The last time I had an orange & cream soda on the regular was as a kid pouring it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But recently, having cut back on my alcohol consumption, I’ve returned to fizzy beverages in the form of cannabis- or hemp-infused sodas. As someone who partakes of edibles, cannabis beverages are my go-to for the very reason that they can be enjoyed over a longer period of time versus one gummy and done.
“Taste still matters most, more so in cannabis drinks than any other form,” says Paul Weaver, head of cannabis at Boston Beer Company, in Joshua Bernstein’s story exploring THC beverages. “A drink takes a lot longer to consume, so it better taste awesome.” And Mary Jones infused sodas do. They’ve since taken the place of a beer or glass of wine at my house.
My first encounter with a Mary Jones infused soda was in 2023 as a judge for LA Spirits Awards’ then-new High Spirits Awards panel where I blind-tasted the brand’s root beer. It blew me away with its well-crafted flavor and perfect balance of sweet and dry from the carbonation. The root beer ended up winning a gold medal. (This year Mary Jones’ berry lemonade snagged the platinum medal.) When I saw there was an Orange & Cream flavor, I knew I had to have it. Fortunately, since I live in California where recreational cannabis is legal, I was able to find the cannabis-infused version. It’s available in 10mg 12-ounce bottles or 100mg 16-ounce cans (16 servings). For states where cannabis is illegal, there’s the hemp-derived option, which comes in 5mg or 10mg 12-ounce cans.
Like the other Mary Jones sodas, this is a drink for adults. Not only because of the THC but because of its flavor. Unlike other orange cream sodas, it leans away from saccharine sweetness, satisfying that sweet tooth without going overboard. 5mg 4-pack/$23.95, gomaryjones.com
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