Psychotropic spirits company Lively Spirits, Los Angeles, said it launched Purejuana, America’s first cannabis spirit brand. Containing no alcohol and produced from 100% fresh, flash-frozen cannabis flower to retain strain-specific flavors, aroma, and psychoactive effects, “Purejuana is a new and all-natural way to create better-for-you craft cocktails without the drawbacks of liquor,” the company said..
Conceived as a plant-derived spirit akin to mezcal or gin, Purejuana is a “top shelf” soluble cannabis powder crafted to be enjoyed in a traditional cocktail or experienced “neat,” dissolved in water, seltzer or soda for a taste of the plant’s unadulterated cannabinoid spectrum.
“A single Purejuana shot packet is the ideal serving for one drink, and with onset times and duration of effects comparable to a single serving of liquor, Purejuana consumers won’t miss the alcohol, the calories, or the hangover,” the company said.
“Without question, the future of the adult beverage sector is cannabis, and the cocktail is a familiar and accessible format ripe for innovation,” said Matt Cohen, Lively Spirits founder and CEO. “With purejuana, we are pioneering a rapidly dissolving dry spirit that delivers a true alcohol replacement, right down to the buzz, without diluting the distinct combination of flavors, aromas and psychoactive effects unique to each cannabis cultivar and the connoisseurs who appreciate them.”
Until now, cannabis-infused beverages sold in the U.S. market have relied on the use of THC distillate, a highly-processed concentrate that strips away the plant’s naturally occurring terpenes and cannabinoids to create an odorless, tasteless extract that produces consistent, unvaried effects – limiting the user to one homogenous high every time.
Purejuana is the first product of its kind to eschew distillate, using proprietary technology to derive full-spectrum THC from fresh, flash-frozen cannabis flower to preserve the integrity of the plant and the natural flavors of each strain.
All Purejuana products are vegan-friendly, gluten-free, low calorie and grown sustainably with organic inputs. At launch, Purejuana is available in five strains – Venom OG, Blue Dream, Super Lemon Haze, Purple Punch and XJ-13 – and sold in 10-count boxes at three color-coded potency levels, with each shotpack comparable to a single alcoholic drink:
Green label – 2.5 mg/packet; 25 mg/box for $19.00
Yellow label – 5 mg/packet; 50 mg/box for $20.50
Red label – 10 mg/packet; 100 mg/box for $22.50
Consumers can also purchase single red-label shotpacks for $2.75 each. Purejuana is available at select dispensaries in Northern and Southern California, with an e-commerce option offering delivery in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
Additionally, Purejuana has partnered with leading bartenders across the United States to develop an initial offering of non-alcoholic cocktail recipes designed to showcase the distinct flavors and aromas of various cannabis strains. The full, ever-growing roster of Purejuana cocktail recipes, from a “Chronic & Tonic” to a “Stoned Fruit Collins” can be found at www.purejuana.com.
Added Cohen, “Each strain is its own spirit, designed to shine in drinks, rather than hiding behind sugars and flavorings. I think it’s going to change the way a lot of people enjoy cannabis in the future.”
Based in California, Purejuana was co-founded in 2020 by cannabis industry veteran Matt Cohen, whose career started at the inception of California’s medical marijuana program in the late 1990s, and Parker Steele.
In 2009, Cohen founded Northstone Organics, which became the first licensed cannabis producer in the state of California until it was abruptly raided and shut down by the DEA in 2011.
As California’s regulatory framework continued to emerge, Cohen went on to co-lead a number of successful cannabis ventures including the Emerald Growers Association, a not-for-profit association of medical cannabis cultivators, business owners, and patients advocating for public policies that foster a more sustainable medical cannabis industry, as well as several major aspects of Harborside, the largest medical cannabis dispensary in the world.
