By: Danielle Davis
West Hollywood restaurants, Gracias Madres and Cafe Gratitude, have added CBD cocktails to their menus.
Ooh Marijuana, that sweet seductress we all know and love, captivating our hearts and minds for decades. I can picture it now, Hippies sparking a doobie at Haight Ashbury in the 60s, college coeds taking a fat bong load in the 90s and a bearded hipster walking the street in a perpetual electronic vaping cloud just yesterday. Now there is something even more next level; cannabis infused cocktails! Yes, I said it. Jason Eisner, bartender extraordinaire, has created three signature cocktails, especially for restaurants Gracias Madres and Gratitude. All laced with the unmistakable essence of the ganja plant. A Frankenstein’s creation, forged from two vices we hate to love. I can’t wait to try one!
The epic experience you may be thinking will occur, won’t. But the reality of it is pretty great in its own right. Instead of THC, which is still illegal despite what we all may think, Eisner uses legal organic CBD (Cannabidiol) oil. This oil is extracted from the stalk of the marijuana plant, rather than the from the flower, like the THC. What’s intriguing is the oils don’t get you high in the traditional psychotropic sense, the cannabidiol gives you a feeling of warm fuzziness uplifting your spirits. The oils also provide anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory and anti-depression effects.
What you’ll also like are the assorted and delicious flavors. Eisner has an eye for culinary creativity, and in this case, they all comes with a Latin twist. Stoney Negroni is a concoction of gin, vermouth, and Contratto Aperitvo. He flips the script on the Tequila Sour, creating the Sour T-iesel complete with vegan egg white substitute. And lastly, my favorite, the Rolled Fashion, it’s an Old-Fashioned with mezcal añejo-bourbon, Mmmm! If these don’t already sound amazing, don’t forget the pièce de résistance, the oils. Each cocktail is topped off with tiny floating globules of citrus, vegetal or herbaceous noted cannabis oil. These drinks hit another level. I’m smitten, lucky for me I live just a stone’s throw away from these restaurants, so I will definitely treat myself to a cannabis cocktail this weekend.
