The end of the year brings out the revelry in all of us. It’s a great time to look back at our recent accomplishments as well as to look ahead to the promises a new year may offer. But as we approach 2022, it can also be healthy to let loose a little and celebrate the good fortune we already have in our lives. So, in the spirit of tradition, goodwill, and general merrymaking, we have concocted a special holiday brew that we call our Delta 8/CBD Wassail!
What’s a Wassail?
While most people will call it mulled cider in our modern parlance, wassail was the original word for this traditional old-English heated quaff.
Sure, we could have called this recipe our Delta 8/CBD Mulled Cider but wassail has a history that kind of resonates with us. The original practice of wassailing, which was initiated and inspired by imbibing the hot wassail, involved singing to the trees and spirits in their fruit orchards with the intention of a healthy harvest the following year.
As you know by now, we are all for anything that helps our future harvests. So we decided to name our cannabinoid-enhanced brew “Delta 8/CBD Wassail” to keep in the proper spirit!
This hot winter beverage has been around for centuries. It was first mentioned around 1140; legend tells of Rowena, a fair Saxon maiden, beguiling Prince Vortigern (King of the Britons in the 5th century) with a bowl of wine while greeting him with the words “waes hael” (meaning “be well”). (Her action is also considered to be the birth of the English tradition of toasting.)
From this simple beginning evolved the tradition of wassailing that is still celebrated in our modern times, although entirely modernized to suit our current fashion.
And What’s Wassailing?
While a wassail is the mulled drink that revelers and celebrants enjoy during winter festivities, the act of wassailing was originally the custom of visiting orchards and singing to the trees and spirits in hopes of a hearty harvest the following season. Soon, the practice expanded to include groups of people wandering through the neighborhood with a bowl of hot wassail while they sang carols to their neighbors during the Christmas season. Nowadays, we would feel rather silly singing to trees, so our wassailings are normally with neighbors and friends instead of in cold lonely orchards in the dead of winter.
However, wassailing did not need to involve facing the elements, as in its simplest form, it also meant sitting around together, drinking a lot (of wassail, presumably), and being in a generally happy mood with lots of chatter and laughter.
So, as you drink your wassail, you can decide how you want to wassail.
Let’s Make Delta 8/CBD Wassail!
Now that we got you in the wassailing spirit (we hope!), let’s make wassail!
For our Delta 8/CBD Wassail, we will skip any alcoholic additions. Since (in America at least) apple cider can contain alcohol (hard cider) or not (sweet cider), we decided on the sweet and straight path, so you can better experience the effects of the cannabinoids included in this marvelous potation.
Even though apple cider forms the base beverage for this mulled drink, you can liven it up with other fruit juices. That is exactly what we will do for this recipe but remember that you call the shots in your kitchen, so feel free to swap out one libation for another. If you tend to enjoy citrus drinks more than apple-flavored drinks, make an orange, mango, or pineapple wassail!
Finally, adding a jumble of winter spices to this hot drink can result in unique flavors each time you make this if you want.
Best of all, this is easy to throw together and simmer on your stove while you prepare for other festivities. With your knowledge of the influence of terpenes, you will better appreciate the aroma wafting through your home as your wassail continues to combine your chosen ingredients into a fruity fusion full of cannabinoids and other natural flavors. This amalgamation will surely entice, captivate, and satisfy your guests; even if they have never drunk nor heard of wassail before, do not be surprised if they are inspired to do their own wassailings after a glass of your wassail!
Now that you get the idea of wassail simplicity, versatility, and fun, here is our vision of a wonderful wassail…
Delta 8/CBD Wassail Ingredients
- 1 whole apple
- 1 dozen whole cloves
- 8 cups sweet apple cider
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup peach juice
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 6 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- 2 tbsp CBD-infused maple syrup
- ½ ml Delta 8 Distillate (warm syringe for easy measuring)
Directions
- Decorate the apple with the whole cloves, either by sticking them all around the apple or perhaps more appropriately by shaping them into a smile (since that is what you will likely be doing after a cup of this wassail!).
- Add the clove-covered apple with all the other ingredients into a medium-sized cooking pot. Bring to a very light boil and then immediately reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and continue simmering.
- Cook for at least one hour, stirring it every 15 minutes while making sure it remains at a mild simmer.
- Although it is ready to serve after simmering for 1 hour, it can continue simmering for several hours. When ready to serve, scoop out the apple and cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and pour the remaining concoction into a large pitcher. You should have about 10 cups of wassail to enjoy!
As you can see, this is a quick and easy holiday recipe requiring just a few ingredients and a little time but resulting in an amazingly delicious and unique hot beverage, not to mention the extra kick you will enjoy from the Delta 8 THC and CBD addition!
Measure Your Delta 8/CBD Wassail Potency
Finally, let’s get an idea of how much Delta 8 THC and CBD your wassail will have.
Estimating the Delta 8 THC potency is pretty straightforward, so let’s start there.
Our Delta 8 THC distillate has a potency of more than 80% (800mg per ml). The recipe calls for ½ ml, so approximately 400mg of Delta 8 THC ends up in your wassail.
Estimating the CBD is almost as easy if you reference the Potency segment of our blog post, CBD-Infused Maple Syrup, Sous Vide-Style. Let’s say that you made your CBD-infused maple syrup using a CBD strain with a 13% CBD content. According to the calculations made in the blog post, each tablespoon contains about 135mg of CBD. Since we used two tablespoons, there should be about 270mg of CBD in your wassail.
Consequently, the total cannabinoid count for your 10 cups of wassail are:
- 400mg of Delta 8 THC
- 270mg of CBD
Therefore, each cup of wassail will contain about:
- 40mg of Delta 8 THC
- 27mg of CBD
You could say that is a festive volume of cannabinoids per cup!
As many of you already know, consuming Delta 8 THC with CBD triggers that synergistic effect where each cannabinoid seems to boost the performance of the other. Plus with the fruit juices and extra spices, your body can get lots of fantastic benefits while your taste buds are equally pleased.
And if you are inspired to sing to a few trees after a cup of your Delta 8/CBD Wassail, we get you! (While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a serenade for our upcoming 2022 crop!)
Waes Hael!
