Rachel Burkons
Founder
Smoke Sip Savor / Cannabis Hospitality Coalition
Rachel Burkons is a cannabis hospitality entrepreneur and bong vivant who spent more than a decade working in the wine and spirits industry before jumping into the world of infused beverages and hospitality. She is the co-founder of cannabis hospitality group Altered Plates, where she has consulted on multiple licensed cannabis hospitality concepts, and is the founder of Smoke Sip Savor, where she creates entertaining and educational content and programming through the lens of cannabis food, drink and hospitality.
She is passionately involved in the infused beverage space, working alongside organizations such as
The High Spirits Awards and to develop programming that advances the category and drives consumer education. She is a co-founder of Feast and Flower, where she works with many of the top brands in beverage to develop on-premise programming and events designed for hospitality professionals. Rachel is a judge for the California State Fair Cannabis Competition, Lead Judge at High Spirits Awards, chairs the Food & Beverage Committee for the Cannabis Hospitality Coalition, and is a Budist critic, where she reviews and scores cannabis products from across California for the app’s consumer audience.Rachel has discussed the topic of cannabis hospitality and beverage at the James Beard Foundation, SXSW, Wine & Weed Symposium, SommCon, Restaurant and Bar Show, Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America ACCESS, California State Fair and more.