Former Contributor
I work with cannabis and have done some wild things in life. cocktailwhisperer.com
Mar 15, 2019,03:00pm EDT
Sjoerd Broeks, Director of CultivationWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
Visiting one of the largest sun-grown facilities of cannabis in the USA is terribly humbling to say the very least. There are what we call Seven Wonders of the Earth, but whatever greatness is described as the Natural Wonders, I have to say without any hesitation that the vast, three-hundred and twenty, thousand sq. ft. sun-grown- Dutch Glass Greenhouse at the Pharm, is without a doubt the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It was absolutely stunning. And, in reverence to the universe, the entire sun-grown space is lit by the sun. Each intensely naturally lit day, offering medicine to the plants, and then in turn to consumers. I would also without any hesitation like to be on record, describing myself as cannabis snob. (A burden, I know!) That would mean that I’m probably not known to scoff at cannabis, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve enjoyed the intrinsic experience of smoking really fine cannabis. This would be, in simple terms, getting a buzz, even feeling something. Nothing wrong with that at all. Not to dismiss my New Jersey medical cannabis providers who do a very nice job with the rules as they are in New Jersey. Or the multitude of fantastic micro-craft growers who have tantalized my intellectualism and my verbosity with their hand nurtured wares. All are remarkable because it’s so very hard to be completely objective in this space. It’s not like wine where you can buy it on every corner, and then again it’s exactly like wine, if you live in Arizona.
LovelyWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
Organic materials, biodynamic ideas, fastidious attention to the plants, not as mere weeds, but as part of a broader scope in the universe. This living organism offering potent healing for a multitude of ills. My own personal case, a particularly bad case of glaucoma under control, I’m the poster-child for authenticity in this space, because cannabis as medicine works for me. That cosmic intellectualism that drives this fire in the belly comes from a plant. Over the years other writers gained inspiration from food, or drink, but I chose to find my inspiration in the cannabis that I use. Both for recreational purposes and for intellectual ones. As some come home to a Martini (it had better be gin), I prefer to relax with a particularly fine Indica, woven into a hand-crafted mocktail. Sometimes I use a blend of high CBD strain cannabis along with a lower THC strain cannabis for balance. A brilliant tangle of farm-fresh ingredients, herbal flavors coax others out into view through a melange of interesting combinations. Not the usual or the same old thing, because at this level, anything less than exemplary would be boring. To capture the imagination of the top of the house, the answers have to be easily translated.
In the case of Sunday Goods, every single day should be a good day for living!
Sense of PlaceWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
From the Sunday Goods website: We produce medicinal-grade cannabis to help people feel good. Whether it is relief from pain, a pathway to creativity, or an elevated state for a group of friends, everyone stands to benefit from the liberating power of this plant.
Down on the PharmPHOTO: WARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
When discussing the cream of the crop, the absolutes in life, the air becomes very thin. Everyone in the legal cannabis-growing space wants to occupy that ‘cat-bird seat’ and win every award, to be the very best there is. I’m happy for the ones who chase awards, there are so many of them. Just as I’m happy for those who chase THC, but is higher really better? Try and drill down a bit deeper into the metaphysical to realize that this reasoning is flawed. Just like the principal that we see here in NJ, Tax them (the sick), and they will come… This principal doesn’t encourage the finest product, because there is no financial impetus to do better. They already know how much to make and how much everything costs, then factor in the metric of need. There is very little else that drives excellence in New Jersey. It’s unfortunate, but our cannabis cannot compare to what I tasted in Arizona at Sunday Goods. It took only a small pre-rolled joint. That, and a plethora of other items: rosins-richly textured, chock-full of purity and power. The flowers themselves, European in approach, each enthusiastic pull leads to deeper inhalations, revealing stone fruits and freshly cut desert herbs- rosemary, thyme, sage, cactus flower, toasty oak- oh wait! That’s wine? No my friends, this is ultra-friendly cannabis. And what marvelous cannabis it is. The edibles, perfectly dosed. Household names abound. All success!
without wordsWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
I tried a plethora of flavors and technologies. From the 510 cartridge, gracefully capping my Chief Pipe, to the disposable metal sticks, each filled with an emotion over an oil. I’m working through them slowly, yet each one has a charming aromatic, or terroir. Remarkable products. But what was the most striking is that each one had a uniquely remarkable effect on me. They were individualistic, with vast differences between cultivars. I hadn’t really experienced flavors like these. Earthy, not candy, the true exemplification of the plant, without pretense! There really is nothing being grown in this country that comes close to the experience of this scale. Three-hundred and twenty thousand square feet of Dutch Glass, gleaming under the intrinsic smile of the sun. With that said, there are truly hundreds of worthy artisans in the growing flower space, and opinions are pretty large when it comes to who is the best. But with that said, on this scale- or in just about any other scale, I am convinced that Sunday Goods offers something that no one else can. An almost obsessive requirement for absolute quality. What is not said is the most powerful. If the iChing was translated into a visitor’s guide to cannabis, this would be the physical representation of that potent guidance. Not everything can be perfect, there is trial and error in everything in cannabis. But I’ve never seen a grow that even comes close to this experience. It’s just vast.
