During the pandemic, DC has seen more than 30 brick and mortar I-71 gifting stores open, and one that’s been recommended to me most is Elevated Lounge. A trusted enthusiast friend of mine picked up a bunch of flavors from them and shared their experience on the local Discord server. Elevated has gotten a good bit of buzz on Reddit, Instagram and Discord channels for being a brick and mortar store with great value flower. After going to their location in Glover Park/Georgetown, I found the shop to be one of the strongest brick and mortar I-71 compliant services in DC.
About Elevated Lounge
The shop is on Wisconsin Ave, right in the middle of what I think is one of the best munchie rows in all of DC. It’s a short walk from my personal favorite, Wingos, and I’m excited to be able to get some quality joint fodder to share with my buddies next time I go for killer wings.
Elevated Lounge’s primary offering is their tour of DC through their sister operation, Elevated Tours. Tour groups meet at Elevated Arts on 18th St. NW, which is easy to find by the decals on the stairs into the building. Tours take participants around the city in a custom-wrapped van, visiting the White House, the Tidal Basin, and many of the monuments and memorials in the National Mall and surrounding areas. The tour is really well suited for folks who’ve never been to DC before. After the tour, everyone is dropped back at Elevated Arts.
Shopping at Elevated Lounge
Going on the tour or purchasing an art print affords participants access to the members-only Elevated Lounge, located at 2428 Wisconsin Ave NW. Upon entering the second-floor location, you’re greeted by security, and then seated in a comfortable waiting room. You can check out all the prints Elevated Lounge offers before you’re led into the display room by a staff member. Returning Elevated members can get a membership card to streamline the gifting process.
What’s on the Menu at Elevated Lounge?
Members must sign a waiver to enter, and can then browse a selection of 4-gram packages that the staff refer to as “flavors.” One thing I’ve seen I-71 enthusiasts complain about is that many shops don’t have an option for folks who want to buy in bulk. Elevated Lounge members get access to a seven-flavor special: 28 grams for only $350. I like the packaging quite a bit — all of their flower comes in print mylar bags made by Cannaline.
The display case at Elevated
Elevated Lounge’s gift stock included a solid selection of around 10 high-quality strains of flower, and locally infused and confected medibles. They’re also one of the only I-71 shops to carry Cannahiba infused pre-rolls and cannagars. When I spoke with Elevated’s managing partner, Aaron Rogers (no relation to the QB!), he reminded me of Cannahiba’s appearance on Vice’s Most Expensivest Shit with 2 Chainz. The standard pre-roll, known as The Cannon, is 2g of flower with extract in ultra-thin paper with a wood tip. It’s meant to last a couple of sessions for even the most seasoned smokers. Elevated Lounge also offers three sizes of cannabis leaf-wrapped cannagars; slim, signature and king, which are wrapped with kief and cured extract.
A Cannahiba cannagar
Across the board with Elevated Lounge’s offerings, it’s clear Rogers and his staff have put in a lot of effort to source quality products for their customers that they actually enjoy consuming themselves. Unlike some menus, Elevated Lounge only has one tier of flower, so all the flavors are the same price and roughly the same quality. They display all the flower in jars with a lamp and magnifying glass on the top (the fun name for this is “Smokus Focus”) which gave me a good look at the bud structure and resin development.
Reviewed: Sherb Cake and Bacio
I left Elevated with two sample bags: one of Sherb Cake (likely Ice Cream Cake x Sherb Bx1) and one of Bacio (Sherbinski’s #41 pheno of Sunset Sherb x Thin Mint ’09 Cookies), plus a Cannahiba pre roll. The Sherb Cake smoked quite smoothly with consistently light ash in the joint. And the Bacio was one of the strongest expressions of Gelato I’ve tried in a while.
This Bacio was bomb.
The distinct flavor was the expected sharp candy-sweetness with industrial gas, a bone white ash and smooth smoke throughout the whole joint. Both strains were as potent as I expected, and would be adequate for smokers at any experience level.
Smokers with distinct flavor and specific effect preferences will be pleased with the quality of the whole selection at Elevated. Rogers claims to keep a steady supply of MAC 1 as gifts, and the sample I saw on display was super resinous.
The Takeaway
Overall, I definitely recommend Elevated Lounge to anyone looking for a storefront in the Glover Park/Georgetown area, where there are almost no stores of note. The flower options are superb, the pre-rolls are premium and the staff is friendly and helpful. Their one-shelf menu allows them to offer their excellent value seven-flavor deal, and for seasoned smokers to have a constant supply of strains that work for them. Most importantly, Elevated Lounge makes you feel like you’re part of the community, especially if you’re a frequent customer. I think that extra care is important for bridging the gap between retail sales and the traditional market setting.