This was something of a novelty for me; I’ve been a weed fiend for over 2 decades now but never been a distillate guy - at all. Never even tried it, despite knowing a few people who have converted to using them exclusively. Guess I’m just stuck in my ways, must be getting old…
…I-B-40 soon…geddit??…
..moving on.
I know, I know - these carts are all the rage these days, but I’m very much an old school flower guy. My heels have only dug in further on this since switching to dry herb vaping. A new world of flavours has opened to me and all that blah blah that you either already know or already don’t care about. These carts….I’ve just had no interest tbh. Not against them or anything, just…gimmie that nice squishy old school bud please. So bless KiG for sending me - ME, perhaps the least eligible person there is - a freebie of his labour of love to sample and comment on. The equivalent of Hattori Hanzo giving his latest sword to Michael J Fox instead of Beatrix Kiddo. But there it was, a generous and totally unexpected 1g of distillate in a 510 threaded cart sat waiting for me in my order box. I’ll admit I had to consult Google to figure out what I was supposed to do to get the best out of it and, well…how to even get it to work. Talk about amateur hour.
I ended up on Amazon buying this rechargeable pen for the occasion: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086SXQMNT - it has 3 temp settings that have distinct potency hits and works an absolute treat as far as I’m concerned. Would recommend if you’re newb like me. Super simple to use, long battery life. Pukka.
Disclaimer before getting into the high: I haven’t had the pleasure of trying the Red Red Wine bud, so I can’t compare the effects of the flower vs distillate.
The High - Round 1 - TKO
Well slap my tolerance’s ass and call me Madonna. This was my Like A Virgin moment - transported right back to my “very first time”. Admittedly because I probably had wayy too much on my first go. The recommendation with carts is to heat it up then breathe it in gently for a couple of seconds. That should do you, because this is strong AF extract. My noob ass turned up the heat to the middle setting and hit it thrice with 5 second puffs each. Hello Perseverance Rover, can I join you for dinner up here on Mars?
A few minutes from the third puff I was transported to a couch locked prison and had to give it a few minutes for the room to stop spinning. This is with a sky high tolerance too. I soon overcame it though and rode out one of those “holy shit, I am definitely very high” trips that usually comes with a long T-break. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember enough about that experience to comment on it’s properties other than it taught me to respect the product and dial back on the intake.
Round 2 + beyond - Unanimous Points Victory
Next round on the pen, I absolutely nailed the method and level of respect needed and was able to actually enjoy all of its amazing properties. This time it was on a Saturday afternoon, enjoying a couple of drinks with my partner. Middle setting of the vape pen linked above, 2x 2-second puffs, hold and exhale. A few minutes later I’m in heaven. The best way I can think to describe the high is like a warm blanket is wrapped around everything. Extremely content, chilled, talkative…just an absolutely delightful place to be in. Sat talking with my partner, we’re enjoying deep conversation and I feel lucky to be with her. Sat holding my daughter while she snoozes, I can’t help but got lost in the moment of the cuddle for a while. We’re talking full on, old school peace & love here, maaan. 2 puffs is all it took for me to sat in that state for roughly 3 hours, accompanied by a few whiskies which will have helped to prolong the sesh I’m sure.
My next experience was arguably even better - a Christmas night out. One of my friends in the group is also somewhat of a weed fiend (more of an edibles guy usually) so I took the pen out for us to enjoy while out for Christmas drinks. What. A. Night. That same warm blanket feeling engrossed us both and we couldn’t stop talking about what a great night we were having. One of those where you can’t help but lament the ridiculous legal system around bud in our country when it feels THIS good and makes you feel this chilled and non-combative. Once again, it was a warm blanket feel perfect for the type of pubs we frequent - real ale and whiskey type establishments, where the lighting is low and convo flows. We had a puff or 2 between pubs, probably 6 in total each over an 8 hour session, and we were noticeably on top form; chatty and content, perfectly happy stood in a crowded pub, sat at the bar; whatever - and have to say this distillate pairs particularly well with a sesh on the booze as it never seems to overpower or push the intoxication to the extreme. Is that why it’s called Red Red Wine? Because the perfect pair is the devils grape?…I’ll have to test this theory.
With regards to taste, I simply can’t pick out any notes on the same level as a good bud, so for me the taste and nose experience doesn’t compare to something like KiG's EVO. Whether this is normal for distillate I don’t know. That’s not to say the flavour isn’t nice. It’s a pleasant experience. I get a thick red wine feel on the texture and it is as smooth as a well decanted velvety Merlot on the intake; barely even realise it’s working on the inhale until I exhale and see a surprisingly amount of vapour escape. All the flavour is on the exhale for me, a hint of sweetness but mostly evocative of floral wine, followed by a not-undelightful feeling of stickiness on the teeth as the resinous liquid envelopes and tries to escape my mouth.
Conclusion
An amazing intro to distillates for Dayman. I still prefer flower overall but oh my, this is simply perfect for social occasions where you want a quick hitting, long lasting high because a vape sesh isn’t approriate (for example, between pubs or a quick couple of seconds away from a partner while making a drink in the kitchen etc). I can see the appeal for sure if you want zero smells while still achieving a deep high contentment that doesn’t set in with an overpowering crescendo like edibles often do. Treated with respect and used somewhat sparringly - I use this once a week or so in order to not obliterate my tolerance - this product lasts ages and delivers an exceptional balanced experience every time. I will be back for another. The convenience and hybrid style of high makes it a great and discreet weed outlet for social occasions and given KiG’s track record with flower I have no doubt I’ve been very lucky to try his particular distillate wares as my first experience with them.
Disclaimer: this was written back in January and I forgot to post. I have since finished the cart and am pestering KiG for more of this. A great addition to the stash that I'm sad to see finished.
