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Remember this #haul? Well, I'm finally ready to review #XMG and #LittleVictory from @trussbeverages. These along with #Houseplant from @Houseplantco (I think its connected to @CanopyGrowth). (I'll be reviewing the #Mollo 5.0 in a separate post. #Spectreview https://twitter.com/Spectromagix/status/1324898244355350528
I'll review these drinks in the order that I tried them. Just a quick #Disclaimer: as always, these views/opinions are my own. Your own experiences may vary depending on your own tolerance levels, which is especially the case with #drinkables.
First, let's start off with the #Houseplant - this is the #Grapefruit version that was released early this year. This was one of the first #drinkables that I saw in #Ontario, and it was the first #Canadian #drinkable that I had. This particular drink has 2.5mg of THC.
The @Houseplantco brand was co-created by #comedy #legend @SethRogen who has starred in some of the best #cannabis #related #comedies (namely #Pineapple #Express). The brand falls under the @CanopyGrowth umbrella. https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/seth-rogen-teams-up-with-canopy-growth-to-launch-cannabis-brand-houseplant-1.4353608
Rogan and his business partner screenwriter Evan Goldberg teamed up specifically with @CanopyGrowth as they were interested in making drinks. And this makes sense as @CanopyGrowth basically made #drinkables a cornerstone of their #Cannabis 2.0 strategy: https://twitter.com/CanopyGrowth/status/1199679272367149057?s=20
Problem was that the strategy didn't go exactly as planned. First, all of #CanopyGrowth's drinks were delayed until at least #January #2020 (mind you, in Ontario, nothing showed up until January) https://twitter.com/harjord/status/1200116486758641668?s=20
But then there was a bigger issue with #Canopy's drinks: they decided to #aluminum #cans to sell their drinks, but the cans were absorbing the #THC. This resulted in further delays. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/cans-suck-the-thc-buzz-out-of-pot-drinks-where-does-that-leave-canopy-growth-131708432.html
At the time, #Canopy had few other #Cannabis 2.0 products, including chocolate from @tokyo_smoke. Their #vape products were also not out by January. But eventually, they figured out a solution. Not sure exactly what that #solution was.. can't seem to find any articles on it.
Pictured below is the final result - released this summer: #Houseplant #Grapefruit - a #clear, #carbonated #water beverage with a tinge of #Grapefruit flavor. Now, I'm not a big fan of #Grapefruit in general, but if you're into #Grapefruit, you may love this beverage.
The only other @HouseplantCo flavor is #Lemon - haven't tried this yet, but I would imagine that this is a bit more conventional. Strangely enough - they don't mention this one on the #Houseplant website.. 
Opening up this beverage can be a tad bit annoying - this one has the same opening mechanism as #Deep #Space. I had to pry this one open with a #knife - it was well protected.
Even if you don't like #Grapefruit, I didn't find the flavor to be too #overpowering - it was more of a sparkling water beverage, with an extremely lightly-tinged grapefruit aroma/aftertaste. The good news is that I couldn't taste any #cannabis at all in this beverage.
Here's the thing: at 2.5mg, this beverage really didn't do a lot for me. I'm not sure what the onset time is supposed to be, but after about 2 hrs, I just wasn't feeling anything (I ended up vaping after this, and so its possible that onset occurred beyond 2 hrs - hard to tell)
But at the same time, I believe this is exactly the effect that @Canopygrowth wanted when they developed this product - they wanted to create something that didn't get you "couch-locked" or "wiped out", but something extremely casual that would allow you to keep going.
And "keep going" it certainly does. But, depending on your tolerance level, if your a regular #cannabis user wanting to feel *something*, one beverage may not be enough - you'll have to do at least two.
NOTE: I'll leave final scoring to the end of the review. Next up is #XMG by @trussbeverages - a partnership formed by @MolsonCoors and @HEXO (meaning that the drinks use @HEXO cannabis).
One comment about #XMG - it *IS* called XMG -
according to the website ( https://www.trussbeverages.com/xmg ). But when you see the can, you'll know what I mean - I had to rewrite every post in this review as I unintentionally called it #MXG. (Feels like a https://www.reddit.com/r/dontdeadopeninside/ moment).
according to the website ( https://www.trussbeverages.com/xmg ). But when you see the can, you'll know what I mean - I had to rewrite every post in this review as I unintentionally called it #MXG. (Feels like a https://www.reddit.com/r/dontdeadopeninside/ moment).
XMG comes in two varieties - #Tropical #Fruit was the flavor I purchased (and this was the only one available on @ONCannabisStore at the time). There's also #mango #pineapple - although this combines two flavors that I hate the most :P Also, the can doesn't look like this.
The XMG #Mango #Pineapple can actually looks like this. I mentioned this in a previous post (somewhere?) but I do appreciate how @trussbeverages goes to the trouble of showing the actual product (due to #HealthCanada restrictions) at the bottom of their website.
One thing I noticed right away about the #XMG #Tropical #Fruit - it has the same opening mechanism as #Houseplant and #Deep #Space from @CanopyGrowth...
But here's the thing - I was actually able to get this one completely off with no issues and not using a fork! Maybe this one looks similar but is slightly different?
