Best dab of the show

Mile High Melts didn’t arrive in Illinois out of nowhere. The name reaches back into Colorado’s solventless scene, where Sam from Mile High Melts was already talking publicly about hashmaking, experimentation and the evolution of rosin years before the brand began appearing on Illinois menus.

That history doesn’t guarantee a great jar. It does give the product context.

The Illinois chapter

At Flower Expo, Mile High Melts was part of the Redemption Botanicals booth alongside Preferred Gardens and Beezle. That relationship matters because it puts the hash inside a broader Illinois portfolio that was one of the strongest presentations of the show.

“This was the one I wanted another dab of.”

The booth kept rotating flower, live resin and live rosin.

Proof beyond the booth

At the 2025 Best in Grass Illinois competition, Mile High Melts’ Grape Cake Live Rosin took 1st place in Solventless Concentrates. The point is not that an award automatically makes every drop great. It is that there is already evidence this team can compete in one of the most unforgiving categories in cannabis.

Kiwi Slushie

I tried a lot of concentrates at Flower Expo. Kiwi Slushie was the dab I kept thinking about afterward. Out of everything I sampled, this was the one that made me want to circle back.

Why this one won

Live rosin is unforgiving. The aroma, texture, melt and flavor all have to line up. There is nowhere for a mediocre experience to hide behind hardware, added flavoring or a complicated format.

At the Redemption Botanicals booth, Kiwi Slushie checked the boxes I care about. The texture looked fresh and properly worked. The melt was clean. The flavor carried through the dab instead of making a big first impression and disappearing. Most importantly, the experience stayed with me after I had moved on to everything else at the show.

That is the memory test. After a show full of products, Kiwi Slushie was still the one I wanted to revisit.

Buyer’s take

I’m not giving Kiwi Slushie this spot because of a booth, a package or an award. I’m giving it the spot because when I strip all of that away and think about the actual product I consumed, it is the one I would go back and buy. That is ultimately the test that matters to me as a buyer.

You can market a jar. You still have to deliver what’s inside it.

“The point isn’t that history guarantees quality. It’s that there’s context behind the jar.”

— John Hirsch · @ProcureCulture

For adults 21+. Personal experience, not medical advice. Cannabis laws vary by location.