Hamilton Cannagars
If the words, Farm to Jar mean something to you, then you’ll know that corporate weed is far from your go/to for pleasure, medication, and relaxation.
If the quality statement, Certified Kind and the term Farm to Jar are unknown to you, then perhaps a short coast-to-coast flight from here to Oregon will enlighten your mind and your sensibilities. You’d be in for a massive treat and certainly the experience will be otherworldly for your East Coast, buttoned-down sensibilities and your inner dreams and imagination. But what does this have to do with Farm to Jar? Let’s just say that out on the ‘left’ coast, growers have been propagating and harvesting the finest craft cannabis for decades, with tasty results that consistently charm and mystify.
Boring, Oregon is far from being a boring place. It is here, in the deep clefts of luxuriant gorges that surround the Columbia River in Oregon, where wild game teems in the never-ending circle of life and the loam reeks of crushed pine needles and wet stones.
This region has some really unique terroir. It is here that the air gives off a scent, vaguely reminiscent of pine sap and your palate plunges into a deeply colored mixture of crushed stones and opaque forest floor.
If by chance you parked your car under one of the majestic Douglas Firs that dot the forest, you’ll find that each one discharges veritable gallons of thick sap year-round. Viscous pools of it coat your windshield and your car, waiting for you to return from your hike, unable to see out the windshield. And then imagine for a moment, if you licked this sycophantic liquid, it would taste very similar to the aromas that rides through the winds and carries its way into the wine, cannabis, and vegetables. This sap of life represents the deeply infused liquescent that sustains all growing things.
It is here that the finest craft cannabis is hand-spun into the finest dreams. Strains such as Silver Tip Buds are practically oozing with terpenes that have recently been tested, such as: alpha-Pinene, alpha-Humulene, Ocimene isomer II, linalool, Camphene, Cerol, Eucalyptol, and many others. The Silver Tip Buds from Bull Run Craft Cannabis may well be some of the finest flowers I’ve tasted recently. Cannabis needs to be grown with love and harvested with care, then left to cure for a period of time, and then finally rested.
After the careful patience comes the selection, after that hand-hewn selection comes the precise trimming and further selection for the finest flowers. Each one possesses a taste of the place. A terroir is what it is named in France and other wine making regions and for good reason. The terroir as it is known, is the taste of a specific place. It is, quite simply, the flavor of the soil. And in this part of Oregon, where the magnificent fir trees come crashing down into the surging rivers that course through this wild region, it makes everything taste like the forest, floor, and pine needle alike. It’s uncanny in the Pinot Noir wines that seem to outdo many of the wines of Burgundy in sheer restraint alone. There are many similarities between craft cannabis and craft Pinot Noir. Next time you open a Southward facing slope Pinot see if you can detect the pine and citrus with crushed minerals in each sip. This is the backbone of the soil that the grapes are propagated in. Cannabis is grown in the soil very successfully in Oregon. And as an aside, each place in the USA offers their own terroir. The east coast is especially prone to soil that tastes of crushed stones. The ones in California tend towards fruity, sunshine-kissed flowers-bursting with the aromatics of a bowl of freshly cut citrus fruits. Moving up to the Pacific Coastline where the fog blots out the sunshine, but not the powerful UV rays that make the cannabis thick and hearty against the frosty winds. Then up to the Pacific Northwest, to Washington where pine trees, yet again, taint the soil against mediocrity and to Oregon where the terroir is striking and memorable. Each taste, each smell is indelible into your memory.
It’s ironic to visit the Stargazer Farm, the place where the Stargazer Day Lilly was created and see where the Bull Run Craft Cannabis-fueled Hamilton Cannagars are crafted. Each Craft Cannabis Cannagar is formed one at a time, in a fashion that speaks clearly of the quality of the flower and the taste of the place that the artist is attempting to unleash. A hemp wrapper with a corn husk filter frames their line of less expensive, miniature creations, each hand-formed to easily enjoy the flowers, locally grown-hemp wrapped for slow burning cannabis enrobed pleasure.
It’s the higher end cannagar with the cannabis leaf wrapper that fills the memory of this Oregon trip and each puff of Josh’s hand-made cannagar fills my memory. You don’t need fancy vaporizers, nor fragile glass bongs to experience some of the finest smokes that money can buy. When crafted into a very elegant, miniature cigar-like shape, these Cannagars become things of rare beauty. The Hamilton Cannagar does not disappoint in any way. Your Hamilton Cannagar is made from the finest farm-grown flowers, from their own farm to protective jars. Not merely smokable works of art, each one is formed into a miniature cigarillo shape (or a larger, more expensive version is available with seven grams of fine flowers) and pressed for an extended period of time, drawing the moisture out. Over the following weeks, more flower is added to the mold and pressed yet again, extracting more moisture, turning the color of the cannagar from bright green to a darker hue, leaving no traces other than the stickiness of the finest flowers. Each painstakingly intricate step in preparing the cannagar resembles the time-honored techniques taken by the finest Cuban craftsmen in their quest to prepare the optimum cigar. The Hamilton, like the Cuban cigars that they are based upon are not made with haste, but they are made with love!
A Hamilton Cannagar is one of the World’s Best things that you can do for yourself, only if you enjoy ultra-high-end cannabis of course! It is because the Hamilton Cannagar is not made of tobacco. There isn’t a lick of tobacco in it. The experience of smoking a Hamilton Cannagar makes for more than just a special occasion. The Hamilton Cannagar offers the n’est pas ultra-experience out of the ordinary experience of smoking a mere joint. To fully understand the Hamilton experience, one must come to the realization that Oregon Cannabis is just different that California, New Jersey, Rhode Island or even New Mexico or Maine cannabis.
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Warren Bobrow is the CEO of Klaus Apothicaire, a 6x Author, Chef, Barman, Cannabis Alchemist, Master Mixologist. Some of his cannabis awards include: SXSW Cannabis Disruptor 2018, Berlin Bar Convent-Cannabis, and Moscow Bar Show-Master Class-Rum. He is the author of Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, and Tonics, Available in Indie Bookstores, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo Books. See his cannabis creations on instagram.