Cann Blood Orange Cardamom Hi-Boy
Up first on deck for our Cannalier team’s review: Cann’s Blood Orange Cardamom Hi-Boy.
Los-Angeles based Cann was founded by Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson with a goal to “give up the booze, not the buzz.” Cann dubs its THC beverage a “social tonic,” with the company summing up its mission as being to change the future of social drinking by bringing “an alternative to alcohol that delivers the same, uplifted buzz we’ve all come to love – without the negative side effects like hangovers, regrets & wasted calories.”
Cann offers both its 2 MG THC Cann and 5 MG THC Hi-Boys in five core flavors: Pineapple Jalapeño, Ginger Lemongrass, Blood Orange Cardamom, Lemon Lavender, and Grapefruit Rosemary:
What's Inside?
Cann’s label states that is has “simple, all-natural ingredients,” with its website noting that the brand concentrates on five core ingredients for its THC infused beverages: sparkling water, fresh juice, all-natural herbal flavor, 100% Mexican agave, and THC and CBD distillate. Disclosed ingredients on the Blood Orange Cardamom Hi-Boy label include carbonated water, blood orange juice, agave nectar, industrial hemp extract, and natural cardamom flavor.
What are natural flavors, you ask? Natural flavor is defined by the FDA as:
the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymyolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf, or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutrition.
Here, we suspect that Cann is using pure cardamom extract comprised of ethyl alcohol, cardamom oil, and water. As for the industrial hemp extract, you’ll net 5 milligrams of hemp-derived THC and 10 milligrams of CBD per Hi-Boy. Generally, CBD forward formulations tend to lead to a more relaxing user experience. Cann’s Hi Boy comes in at 50 calories per 12 fluid ounce can, with 12 grams total sugars. Of those 12, nine grams are added sugars.
User Experience
Packaging
Our team was impressed with Cann’s overall packaging and design. The exterior can is of sturdy construction; yet, it maintains a lightweight feel as quality aluminum cans should. Our panel noted that Cann is digitally printing its labels directly onto their can, unlike many of its fellow competitors. Digital printing of the label directly onto the aluminum can ensures the user gets a seamless can, which not only lends to comfortability in the hand, but to a sophisticated exterior label wrapped around the girth of the entire can.
We loved the monochromatic theme of the two oranges imposed together, with the blood orange reminiscent of well, a blood orange. The minimalist aesthetics of the elemental graphic cardamom seeds interspersed among the blood orange slices were a nice nod to the claimed flavor profile.
What’s Inside
We immediately detected strong citrus notes followed by a hint of spicy cardamom. Our panel agreed that this beverage had high olfactory satisfaction for the team.
The beverage itself is opaque, with a light golden peach clouded formulation:
We were surprised by the tan peach tones on pour, as we would expect a natural blood orange extract to present with a darker red coloring.
On tasting, our panel found that the slight forward citrus notes were overborne by the carbonation. We were expecting a more pronounced blood orange flavor, and found the tangy, rich flavor normally expected from blood orange to be severely lacking. Initially, each sip had a pleasant peppery warm aftertaste due to the cardamom; however, the novelty waned with an unpleasant chemical after taste, which we suspect was the distillate used in the beverage.
Efficacy
Cann claims that one Hi Boy has a similar effect to a martini or a double IPA and claims that its effects will last for 45 minutes, which may vary per drinker:
Within times ranging from ten to fifteen minutes, the Cannalier team agreed that Cann’s Hi-Boy Blood Orange Cardamom THC beverage led to a very mild, relaxing feeling, most likely due to its 2:1 CBD to THC formulation. This means that Cann’s Hi-Boy contains twice as much CBD as delta-9 THC. The increased CBD content in this formulation helps mitigate the impact of the delta-9 THC, leading to a more balanced experience.
While Cann tells drinkers to expect the effects of a martini or double IPA, we disagree — to an extent. Brand new consumers who have never experienced THC may experience an effect similar to a full martini. Casual cannabis consumers are more likely to be less effected by a 5 MG THC serving. In alcohol terms, we would liken this effect for more frequent cannabis consumers to enjoying a glass of red wine after a long day.
Pictured: Cann Hi-Boy Blood Orange Cardamom with Red Sugar Rim, Rosemary, and Blood Orange Garnish
Sessionability
Sessionabilty is an industry term that refers to a beverage’s overall quality that makes it easy to drink over an extended period of time. Sessionable beverages don’t overwhelm the drinker; to the contrary, a sessionable beverage leaves the drinker desiring more.
At the heart of whether a THC beverage is sessionable is whether a consumer chooses to continue drinking after the first few sips. A highly sessionable beverage is one that the drinker would immediately follow up with another can. With seltzers, sessionability can be difficult due to the delicate balance required to offset carbonation.
Here, our panel found sessionability lacking. The body of the drink was weighted down by heavy carbonation, the hint of blood orange was insufficient, and an unnatural aftertaste after several sips presented. None of our panelists noted that they would be inclined to pursue a second drink, and for that reason alone, Cann’s Blood Orange Cardamom Hi-Boy was not rated as sessionable by our panel.
The Rating
We chose Cann as the first THC infused beverage to review under our proprietary THC Beverage Quality Index due to its status as an early market entrant in this brand new THC beverage category. They made a splash – and so are we, as the industry’s first THC beverage review site led by a team of seasoned sommeliers, cannabis connoisseurs, and beverage specialists.
Without further ado, our panel awarded Cann’s Blood Orange Cardamom 2.0 Cannaliers.
Cann gained points from the panel on its aesthetically pleasing packaging and can quality. While points were awarded for meeting the claimed flavor profile, the lackluster blood orange left us wanting more. One panelist summed up Cann’s Blood Orange Cardamom Hi-Boy by noting, “I was able to finish the can on this one, which is more than I can say for some our upcoming beverages.”
Until next time.
Cheers,
