‘Choose Happy’: Mataroa Distillery Goes Green with Cannabis- and Damiana-Infused Gin Liqueur

A hazy green wave is sweeping through Gen Z's choice of liquor. According to a 2022 poll by New Frontier Data, 69% of 18- to 24-year-olds prefer cannabis to alcohol. Across the board, 36% of cannabis users have reported decreased alcohol consumption following marijuana's intermittent legalization in the US, with numbers expected to grow in years to come. Rather than lose market share, liquor brands are beginning to go with the flow. Greek distiller Mataroa has unveiled an alcoholic gin-based spirit infused with cannabis. The innovative blend — which the brand claims is the first of its kind — swaps out THC for non-psychoactive cannabinoids that "boost energy without provoking a high." The bright yellow 11%-ABV spirit also includes damiana, a bittersweet Mexican shrub believed to be an aphrodisiac. Fittingly dubbed Mataroa Happy, the spirit is now available across European markets for $26 . Mataroa distills its gin at the Melissandi Distillery in Aridea, Greece, and is believed to be one of the oldest distilleries in the country. Its flagship Mediterranean dry gin takes an international approach to botanicals, blending Cypriot chamomile, French lavender, Greek mastic resin, Moroccan mandarin, Spanish orange, Italian orris, French angelica, Syrian bay leaf, Tunisian coriander, Egyptian lemon peels, Croatian juniper and Turkish licorice. With its latest expression, Mataroa ventures into the fast-growing cannabis-adjacent spirits category. Brands like MXXN have taken a zero-alcohol, all-cannabis approach to the concept, playfully reinterpreting spirits with names like "Jalisco Agave" and "Kentucky Oak." Other brands, like Mataroa Happy and El Hempe , infuse cannabis flavor into alcohol minus the high. For good reason, the two approaches are rarely combined into one. [botmc-promo]