We’re excited to announce our new partnership between Rocking Star Farm and Tulsa-based cannabis processor Red Bud Elixirs. You can now find our Star Killer and Chronic Thunder strains in their vape concentrate cartridges, sap, and full-spectrum gummies.

Aside from creating some simply exceptional products, the Red Bud team is very serious about quality, and they are clearly committed to their craft and their patients. They utilize some cutting-edge science, but they’re also a down-to-earth local family business — just like Rocking Star Farm.

To learn more, we spoke with Founder/CEO Virgil Richmond and Brandon Fountain, who serves as the company’s sales director.

The Red Bud story

Virgil and his father founded Red Bud Elixirs in 2018 as the first medical marijuana processor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With Virgil’s background in finance and his father’s 40+ years as a chemical engineer, they had the perfect foundation for a successful family business.

“We spent our first couple of months locked in an office just planning and finding the right questions to ask. It was more exciting than scary, even knowing the competition we were going to be facing in Tulsa,” shares Virgil.

Three years later, Red Bud is going strong, perfecting their recipes and building a reputation for their brand.

Although their advanced science is paving the way in the local industry, Red Bud is a family business at its core. “My mother still hand-makes every single batch of our RL Remedy lotion,” says Virgil. “That’s her initials on the box, and she’s damn proud of that.”

Shared values

It’s not hard to see why Red Bud Elixirs is so well matched as a partner to Rocking Star Farm. In everything they do, Virgil and his team have in incredible respect for the plants and for the patients.

“We try to respect the plant as much as we can and manipulate it as little as possible,” says Brandon. “It truly is a medicine.”

He explains that means no chemicals, no cutting agents, and no additives. As an organic cannabis farm, that’s something we can definitely get behind!

“We love Rocking Star Farm,” says Virgil. “It’s a great cultivation that’s not huge — it’s local. We love that.”

“I’ve visited a lot of cultivations, and you can really tell where they’re at when you first walk in. At Rocking Star Farm, they’re keeping things trimmed up. Their plants look happy. There’s a great watering system. We obviously don’t have to worry about any of that.”

Virgil goes on to describe how two of RSF’s strains, Star Killer and Chronic Thunder, quickly became top picks for several of the top-shelf products at Red Bud Elixirs.

“I love Star Killer. One thing I found is that it’s got a floral rosebud aftertaste to it. It’s there in flower form — it’s subtle — but it really comes out in the concentrate.”

“The cannabinoid mix for chronic thunder was also fantastic, and that’s one of the reasons we chose to ‘elevate’ it to our gummies. We’re really picky what we put in those … We help out with a group that works with autism and cannabis, and they have a large following that uses gummies to treat children with epilepsy or autism. That means we have to use really good strains without any chemicals.”

“We take that very seriously,” adds Brandon. “We’re going to treat every single box as if it’s going to a child with autism.”

Unique extraction processes

Although there are faster, more high tech ways to produce cannabis concentrates, Virgil explains that Red Bud takes the small batch hand-crafted approach for a reason. Their intentional process allows multiple steps to evaluate and make sure they manipulate the plant as little as possible.

Their extraction process relies on CO2, which is actually a very weak solvent. That makes it trickier to use, but when it’s done right, it doesn’t bring over any of the heavier undesirable molecules like chlorophyl. “It’s only strong enough to bring over the cannabinoids and terpenes that we want,” says Virgil.

Other products in the industry like RSO (Rick Simpson Oil) use very strong solvents like a BHO propene mix or ethanol. “You can blast those through in a matter of minutes and it’s going to strip everything from the plant and leave white leaves behind,” explains Virgil. “RSO is black, but our FECO (full extract cannabis oil) is amber, yellow, orange, or red — whatever the original plant was.”

“Even our terpenes are done a whole different way,” he continues. “Every plant has terpenes. Those are the compounds that give something like an orange its unique perfume and taste … they are very light watery oils, which means it’s difficult to bring those over from the plant without taking any fats and lipids too. That’s the trick — it’s something that not many people in the country can do.”

Once a concentrate is complete, Virgil explains that he wants it to have the exact same feel and effects as the original strain.

“I’m amazed at how well Red Bud’s products capture the original quality and flavors of our products… I like them because their products are all natural, made with the plant’s native terpenes with no harmful chemicals. You get all the therapeutic compounds of the plant.”

Claire M., Rocking Star Farm

Made with care

“In the end I think what really matters is that we care about what we do,” Virgil says. “We care about every single thing we make, and everything we do, we do it with purpose.”

Every time the plant is handled, it degrades a little bit, so the Red Bud team is incredibly intentional about small details — even the way its products are stirred, ground, or sifted.

“How would I want a company to make the products I buy? What if it was just for me?” he asks. “Well, I would want them to take the time to do it right. I would want them to do it this way.”

Want to try Red Bud Elixirs?

The Red Bud Elixirs website features more detailed information on each product, as well as a list of dispensaries where they can be found.

Look for RSF Star Killer and Chronic Thunder stickers on Red Bud’s sap and concentrates. You can also see Chronic Thunder listed on the back of many gummies.