I recently received a batch of cannabis derived sesquiterpenes and it has an unusual “pickley” smell and taste to it. Usually they smell earthy. Does anyone have experience with this or know how to reduce the pickle flavor? Could this be a result of poor distillation?
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It sounds like it may be a byproduct of degradation. Were they sealed in the cool and dark before use?
If they were, are you properly diluting them instead of smelling them as a concentrate?
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Where did it come from? If you know, alot of guys here bury product and buy the old barrels at a local place and you really have to be careful and not lick a bnana lepper, jalapeño or pickle barrel since the smell will get into the product. Even through many layers of bags and nitro sealed. Just a thought
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Sesqui- and triterpenses usually smell terrible, even in very small quantities (especially when isolated). The pickle smell is not one I have encountered before, but I am curious about how exactly you are using these terps. Are you mixing them with monoterpenes?
The terps you say you are getting are usually located in the heads and tails of cannabinoid distillation. Are you really buying heads and tails for carts?
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You know what? I never put that together. One person I deal with calls those “cadaver terps”.
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The most recent batch came off my SPD. I’ve gotten terp fractions ranging from minty to slightly pickley and Im curious if it is from the crude or distilling technique. I received the original bottle from a distiller on request. I can’t imagine it would taste good in carts… this is for my personal edification only
And
Are two completely different scenarios, and there are details missing that are making it difficult for me to wrap my head around what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
Are you merely distilling terpenes or are you actually performing SPD of cannabinoids? Are you just curious about the smells of different fractions coming out during distillation? Why would you want a bottle of sesquiterpenes, and how did the distiller you mention isolate these terps? How are they certain that there are no other terpenes (mono, tri, etc) in the mix?
The terpenes that make up the smell of mint are almost exclusively monoterpenes. If you are distilling cannabinoids and this is the smell you’re getting, you haven’t devolitilized properly before starting your run, and it is likely that there is contamination from an outside source. Only time I came across a mint smell was with hemp that had been harvested by a combine that also happened to harvest mint a few months earlier.
With your own work (not of the other distiller in question), how many fractions are you collecting and what is the purpose of collecting each of said fractions? You’d be surprised at how many different smells make up what we know to be cannabis flower.
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Poor wording, sorry. I recently distilled a batch of crude which produced a bottle of “heads”. I have no analytical capability so the actual components of the mixture is unknown. I collect three fractions during distillation. The heads, which are collected in the cold trap; a main fraction of cannabinoids; and a tailing fraction containing high boiling garbage. The purpose is purification of cannabinoids and the heads are collected by secondary intention and have recently become an area of interest. I guess what I was asking was “Terps smell funny sometimes. I am new to distilling and terpenes, what are some factors that effect smell?”
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Old material, moisture, bad material, degradation. Pickle terps are pretty common unfortunately. Are you using salts to remove moisture?
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No salts are used but they are stored at -20 with no visible ice formation. Occasionally some precipitation will occur, initiating a quick trip through a paper filter.
cadaver-amines. Technically not terps unless Im missing something?
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Smelled a flower sample that smelled of pickles about a month ago, I couldn’t determine what exactly made it smell like pickles but it could be a combination of dill, cucumber, and maybe even acidic notes.
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As far as I can tell it’s from a bad cure/flush that causes an accelerated breakdown in sulfur-containing compounds.
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Would a small distiller nmmmm like helped…maybe coldnvacuum distiller
Agreed . Its suprising how a pepporcinni barrel can permeate . I put sour d in a few of them that i had scrubbed and washed many times . The herb came out like fresh pickeled peppers after a couple months in those barrels . Being sour d its was a good combo that people enjoyed. Dont try this at home…
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The two biggest places old timers would have been able to identify degradation products would be Mexican brick and Lebanese hash. I’ve smelled some weird stuff in flower, but never pickles!
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Honestly, I bought more than 1 cart from the stores in AK that had a pickle after-taste. It was 1 weird experience to hit the vape, and have that pickle-y taste in your mouth.
I’d be concerned solvent was still present.