It’s time to celebrate the end of the year with good friends and a glass of bubbly. This year, try out a cannabis infused champagne recipe, to really get the party started.
Can you infuse cannabis into alcohol?
For some reason, which is generally not made clear, cannabis industries are nearly 100% non-alcoholic. Any place you can legally use or buy weed, generally won’t sell alcohol, and places that sell alcohol, don’t allow cannabis use. Something could certainly be said for simply not wanting people to get too intoxicated by mixing substances; but for the most part, there isn’t much reasoning attached to this segregation.
I will say it is true that after drinking a lot, a few hits off a joint truly can spell disaster in the form of a spinning room and intense nausea. However, rarely in my own experience has this happened, and for the most part, I rather like mixing the two. As of yet, I’ve never actually tried a product that contained both, but these basic cannabis infused champagne recipes will change that this year.
As it happens, alcohol is one of the best products to infuse with cannabis. In fact, alcohol is used to make cannabis tinctures – alcoholic extractions, because alcohol is so good at leaching out the active compounds of the plant, without destroying them. Every time you take a few drops of a tincture, you’re consuming some high proof alcohol at the same time (unless it’s a glycerin tincture). So it automatically suffices to say that the two can go together, and one does not ruin the other.
Cannabis infused sparkling champagne recipe
This first recipe requires just a few ingredients, and can be made with or without cannabis. For those who want just the champagne recipe, simply leave out the green. The recipe consists of these four ingredients:
- 1 oz. simple syrup (sugar and water solution)
- 1 oz. lemon juice
- 1 oz. cannabis-infused gin
- 4–5 oz. champagne or sparkling wine
- Simply combine the simple syrup, lemon juice, and cannabis infused gin.
- Shake it hard for around 10 seconds, and strain into glass of your choice.
- Top it off with the champagne or sparkling wine. And add a lemon twist garnish if you really want to get fancy. That’s it, you’re done!
Cannabis infused mimosa
Are you a mimosa lover? The standard mimosa is a combination of champagne and citrus juice, generally orange juice. For those who want to toast to the new year holding one of these, you can use the following recipe for a weed-enhanced version. Plus, this recipe gives the basis for making many other infused drinks. All you need are the following ingredients:
- 1/8th of weed (3.5 grams)
- 1 bottle of vodka
- Citrus juice of your choice
- Banana liqueur
- First you’ll decarboxylate your weed. As there are different ways to do this, and everyone has their own preferences, I won’t go further into specific instructions.
- Take the weed, wrap it in cheese cloth (or alternatively panty hose if cheese cloth cannot be found), and place the weed into the bottle of alcohol. Leave the weed to soak for 24 hours.
- This particular recipe calls for juicing four oranges, but you can use store bought juice, and generally any citrus juice is accepted. Pour it halfway up your champagne flutes.
- Add a tablespoon of the cannabis-infused vodka to each glass.
- Fill the glass the rest of the way with champagne.
- Top off with banana liqueur.
- The recipe also calls for rimming the glass with a mix of sugar and banana liqueur. To do so, put sugar in one bowl, the liqueur in the other, and do a standard glass rim job. Add garnish.
Bubbly Blue Dream cocktail
Yet another cannabis infused champagne recipe will have you seeing blue…at least in your glass. For this recipe you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 1 oz. cannabis-infused blueberry syrup (separate instructions below)
- 2 oz. vodka
- 1/2 oz. blue curaçao
- 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
- Champagne or sparkling wine
To make the infused blueberry syrup, you’ll need the following:
- 1 cup blueberries – either frozen or fresh
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 gram ground and decarboxylated cannabis
Combine the blueberries, water, and sugar in a saucepan and put on medium heat. The blueberries will burst in the heat and the whole mixture thickens. At this point add in the weed and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain out the weed particles with mesh sieve or cheesecloth, and allow to cool. Now you’re ready for the real recipe.
- Use a shaker filled with ice, and put in the infused blueberry syrup, vodka, blue curaçao, and lemon juice.
- Shake it all, and then strain directly into cup (champagne flute or otherwise).
- Top it off with champagne or sparkling wine. And if you like, add some blueberries as a garnish for a finishing touch.
As with any form of edible making, its best to start with a lower dose of infused syrup to ensure you don’t overdo it. Raise the amount as you see fit for your own needs.
Sonoma Style champagne cocktail
I’m adding in this final recipe, but it certainly requires a bit more than the others. The reason is because you must first make cannabis bitters, before you can get to the actual recipe. However, once that part is done, there’s not too much to it. To make the bitters, you need several things. However, if you already have a recipe for this, or want something simpler, do that instead. You’ll need the following:
- ¼ cup dried cherries
- 2 tbsp dried orange peel
- 1 vanilla bean
- 5 cardamom pods, cracked
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ¼ gentian root
- ¼ tsp orris root
- ¼ tsp horehound
- ¼ tsp angelica root
- ¼ tsp dandelion leaf
- 7 grams decarboxylated cannabis
- 2 cups high-proof rye
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp simple syrup
Put all ingredients in mason jar except for last three. Pour rye over it, and cover everything. Then store it in a cool, dark place for two weeks (yup, got to do some planning for this one.) Make sure to shake your jar daily. Strain after two weeks, and cover.
Take the rest and put in saucepan, cover with water, and heat to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. This is also put in a mason jar and stored for one week, with daily shaking. Strain with cheesecloth after one week, and add to other mixture. Then add in simple syrup, and shake. Three more days of waiting come next, then strain, and you’re good to go. Luckily this produces quite a bit, so it doesn’t have to be done frequently.
The regular recipe is quite simple in comparison. It requires three ingredients, including the cannabis bitters; with the option of a lemon twist garnish:
- 1 sugar cube
- 2-4 dashes of bitters
- Champagne or sparkling wine
- Garnish: lemon twist
- Cover the sugar cube with the bitters
- Put in champagne flute and top it off with sparkling wine.
- Add garnish
Conclusion
If you’re going at it without alcohol, here are some tips for getting through the holiday season sober. However, if alcohol and weed are both your things, these recipes can help you put the two together to create an extra smooth ride, for when you raise your glass to ‘Cheers!’
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