Dry January is upon us: A month where many abstain from drinking after a wet holiday season. But for people still looking to get a buzz without the booze, more options are popping up all over Raleigh in the form of THC-infused drinks.
It’s already common for restaurants and bars to offer mocktails to patrons, as the sober-curious movement picks up steam. Devoid of alcohol, these drinks still give folks something fun to imbibe while out and about.
“A lot of our guests (and staff) are cutting back on alcohol, but don’t necessarily want to tee-total it yet,” says Lee Robinson, co-owner of Irregardless—one of the first local restaurants to offer THC drink options.
Still alcohol-free, these drinks combine a small dose of delta-8 or delta-9 THC—usually anywhere from 2 mg to 10 mg per drink—with mocktail ingredients. The resulting effect is something similar to drinking an alcoholic drink sans the hangover or negative health effects that have been linked to alcohol use.
“These hemp-derived beverages, especially the low dosage varieties we serve, provide a subtle buzz without the added baggage of extra calories and a hangover,” says Robinson. Irregardless serves a mix of canned options as well as what they call ‘Greentails’— drinks like their lemon shandy which mixes local maker GrooveWagon’s lemon-lime delta8 with earl grey, verjus pineapple, and lime.
A so-called loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill made an important distinction that has opened the door for bars and restaurants to start serving up these drinks. Anything under .3% delta-9 THC is considered industrial hemp and legal at the federal level (and in North Carolina, right now) while anything over that amount is considered marijuana.
“There has been a trend we’ve seen in customers asking for non-alcoholic options, whether it’s in the form of non-alcoholic beer, mocktails, or things like THC or delta-8 drinks,” says Matt Golden, co-owner of Bowstring Pizza & Brewyard. “We really pride ourselves in having a diverse offering to accommodate a wide range of people and their beverage preferences.”
While Bowstring has stocked delta-8 canned drinks for over two years they recently started offering THCA-infused zero-proof cocktails, like their ‘High Times Margarita’ which replaces the tequila with 5 mg of a pre-made THC “spirit” or their ‘Magnifico Mimosa’ using GrooveWagon’s Magnifico Chinotto Citrus in lieu of champagne.
At Whiskey Kitchen downtown, you’ll find their ‘Cozy Sofa’ drink with spiced apple cider, red verjus, and non-alcoholic ginger beer. With 10mg of delta-8 THC it packs a bigger punch than some of the other options in town—something to keep in mind, if you’re new to THC.
“We absolutely believe other spots should consider including these cocktails on their menus,” says General Manager Jared Bouchard, who says that they added this option because they wanted people to have an alternative to alcoholic options. Whiskey Kitchen plans on releasing more options in the coming months.
Lelia Kidd, co-owner of vegan restaurant Element Gastropub, says she first found out about THC drinks from her father-in-law and was blown away by the interest from customers.
“We were not able to keep them on the shelves,” she says of the first time they offered canned THC options, which prompted Kidd and her husband Carey to develop their own custom THC syrup that they use for their extensive ‘canna cocktails’ menu.
The ‘Berrily Legal,’ a refreshing blend of pureed berries, lemon, and citrus soda, is a good way to try the trend, as it only has 2 mg THC. Those looking for a bigger effect can try the aptly named ‘Face Palmer’ with 12.5mg THC + CBD with organic lemonade and ice tea.
Kidd and her husband are also developing their own canned THC drink, called Southern Roots, that will be released later this year.
They’re not the only ones getting into the canning game. Brewery Bhavana will be releasing a THC drink by late spring and last week Trophy Brewing announced their new ‘Starry Eyes’ line of THC seltzers. The first off the line is their strawberry-lime drink with 5 mg delta-9 THC and 5 mg CBD.
Trophy co-owner Chris Powers, who also owns State of Beer, says sales of other types of THC beverages have been “through the roof” at the retail store, which prompted Trophy to make their own version. He also says he and his team “do our best to accommodate people and have beverages for folks in all phases of their lives” at all of their locations.
Whether you’re sober-curious, Cali-sober, doing Dry January, or merely just interested in an alternative to alcohol, the THC drink options in Raleigh are abundant. Remember: While you’ll skip side effects like a hangover, THC can still impair driving, and you’ll still want to call a Lyft after these drinks.
“We weren’t sure if anyone would try [these THC drinks] at all,” Robinson, the Irregardless owner, reflects—but “what we discovered was that everyone across all demographics was looking for something like this.”
To comment on this story email [email protected].
You must be logged in to post a comment.