When poured into a glass, it looks like a very rich, #tropical- #fruity color with bubbles. Kinda reminds of a @Koolaid #tropical #Punch actually - although #Koolaid has a deeper red - #XMG has a lighter, almost #rose #red color with #fizzy.
But here's the other thing: #XMG TASTES like #Koolaid too. But not in a good way. I think about those 80s-vintage #Koolaid powder packs - they always tasted like flavoring on top of water. Kinda like @CrystalLight too. This is what #XMG reminded me of.
On the one hand, I can say the taste was "light" - like the Houseplant. But thats not exactly what #XMG was like - it really tasted more like a flavoring added to water - just like a #Koolaid. So if you liked powdered #Koolaid, you'll like this drink.
Key question: Does it taste better than #Deep #Space or #Aurora #Drift #THC #Citrus #Shot? Yes and yes. #XMG still has a minor #cannabis taste, but its the most minor taste I've had. So yes its the best tasting 10mg cannabis drink on the market.
But ultimately it still lacked flavor - similar to a powdered #Koolaid BUT *watered down*. Which brings me to the final drink on this #Spectreview - the #Little #Victory #Dark #Cherry - also by @Trussbeverages and @hexo. (Thx to @CalyxTrichomes for letting me know about this one)
Unlike the @houseplantco #Grapefruit drink, the #Little #Victory has 2.5mg of THC *AND* 2.5mg of CBD. The #Little #Victory is technically a sparkling water, like the #Houseplant drink - but this one has a much deeper color (perhaps looking even more like @Koolaid)
The first thing I noticed from this drink was the scent. It smells like a #dark #cherry #extract - like the same one they put into the @starbucks #dark #cherry #mocha (sadly, no longer available - but *may* reappear on #Valentines #Day). It's a very deep deep #cherry smell.
Then you taste it. The cherry is much more muted - but nothing like #watered #down #koolaid. No no - this drink is very different. It tastes like sparkling water but with a #smooth #infusion of cherries. With every sip, there is still that #dark #cherry #extract aftertaste.
All in all, #Little #Victory #Dark #Cherry is hands down the best drinkable I've tried in the Canadian market. My only issue is that its 2.5mg of THC. It definitely provides something *more* when compared to #Houseplant, but its still a very light drink..
You would have to have many of these drinks - possibly 3 (?) to have a decent high. On the other hand, if you haven't tried #cannabis at all or just have a low tolerance, this may be the perfect drink for you.
There are additional #Little #Victory flavors available - one is the #Blood #Orange - I've heard it tastes like "Orange Crush" (thanks @LeJamie_M) so I'll need to try this one next in a separate #spectreview
There's also a #Dry #Lemon Variant (pic borrowed from @CalyxTrichomes website - link below). I would imagine this is the #LittleVictory equivalent of the #Houseplant #Lemon.
https://calyxandtrichomes.com/index.html?dtche%5Bcategory%5D=edibles&dtche%5Bproduct%5D=dry-lemon
https://calyxandtrichomes.com/index.html?dtche%5Bcategory%5D=edibles&dtche%5Bproduct%5D=dry-lemon
Overall I would say that none of these drinks still come close to my all-time favorite - the @CannabisQnchr #Strawberry #Lemonade with 100mg THC per bottle. At roughly $0.23CAD per mg, this drink remains an amazing deal and provides such a great taste.
The #Little #Victory - at 2.5mg THC per bottle and $5.95CAD per bottle, comes out to a $2.38CAD per mg premium! The #Houseplant by comparison is $2.08CAD per mg, and the #XMG is a much more economical $0.94CAD per mg. Based upon this, I would say #XMG offers the best value.
But #Little #Victory offers the absolute best taste hands down. Given its low THC content, I can see the #Little #Victory as being a followup drink following a stronger 10mg drink (i.e. #XMG, #Aurora #THC #Citrus #Shot, etc).
I just wish that @trussbeverages would consider giving you the THC content of the #XMG but with the taste of the #Little #Victory - that would be the absolute perfect drink.
Of course, you could drink many #Little #Victory's to give you the same feeling as a single #XMG, but that would be quite expensive. The #Houseplant would come a distant third in this list. While #Houseplant is cheaper vs #LittleVictory - it just doesn't offer the same taste.
In conclusion, I'd say that #Little #Victory comes the closest (at least in Canada) in providing a solid #drinkables experience with amazing taste. I just wish the THC amount were higher. For 10mg drinks, the #XMG remains best in class - but it won't excite you with flavor.
I still believe in general that #drinkables have a long way to go in providing the optimal experiences in terms of flavor and price - the price may always remain a challenge, however, due to the current #HealthCanada regulations - but thats for another discussion.
In conclusion, I would rank the #LittleVictory #Dark #Cherry the highest with a score of 8 out of 10 magix - excellent taste, but needs more THC :) I would rank the #XMG #Tropical #Fruit with a score of 7.5 out of 10 magix - perfect amount of THC but needs more taste.
Finally the #Houseplant #Grapefruit would rank at a 7 out of 10 magix, due to its low THC content and very light taste overall. Generally, all of these drinks will be better alternatives vs the #Aurora #THC #Citrus #Shot and #Deep #Space.
