u/Extreme-Ad8628

I used to work as a sales distributor for a local craft beer company for a couple years, so I spent a lot of time talking with liquor store owners across Massachusetts. One thing I heard consistently was that alcohol sales have been declining year over year since the post-COVID boom. During lockdown, many stores had their best sales ever, but after that, sales started slowing down.

Interestingly, a lot of owners said the only category that gave them a noticeable boost recently was hemp-derived THC beverages. One store owner even told me those drinks accounted for around 18% of their sales at one point. Then Massachusetts regulators stepped in and essentially pulled the category from liquor stores by threatening licenses if they continued carrying them.

Personally, I think the traditional liquor store model feels a bit outdated now. A lot of traditional liquor stores feel transactional and haven’t really evolved much from a customer experience standpoint. The stores that seem to thrive are the more modern specialty/provisions-style shops. Places that combine craft beer, wine, artisanal foods, coffee, sandwiches, non-alcoholic beverages, and a strong community feel. It’s more of an elevated retail experience than just rows of bottles.

I could absolutely see cannabis beverages fitting naturally into that kind of environment long term. Online delivery is convenient, but there’s also something satisfying about discovering a drink on a shelf and grabbing it on impulse.

Part of the reason I became interested in building Bongos Mixtails is to watch these shifts happen in real time and realizing cannabis beverages does have a place in a more community-oriented retail spaces. Curious where everyone else thinks?

I used to prefer distillate over solventless, especially in gummies. A lot of the solventless gummies I tried had a strong weed/rosin taste that overpowered the actual flavor of the gummy, so distillate felt cleaner and easier to enjoy at the time. Back then I was more of a smoker, so I’d usually just grab a pre-roll anyway.

That perspective changed after a conversation I had with someone at a cannabis event. She told me she couldn’t consume products made with distillate extracted using ethanol because she would consistently get an unpleasant head high and migraines afterward. At the time I figured it was just something unique to her body chemistry.

Then later on I had pneumonia and stopped smoking completely for a while after an ER visit. I switched heavily to edibles instead, mostly taking gummies at night to help sleep. That’s when I started noticing the exact same thing she described. The next morning I’d wake up with this lingering, uncomfortable head high that honestly felt similar to a hangover. It wouldn’t fully wear off until later in the afternoon.

Once I switched over to solventless products, the experience felt completely different for me. The effects felt smoother, more enjoyable, and more natural overall. I slept better, woke up feeling clearer, and didn’t have that lingering “off” feeling the next day. Even though solventless products were usually more expensive, the overall experience felt worth it to me whether it was a gummy or a beverage.

Over time I also found brands where the rosin flavor was much more subtle and balanced, and eventually I actually started appreciating some of those flavor notes.

That experience is a big reason why I decided to use solventless ice water hash in my own beverage formulation for Bongos instead of jumping straight to distillate just because most beverage brands use it. I wanted to genuinely enjoy the experience myself, not just formulate around cost or trends.

Curious if anyone else here has experienced something similar with distillate vs solventless? Which do you prefer in drinks or edibles?

I added a couple pics of our Biscotti strain food-grade rosin, courtesy of our master solventless extractor, with photo credit to Mr. Bond420.

Hey everyone! if you’re in Rhode Island, I just launched my cannabis drink: Bongos Mixtails – Fiesta Fuego.

It’s a 2 oz margarita-style mocktail with popping spheres infused with habanero sugar, so you get a nice sweet kick. Each bottle is 10mg THC (from solventless ice water hash). Flavor is clean, tart, and super refreshing.

They’re meant to be fun and easy to drink, and the small format makes them perfect for social settings or just kicking back at home.

Should be hitting dispensary menus within the next week or so...I’ll keep you posted 👀