A new botanical vodka is getting its nutty kick from an unusual source.
Hollywood Green Botanical Vodka is an 80-proof, 40 per cent alcohol-by-volume spirit with the “hippest hemp on the planet” added for a light nutty flavour, similar to a sunflower seed or pine nut, according to the company’s website. The hemp seeds do not add CBD to the vodka, it says.
The spirit, made by Hollywood’s Green Cures & Botanical Distribution, Inc. (OTC: GRCU), received its certificate of label approval (COLA) from the American Alcohol Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) Friday.
Green Cures will be running with this label design after the TTB said the company was not allowed to display the words “hemp” or “CBD” on their vodka label. Photo courtesy of Green Cures.
The “Hollywood Hemp Vodka” name was voted down by the TTB. The hemp vodka recipe, however, was approved in August. Photo courtesy of Green Cures.
This product was originally marketed as Hollywood Hemp Vodka until early November when the TTB told Green Cures that labels with the words “hemp” and “CBD” were not allowed. The hemp vodka recipe, however, was approved by the TBB August 2019.
“We overcame a rigorous approval process by providing certificate of analysis, cannabinoid testing, verification of hemp source, as well as what parts of the plant were used in our ingredient formulating process,” Green Cures CEO Joe Tragessor said in a statement. “There are significant barriers of entry for the use of cannabis ingredients in alcoholic beverages and we’re thrilled to be one of the only public companies that can stake claim to this.”
The small-batch handcrafted vodka is distilled with sweet Woodruff flower and elderflower which gives the drink “a scent somewhere between marzipan, almonds and amaretto,” according to the company website.
Coming to a liquor store near you, so long as you live in a cannabis-friendly state
With official COLA approval, Green Cures is talking with regional, national and online drink distributors to get the vodka to markets where the booze is legal.
“[We’re] hitting the market at the perfect time in the growing botanical segment on vodka,” Tragessor said in a statement. “We’re been in touch with some great distribution partners who have been eagerly awaiting our official COLA approval.”
Over the next couple weeks the company expects to solidify distribution partners, he added.
READ MORE: America’s first cannabis cafe opens in Hollywood.
In October 2019, Green Cures — a manufacturer, wholesaler and distributor of hemp and CBD-infused products — announced it would launch a punchy sidekick to go along with the vodka. The promised product will infuse hemp vodka cocktails with full-spectrum CBD, according to the company, but has not yet been released.
It’s a strange concept for a spirit, you might be pondering, but nowhere near as strange as other green-themed drinks out there, like the Philadelphia broccoli cocktail or a Scottish brussels sprouts gin.
And don’t worry, if the novel vodka doesn’t quite tickle your taste buds, the company’s website suggests a number of other uses for spirit, such as a facial toner or household cleaner.
