TL;DR:
Learn to create delicious, THC-infused drinks at home using cannabinoid tinctures and syrups. This guide covers flavor pairing tips, recipes, and product recommendations for a balanced and enjoyable drinking experience.
Main Points:
- Overview of THC-infused drinks, their effects, and how they differ from smoking or vaping.
- Basic steps and ingredients needed to make THC-infused drinks at home.
- Simple recipes and flavor pairing tips for crafting balanced cannabinoid cocktails.
Cannabinoid drinks are having a moment. These delicious and potent drinks have gone from a little-known option for enjoying cannabinoids to an incredibly popular choice.
Of course, you can buy THC-infused drinks. But what if you want to take a DIY approach and make a cannabinoid drink that rivals a craft cocktail?
We’re here to help you learn how to make THC-infused drinks, from sharing recipes to walking through creating your own concoctions.
How to Make THC Infused Drinks: A Guide
Understanding THC Drinks: What to Know First
Drinking cannabinoids, whether it’s Delta 8, HHC, or any other single cannabinoid or blend, produces effects similar to all other methods of consumption. In other words, the elevated mood, increased sense of creativity, and feeling of relaxation you get from smoking or vaping will also be delivered by THC-infused drinks.
The major difference is in the length of the effects, as well as the timing of their onset and end. With vaping and smoking, the effects kick in in seconds or minutes. It’s a quick come-up and a shorter duration overall.
THC-infused drinks are much more similar to eating edibles than smoking or vaping. Cannabis-infused drinks, like edibles, take longer to kick in and have a much more gradual onset and end of effects.
The major factor that makes THC beverages unique is that they get to work somewhat faster than edibles. In general, it takes the body less time to absorb a liquid than a solid.
Based on user reports, we know that most cannabinoid and cannabis-infused beverages take about 15 minutes to 30 minutes to start working, and their effects last for a few to several hours. Edibles, on the other hand, take about 30-90 minutes to get to work, as Harvard Health Publishing explains.
One last thing to keep in mind before we take a closer look at how to make THC drinks: legality. Legally, at least on the federal level, the term “cannabis” refers to hemp plants containing more than 0.3% Delta 9 THC by dry weight. Hemp is used when that content is below 0.3%.
Many other cannabinoids aren’t Delta 9 but have similar effects. These cannabinoids aren’t restricted under federal law, although some states and municipalities restrict or ban them. In practical terms, that means you can order a variety of cannabinoid drinks and the ingredients to make them in most states, even those where cannabis is illegal.
The Basics of How to Make THC Infused Drinks at Home
Cannabinoid tinctures (many of which are actually oils but are commonly called tinctures, as Healthline explains) and syrups are the easiest way to make THC drinks at home. We’ll explore recipes in the next section, but for now, let’s focus on the general concept.
The basic idea won’t change from one recipe to the next. By adding an oil or syrup to liquid and flavorings, you can create a THC-infused drink. However, that’s only part of the process.
You don’t just want a drink that delivers the effects of cannabinoids — you want a beverage that tastes good as well. It’s important to check out tinctures and syrups before you buy them to find the right flavor profile.
Some tinctures have mild or relatively neutral flavors, with most of their taste coming from the carrier oil used to hold the cannabinoids. Others have stronger flavors, whether due to the manufacturing process or because of added flavorings. Syrups normally have a flavor, whether it’s mint, fruit, or another taste profile.
Flavor isn’t a bad thing by any means. However, you also don’t want to have flavors in a homemade THC-infused drink that clash or compete with one another.
Our advice is to look at the product description of the tincture or syrup you want to buy to make sure you understand the flavor profile it offers. Or, you can simply buy your syrup or tincture first, then get other ingredients — juice or other beverages, flavored syrups, garnishes, etc. — that pair well with it.
Simple Cannabinoid Drinks: Recipes and Inspiration
The simplest cannabinoid drink is homemade THC water. How do you make THC water? At the risk of being too obvious, you simply add a dose of syrup or tincture to a glass of water. That’s simple and functional but often not particularly tasty.
A note on dosing, since it’s very important for making THC-infused drinks: Pay attention to what the packaging of your syrup or tincture suggests and start with a smaller dose instead of a larger one. You don’t want an experience that is too intense, and you can always make a second drink if your first one leaves you wanting more.
Looking for basic THC-infused drink recipes to get you started? We share some simple yet delicious recipes in this blog about THC drinks, which mainly use the flavor of the major ingredient (coffee, lemonade, ginger beer, or cola) to balance out the flavor of the syrup or tincture.
If you’re looking for a little inspiration but want to make your own unique THC-infused drink, here are some tips:
- The Spruce Eats offers a long list of flavors that work well together. If you have a flavored syrup, tincture, or mixer, look for a complementary flavor. For example, mint pairs very well with blackberry, blueberry, coconut, lemon, and strawberry, among others.
- If you find the flavors of a drink are too strong, adding a little ice, water, or unflavored seltzer is an easy way to balance those flavors out.
- A little bit of citrus, like a touch of lemon juice or lime juice, can make a drink brighter and balance out its sweetness.
- Does your cocktail need to take the edge off a bitter or sour flavor? Add a sugar cube, simple syrup, or a sweetened mixer.
- A few dashes of bitters can enhance warm flavors and take the edge off of a too-sweet drink, too.
The Best Syrups and Tinctures for Homemade THC Drinks
Delta 8 Resellers is proud to bring you the very best syrups and tinctures from leading industry brands. Whenever available, we share the results of independent lab testing for our products on their individual product pages, so you can check out their quality, purity, and potency for yourself.
Want an infused drink that’s ready to enjoy right out of the can or bottle? Check out our selection of infused drinks!
