summer margaritas episode, the mojito episode, Brazilian lemonade, which was a really popular TikTok trend a couple of years ago, a couple of summers ago, I think. I need to revisit that. None of these require obscure ingredients or advanced techniques. They're drinks people already know how to imagine drinking. The cannabis is an enhancement, not the whole identity of the recipe.

(0:08:03) And second, they build on infused bases that listeners have already made. The simple syrup, the infused honey, the infused oil, the best drink recipes on this show work because the infrastructure is already in your fridge. You already have the infusion pantry. And third,

(0:08:23) And this one surprised me a little bit when I thought about it, but the non-alcoholic versions consistently perform as well or as better than the cocktail versions. The peach mint tea seltzer, the lemon ginger soda, the blackberry ginger switzel, pure mocktails, big numbers.

(0:08:41) And that tells me something important about who you are and what you're building in your kitchen. And a lot of you are already living a cannabis forward alcohol optional lifestyle. You're not replacing alcohol with cannabis because you have a problem. You're choosing a different relationship with how you feel, how you socialize and how you take care of yourself.

(0:08:58) And I think that's worth talking about it because that's actually a big deal. And I know one of the reasons why I'm taking this experimental break, who knows when I'll go back to alcohol. Maybe I will have another glass of wine one day. I don't know. But I do know as I've gotten older, my relationship with alcohol has changed. My feelings about it have changed. And also the science on it is changing and not necessarily in a positive way. But most markedly is how it's affecting me, especially at...

(0:09:29) certain amounts and that doesn't have to be very much. It just doesn't make me feel good the same way. And on another note, I was looking for good mocktail recipes. I asked one of my daughters because she has been a bartender for a long time.

(0:09:45) I know that she has seen a lot of drinks. She's working at a really cute little bar right now where they just came out with a whole new cocktail menu and that bar also does mocktails as well. I asked her, are there any drinks that work particularly well

(0:10:00) a mocktail and her response was the best mocktails are their own drinks and i love that answer i mean it's nice to have an infused mojito that's alcohol free but oftentimes the best non-alcoholic drinks are something completely outside of the realm of the world of alcohol so with that friends

(0:10:26) It is celebration drink time. And this is what I've been making this spring. And it's going to be a staple throughout the summer. And I'm calling it the birthday watermelon mint fizz. And it checks every box I care about. It's beautiful. It's delicious without the cannabis. It scales easily. And the dose is completely predictable. And here's what you're going to need.

(0:10:46) You're going to need fresh watermelon juice, about a cup of cubed watermelon blended and strained, or just blended if you like it with a bit of pulp. You're going to need a tablespoon of medicated simple syrup in your preferred dose. You're going to need lime juice.

(0:11:03) Four to six fresh mint leaves, sparkling water, a pinch of sea salt, ice, and for your garnish, maybe a small watermelon wedge, a sprig of mint, a lime wheel. Go ahead and be as fancy as you want. It's your birthday. Or it's my birthday. Or it's someone else's birthday that you care about. Or it's Pride Month. Or it's Father's Day.

(0:11:27) or summer solstice. There's so many reasons to celebrate in June, and there's also lots of reasons to celebrate any time of the year when it's hot.

(0:11:35) So how do you make it? You muddle your mint leaves gently at the bottom of your glass. You're not pulverizing them. You just want to bruise them enough to release the oils. A few gentle presses with a muddler or the back of a spoon is all it takes. You're going to add your ice. Pour in the watermelon juice, the lime juice, and the medicated simple syrup. Give it a gentle stir. Top with sparkling water.

(0:11:58) You don't need to stir after this if you want to keep the fizz and then taste it. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt if it feels like something that needs more complexity. It often does. Garnish and serve. Now the dosing math. If you're using a medicated simple syrup with a known potency, you should know your potency because that's the whole point of making it yourself. One tablespoon will give you a predictable dose and I'm not going to tell you what that number should be because your tolerance, your body, your goals are your own.

(0:12:24) You always have access to the Bite Me dosage calculator to work it out before your first batch. And what I will tell you about a low dose version of this drink, think 2.5 to say 5 milligrams of THC, maybe a little CBD to take the edge off.

(0:12:39) is one of the nicest way to spend a birthday afternoon that I've ever discovered. No hangover, no morning regret, just a really good afternoon. And if you're doing micro doses, it also means if you want to top up, you want to have another one, you can do that. Now, of course, a micro dose is going to be different, again, from person to person, but I'm using that as an example here.

(0:13:01) Because I have personally found that my own personal dose has decreased significantly since the tolerance break and since giving up alcohol. I wonder if those are related. That is a question I need to answer. And maybe I will find the answer for the listener Q&A that I'm putting together. Submit your questions.