It’s just vastWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
A metric that rewards at the bottom of this philosophy of: employee, product, procedure, and finally at the very end- management. I saw smiles on the faces of the greenhouse staff, as if they were sincerely lucky (they knew it!), to have jobs working for such passionate cultivators. This smile passed through each place in the universe of the day to day axiom of work and reward. The reward of producing a flower that is so completely different than anything I’ve ever tasted is magic. The hard work of achieving a conscious healing medium becomes a potent mantra for the deeper understanding of our universe. Cannabis is that medium that brings us together in our tribe. It allows me to open my mind and stimulate my intellect. Cannabis on this level is deeply educational. It teaches us that whatever it is that we are using now is fine,nothing wrong with it. But if you really want to raise the bar, you’ll make time in your busy life to make your way out to Arizona. The rules out there are slightly different depending on where you are from. Yes, you will need a medical cannabis card, but no you will not be able to go into a dispensary to purchase it. But should some make its way into your life, please make it your quest to find Sunday Goods.
BeautyWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
Sunday Goods is available in AZ, SoCal and NorCal https://sundaygoods.com/find-a-store
The GirlsWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
They are even producing many products you may be purchasing in your own dispensaries in California already. Let us just say, they are highly diversified in a vertical integration model. They have the wherewithal to grow the business, yet retain a product set which is undeniably one of the finest in the world. It only took about thirty seconds for me to realize that I knew very little about the good/good, and I have everything to learn. What a tough way to go about learning! Thank you Sunday Goods for teaching me humility in the face of vast successes that are only achieved by hard work. And the flowers that are beyond my wildest dreams.
Your humble authorWARREN BOBROW: IPHONE X
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Warren Bobrow, the Cocktail Whisperer, is the multi-published author of six books. Apothecary Cocktails: Restorative Drinks from Yesterday and Today, Whiskey Cocktails: Rediscovered Classics and Contemporary Craft Drinks, Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails: Restorative Vintage Cocktails, Mocktails & Elixirs, Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails & Tonics: The Art of Spirited Drinks & Buzz-Worthy Libations and his celebrated, 2017 release, The Craft Cocktail Compendium. He also has an edition of Apothecary Cocktails translated into French for the European market. Bobrow led a panel on Cannabis Cocktails for Park Street University at the Berlin Bar Convent in Germany. Bobrow attended the B2B event named:Hall of Flowers in Santa Rosa, California in 2019.
He currently makes his living in the Cannabis Industry having in prior years supported craft spirits focusing on craft Bourbon and unmanipulated rum. Warren has been a rum judge for the Rum XP and the Ministry of Rum having first tasted rum off of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands in the early 1980’s.
Warren appeared on the television show named Viceland Live on February 27, 2019.
He presented at 2018’s SXSW: Disrupting the Cannabis Kitchen and Cannabis Cocktails.
He was the Mercedes-Benz Me Conference Mystery Speaker on Wellness for SXSW 2018.
In 2015, Warren traveled to Moscow where he taught a master class on non-manipulated rum and was the USA master mixologist and national brand ambassador on Mezan Rum- for his then employer, Marussia Beverages.
Bobrow has written articles for Saveur magazine, Voda magazine, Whole Foods-Dark Rye, Distiller, Beverage Media, DrinkupNY and many other national and global periodicals. He has written for SoFAB Magazine at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans and has in the past, written restaurant reviews for New Jersey Monthly. He has also contributed to the Sage Encyclopedia of Food Issues and the Oxford Encyclopedia edition: Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover’s Companion to New York City.
Warren judged the 2016 Asheville, NC, Cocktail Week. Warren was nominated for a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award in 2013. Warren appeared in the Saveur Magazine’s “100” in 2010. He taught a Master Class on un-manipulated rum during the Moscow Bar Show in 2015 and a class on Mocktails and Acidulated Beverages, AKA: Shrubs at Stonewall Kitchen in York Harbor, Maine.
His books consistently lead in overall sales during Tales of the Cocktail held yearly in New Orleans.