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Jarod "Roilty" Farina's path toward private cannabis chef was nothing if not organic. After making pot brownies and working at the front of restaurants in his twenties, Farina began both making hash and training in fine cuisine. Then came awards and appearances on TV shows, and Dine With Roilty was born. Now a French-trained chef specializing in cannabis-infused meals, Farina helps people discover the joys of eating THC through dishes like microdosed chicken wings, pasta, ceviche and crab rangoons. Foodies and aspiring cooks can sign up for three- to seven-course options at their home for Farina's private dinners or classes, with basic, advanced and online options available. Rookies at both infusion and cooking will find Chef Roilty's recipes and techniques — some of which are shared on his website — approachable and easy to replicate, and he's happy to go over food requests and dietary restrictions. Whatever you're hungry for, the Roil treatment is en route.
Most THC drinks and a handful of weed gummies are free of animal products, but any vegan weed-muncher trying to steer clear of sugar is in for a challenge, as there are very few edibles of any kind that aren't heavy on sweets. Step into the right dispensary, though, and a vegan THC treat can be on the table for dinner tonight. Denver edibles maker Alchemy Food's entire lineup is vegan and gluten-free, with dessert bites made from ingredients like medjool dates, raw almonds, oats and coconut oil. However, those desiring a more savory or less sugary vegan meal need look no further than Alchemy's canna-coconut oil. The infused coconut oil has 100 milligrams of THC, and can quickly put the "green" in green curry on a boring night. Alchemy will even help you make the dish, offering recipes via email to anyone who sends the company proof of purchase.
Most of us prefer to let the professionals make our edibles, but it's always fun to cook your own. Thanks to Sweet Grass, one of Colorado's oldest adult-use cannabis bakeries, you can control your own edibles domain without having to break a sweat over the infusion process. The brand's sticks of THC butter, each infused with 100 milligrams, are divided into ten tablespoons, allowing you to make breakfast, lunch or dinner as you normally would, but with a much different outcome. Made with plant matter instead of THC distillate, cannabutter edibles carry a fuller high than most gummies on the market, and you can always mix in non-infused butter if 10 milligrams per tablespoon is too much. Eggs, cookies, brownies and even coffee can all handle the spike, and your tastebuds will approve, too, as long your cooking skills keep up.
Pre-rolled joints provide an easy outlet for hiding subpar flower and trim, but they're not all out to get you. Actually, let us rephrase that: Malek's Kaiser Rolls are out to get you...really stoned, that is. A line of fatty-bombatties from wholesale grow Malek's Premium Cannabis, these bad boys are filled with herb that came from buds, not the bottom of the trimming barrel. Founder Malek Noueiry likes to fill his 1.75-gram behemoths with popular strains and his own creations, from Gorilla Glue and Grease Monkey to Panther Piss and Panda Puffs, then stick a rotini noodle at the end as a crutch to block any loose plant matter — a move very much appreciated by the streets. These aren't for smoking solo in one session, obviously, so even high-tolerance users should share the wealth unless you want to visit a different planet.
Yes, Colorado's best new strain is grown by a company that specializes in extraction. It's not our fault that Green Dot Labs has been pushing out some excitingly dank flower, though. Garlic Banger and Lemon Butter Rum, two other Green Dot strains released in 2021, could easily have won this award, too, but then we encountered the alien Froot. Part of a series of fruit-forward strains, the first entry, Blue Froot, smells and smokes like a slice of blueberry cheesecake, and we're not just saying that in a weed-dealer sort of way. Whiffs of cream cheese and blueberry syrup ooze out of each jar and stick to your lips like butter. Let's hope this stays in season for a while.
Snaxland's flower is so striking that you'd think photos of it had a Snapchat filter. Seeing it in person proves that those buds are no hoax, though, with flower that would likely top any dog-and-pony show of Colorado growers. Snaxland pumped out Denver's best cuts of numerous strains in 2021 (Apple Fritter, Gary, Gelato Cake, Jealousy and Lemonotti, among others), and it continues to set the market rate for premium wholesale cannabis. The groundbreaking of a new growing facility in 2022 could lead to even more Snaxland buds in Colorado dispensaries in the future. Sign us up.
Brace yourself, prudes: Infused product manufacturers have discovered how to incorporate cannabinoids into sex products, and you'd be surprised how far they go. Former adult-toy industry executive Angela Mustone founded HighOnLove in Canada, where cannabis is federally legal, so she could test out potential cannabinoid lubrications for sex in group studies. Calling THC-infused lube "the gift that keeps on giving" for the female orgasm, Mustone now sells cannabis-infused sex lubes, massage oils, chocolate body paint and lip gloss — which, according to Mustone, takes fellatio to another level — in Colorado dispensaries. The CBD products are used for comfort, while the THC serves the pleasure areas, but Mustone recommends using both to maximize sexy time.
Coda Signature is mostly known for gourmet-infused chocolate bars and fruit gummies, but the company also makes some of Colorado's best cannabis self-care products. Bath bombs infused with 15 milligrams of THC and CBD, as well as ingredients like lavender, sweet marjoram or patchouli kick-start a session of extreme relaxation, and might even give you an edibles-like high the longer sit you in the tub. Coda also sells a muscle salve with THC, CBD and CBG, and skin salve with THC, CBD and CBC, combining around 800 milligrams of cannabinoids in total for the fullest effect on your body. The salve won't get you high, and is purely for health and wellness purposes, but consider yourself warned with the bath bombs: Those things can be very much dual-use.
Denver resident comedian Josh Blue, known for appearances on TV shows like America's Got Talent, the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Last Comic Standing (where he won season four), continues to headline standup shows in town as he hones his national material. Colorado also serves as home base for his edibles endeavors. A medical marijuana user with cerebral palsy, Blue created a line of lollipops with Mountain High Suckers called Josh Blue's Dream, which are infused with hash from his favorite strain, Blue Dream. Affordable and effective, the 10-milligram suckers are exactly what most celebrity-blasted cannabis products aren't: worth the money. Dispensaries have maintained a consistent pipeline of celebrity cannabis brands that are destined to fail, so it's good to see one of Colorado's own still holding it down nearly five years after launching.
There are so many recreational cannabis grows in Colorado right now that starting one is like launching a podcast: Unless you're uber-talented, good luck. The guys at Single Source Colorado have showcased that talent time and again, though, so consider us unsurprised when their first crack at the recreational flower market was a success. Founders Kennn Wall, Logan Nuss and Tony Karas launched Single Source as a rosin lab, growing their own flower to supply the extraction operation. It only takes one sniff of their solventless concentrate to know the buds from which it came are happy and healthy. Now the public can finally appreciate those gardening skills, too. Single Source's first launch of GMO looked like it was dipped in sugar at Café Du Monde, smelled like a funktastic blast of Windex and burned smoother than a cigarette in Marilyn Monroe's lips. If we come across Single Source again, rest assured we're doubling down.
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