(0:13:24) So let's talk about setting yourself up for summer of good sipping, because I think a few core ingredients in your fridge will make this whole category way more fun. So first of all, of course, is your medicated simple syrup. Make a batch, know your dose, use it in everything. The nice thing, of course, is when you make a batch, you have it for multiple drinks. So it's a make once, use multiple times kind of scenario.

(0:13:48) Infused honey. This one shows up differently than syrup. It's thicker. It has its own flavor. It works beautifully in anything floral or fruity. Wildflower honey with CBD for daytime, something more potent for evening use, but you do you. Fresh citrus juice and not from a bottle, though I will say as much as if you know you're going to be making a lot of drinks,

(0:14:09) Having a few fresh limes and lemons around is a smart idea and I will probably be doing that moving forward now that we're getting into summer. Otherwise, most of the other times of year I will buy lemon or limes and if I don't use them right away for something, I usually end up tossing really hard.

(0:14:26) limes out of the fridge so I always do have organic lemon and lime juice in my fridge as well maybe not quite as ideal but I buy the organic and I figure it's there when I need a little citrus pick me up

(0:14:41) Sparkling water, plain or lightly flavored. It's the backbone of half the mocktails that you'll be making. I do like to go get the unflavored personally. I never find the flavored ones. I mean, I do drink them. I do enjoy them. But if I'm making my own drinks, I want a good sparkling water.

(0:15:00) Fresh herbs. Mint is the obvious one. Basil is underrated in drinks and it works beautifully with strawberry or watermelon. Rosemary with lemon and sparkling water is a revelation if you haven't tried that before. And if you are going into your summer months and you can, throw some fresh herbs out in a pot on your deck where it gets some sun.

(0:15:19) And that can go a long way because I hate nothing more than buying mint in a plastic clamshell package where I use some sprigs and then the next time I go to use it, it's a slimy mess and I have to toss the whole thing. You can avoid that. I've also considered growing some fresh herbs in my grow tent with my cannabis as well in the wintertime so I can have access to that all year round. Worth a thought.

(0:15:43) a muddler so that's one tool that costs about 10 bucks and it can make a real difference and it's something that i need to add to my own toolkit i don't have one i do have a shaker i do have a like a drink drink shaker but i don't have a muddler

(0:15:56) So that's something I'm going to be thinking about getting myself. That's the toolkit, basically. Everything you need to make a summer's worth of beautiful dosed drinks already in a grocery store and in your own infused pantry. And for more on building that pantry with reliable infusion staples, I did a whole episode on that. Build a smart infusion pantry with five reliable staples. I'll link it in the show notes.

(0:16:20) So I want to close today with something a little personal is because I did switch the episodes around when I first wrote this episode outline. My birthday has passed actually at this point because I did switch these episodes. I did switch a couple episodes, but I've been doing this show since 2019.

(0:16:40) so now what would i say this was 300 episode 356 and one of the things i've watched evolve in myself in the community and in the broader conversation around cannabis is how we think about what getting high actually is for and when i started this show the story was mostly about food the edibles the technique the recipes and that's still at the core of everything we do here but underneath something bigger has always been happening

(0:17:04) And of course, naturally, when you start any show on a topic, you're going to start with the basics, like the techniques and the recipes. People are renegotiating their relationship with how they feel and what they put in their bodies and why. Who do they want to be at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, at a birthday party, at a holiday dinner with a family who has complicated feelings about all of this?

(0:17:29) And the mocktail is maybe the most honest version of that renegotiation. It's a choice that says, I want the ritual without the alcohol. I want to feel good on my own terms. I want a beautiful drink in a beautiful glass. And I know exactly what it's going to do to me. And that's not a compromise. That's actually the whole point. I was recently at a cooking competition and

(0:17:55) where there were six chefs competing for the top spot. So you think you can cook with Cannabis Ontario Edition. And one of the most interesting aspects about being a spectator at that competition was watching in particular how all the chefs opted to make a beautiful cannabis-infused beverage.

(0:18:18) And the presentation, they all chose beautiful glasses. The drinks were really remarkable. For this birthday, I made myself a watermelon mint fizz. I put it in the fanciest glass that I own. And I sat outside and I drank it slowly. And I felt exactly as good as I planned to feel.

(0:18:34) and i know i'll be making a lot more watermelon mint fizzes over the summer because i do have mint growing in my pot and who doesn't love watermelon in the summertime i appreciate you for being here friends for all the episodes all the questions the years of community this show has really been one of the best things that has happened in my life

(0:18:52) It was really kind of unexpected when I started this show seven years ago. I mean, many people start things not really knowing where it'll end up, but here we are together. So with that, my friends, I'm your host, Margaret. And until next time, stay curious and stay high.