CANNABIS COCKTAIL

Hemp, Vodka Mix First Of Its Kind In North America, Say Alberta
Entrepreneurs

It's always 4:20 somewhere, and two women in Grande Prairie, Alta.,
figure the best way to celebrate is with a nice, cold shot of
hemp-infused vodka.

Yes, someone has figured out how to put two of the world's most
popular vices -- alcohol and cannabis -- together.

"We think that this is definitely the best thing we've come up with so
far," says Stephanie Keough. The former bartender and her friend
Brenda Magnusson are the creators of Stoked Vodka, an 80-proof infused
with hemp extract. The liquor was introduced at a launch party in
Grande Prairie Friday.

"The response," Keough says, "has been overwhelming." They are, of
course, selling a winning combo; the only surprise is that no one else
had thought of it earlier. While other "cannabis vodkas" exist in
other parts of the world, "there's nothing else in North America
currently other than us," Keough says.

Keough and Magnusson, former colleagues at an engineering firm, mulled
over the idea during after-work drinks about a year ago. They were
experimenting with mixes and Magnusson pulled out some hemp seed oil
from her fridge. Hemp seed is a health product that contains essential
amino and fatty acids and is said to improve circulation and blood
pressure and nourish hair and nails. While derived from the same plant
as marijuana, it does not have the same psychoactive properties.

The Liquid Chicks, as the two women have branded themselves,
eventually took their concoction to Calgary's Highwood Distillery to
see how their idea could be refined.

The result is a quadruple-distilled vodka with a slight hint of hemp's
nutty flavour. "It just tastes like regular vodka, with a little bit
of an extra kick to it," Magnusson says. And because it's been
distilled once more than typical vodkas, she adds, it's
ultrasmooth.

"It goes well with anything," Magnusson says. "I've given it out to a
bunch of people and they've tried it. All of them said that they
didn't have a hangover next day and it didn't make them feel nauseated
the next day. So it's really good vodka."

Now, the women are working to get Stoked behind the bar and in liquor
stores across Alberta. "It's getting to the fun stuff," says
Magnusson, after a long haul riddled with roadblocks.

"Hemp is new; it's controversial; you're breaking barriers," Keough
explains. "Getting our label passed was really hard. It's just the
taboo behind it that makes it a little bit harder to get out there.
And being the first too, of course."

Throughout the production process, the women were often told: "It
sounds like a great idea, but I'm sure if it hasn't been done, it's
probably because it couldn't be done." But, says Keough, "we found out
that we could do it so we just kept pursuing it."

The vodka market is tough, and Stoked will be sharing shelf space with
dozens of varieties that offer flavours from acai to espresso. But the
two Alberta entrepreneurs are confident that what they have is unique.