Reviewed by The Farmers Choice Team · Updated
Walk the cooler wall at either store and you will find infused seltzers, lemonades, and iced teas next to the gummies and chocolates. They look and pour like any other canned drink, and that is exactly what makes them worth a short explanation before you crack one open.
It is an edible, wearing a different shape
A cannabis beverage is still swallowed and still processed through digestion, so it belongs in the edible family, not in its own separate category. That matters because the timeline is different from smoking or vaping: effects build gradually rather than arriving in the first few minutes, and the label alone will not tell you exactly how a specific product feels on your body. Some producers formulate their drinks to be absorbed faster or more predictably than a traditional gummy, and it is fair to ask a Farm Hand about a specific product's technology, but the safest assumption for anything new to you is still the edible mindset: have a little, wait, and see how you feel before you consider more.
What the label is required to tell you
New York requires the front of every adult-use cannabis package to disclose the total THC per single serving and the total THC for the whole container, printed together on the same panel. Beverages also have to state how many servings are inside and the recommended serving size. That last part matters more here than with most formats: a 12-ounce can might be built as one serving, or it might be built as several, and the only way to know is to read the panel before you pour.
Look for the serving count first, then decide how much of the can or bottle a single pour actually is. A drink meant to be split into three servings is not something to finish in one sitting on a first try.
Picking a first one
If you are new to beverages, a single-serving can removes the guesswork entirely: what is in the can is the whole dose, no division required. Multi-serve bottles are a fine choice once you know how a product sits with you, and they are a genuinely social format, made to be poured and shared over the course of an evening rather than finished at once.
Flavor is otherwise a matter of taste. Seltzers lean bright and carbonated, lemonades and iced teas lean toward something you would order in July anyway, and the lineup at both stores rotates with what licensed New York makers have on the truck that week. If you already know you like a certain gummy brand's flavor profile, their beverage line is often a reasonable place to start.
Serving, storing, and sharing responsibly
Pour a shared bottle into cups rather than passing the can around and guessing, so everyone actually knows what they had. Keep any opened or unopened beverage in its original, labeled packaging: infused cans and bottles are built to look like ordinary drinks on purpose, for the label rather than the beverage itself to carry the warning, and that means they can be mistaken for a regular soda or iced tea by anyone who has not read it, including houseguests, roommates, and kids.
Storage instructions vary by product. Some infused drinks are shelf-stable and can sit in a pantry like a sealed soda; others use juice or dairy and belong in the refrigerator the same as their non-infused counterparts. The package will say which, so check it once when you bring a new one home rather than guessing.
When a beverage makes sense over another format
If you want something to sip through an evening rather than a single dose to take and forget about, a beverage fits better than a gummy or a pre-measured chocolate square. If you want the fastest possible onset, inhaling still beats any ingested format, beverages included. And if you are brand new to cannabis in general, our edibles dosing guide covers the start low, go slow approach in more depth, since it applies to a can just as much as it does to a gummy.
Where to start
The beverage cooler rotates constantly at both the Fishkill farm stand and The Barn in New Paltz, so the live beverages menu is the accurate list of what is cold right now. Ask our team which can is the most beginner-friendly that day, and check the panel before you pour.
Common questions
Is a cannabis beverage the same as an edible?
It is a kind of edible. A seltzer, lemonade, or tea is swallowed and processed through digestion the same way a gummy is, so the same start low and go slow approach applies. The difference is the format, not the category. Some beverage makers use processing meant to bring on effects sooner and more predictably than a solid edible, but approach any beverage you have not tried before as new territory.
How long does a cannabis beverage take to work?
Because it is ingested, expect an edible-style timeline rather than the near-immediate feel of inhaling. Some formulations are built to come on faster than a traditional gummy or chocolate, but the only way to know how a specific product behaves is to try a small amount and wait before having more.
What does the can or bottle label actually tell me?
New York requires the package to show the total THC per serving and per container, the number of servings inside, and the recommended serving size, on the same principal panel every time. A single can might be one serving, or it might be several, so check that before you assume how much you are about to have.
Can I share a multi-serving bottle with a friend?
You can, and it is one of the more sociable formats for exactly that reason, but pour it out and track servings the way you would with any other cannabis product. It is easy to lose count of a shared bottle in a way that is harder to do with individually wrapped pieces.
Do cannabis beverages need to be refrigerated?
Check the label. Some are shelf-stable like a sealed soda, others are made with juice or dairy and need a cold chain the same as their non-infused counterparts. Either way, keep it in its original, labeled container and out of reach of anyone who might mistake it for a regular drink.
What is a good first cannabis beverage to try?
Start with a single-serving can rather than a multi-serve bottle, so there is no math involved, and pick a flavor category you already like, such as seltzer, lemonade, or iced tea, the common ones on a New York shelf. Ask a Farm Hand what is lowest-dose and most beginner-friendly that day.
Sources
- New York State Office of Cannabis Management, Part 128 adult-use cannabis packaging and labeling guidance.
- New York State Office of Cannabis Management, adult-use cannabis consumer guidance on product formats and onset times.