Chamoy gummies are stashed widely throughout Southern California if you know where to look. From its tienditas and junior high schoolyards to the occasional car wash that agrees to push the wares of a nascent neighborhood entreprenuer with a vision, a supersized sack of peach rings, and a bottle of El Chilerito.
And now finally, thanks to a company named Don Perico, you can find chamoy-flavored gummies at the dispensary, packing the extra superpower of getting you high today (Craig). They simultaneously allow you a slight hit of the spicy-sweet-umami tang of chamoy, Mexico's beloved condiment found drizzled all over your mango, watermelon, jicama, and cucumber-stuffed cups.
The brand, which states on its website that it's "por el pueblo para el pueblo," from its founders to the people they employ, deploys Santa Barbara County-grown herb in a variety of products. These include cannabis concentrates, pre-rolls, vapes, beverages, and a line of gummies in six flavors meant to appeal to palates that grew up on flavor and heat. And not just, say, crackers and cold cuts.
The edibles currently include frutero-inspired flavors such as a classic tamarindo-and-mango chamoy, sandia (watermelon) with chamoy, pina (pineapple)--are all part of the Don's "tropical" collection-- and fresa (strawberry).
Each sack of edibles comes with 10 gummies, weighing in at 10mg each, and using Hybrid strains. Don Perico's canned cannabis aguas frescas include two flavors: jamaica, pina, and fresa; and tamarindo and sandia, both with 10mg of THC.
Even their vape carts, concentrates, and joints lean toward these flavor profiled. Vape options include Tropicana, Dulce, and Zkittlez, while there's also a strawberry-guava bubble hash and "Dulce" doobs. Sweet!
Targeting a "Latino/Hispanic" market of stoners isn't the only way Don Perico attempts to distinguish itself. The brand claims to specialize in marijuana tradicional de California, which if you're as old as some of us are, may conjure memories of this more than this.
More importantly, like many today's more aspirational, (semi-)conscious cannabis brands, it's using "live rosin" in all its processed products.
"Live rosin" is considered by many to be a more natural, conceivably safer product, made only using heat and pressure. As opposed to commonly found "live resin," which uses solvents, potentially including butane, butane hash oil, and propane, and may contain higher THC levels.
As far as its edibles are concerned, Don Perico writes on its website that they might begin hitting in 10-15 minutes, as opposed to the usual 45-60 minutes brands advise.
It may get even better. The company says it is offering 50% off of everyone's first orders made directly on the website. We found them in a local L.A. dispensary, too, at $11 for a bag of 10. Not sure if that was a promo price or not, only that it was on par with some of the non-infused chamoy candies we love. On its site, Don Perico sells them for $20 a bag.
As for who the self-proclaimed poblanos behind the company are, we're yet to find out.
The website divulges that it is a "Sunset Labs Company" and only offers one contact address at a sunsetlabs.com email. Which brought us to a website about breeding labrador retrievers in New Hampshire.
So... it sounds like the Don is already hitting some good shit.
