Sauce vs. Live Resin: What’s The Difference? Which Is Better?

Seems as though cannabis extracts and concentrates are getting more evolved than ever before, and two that we keep hearing about are “sauce” and “live resin”.  In fact, they’re often used interchangeably, and there’s a reason for that, which we’ll be getting into today.  Basically, we wanna compare the two types of terpene-rich extracts as a lot of people are understandably confused about how they differ from one another, and what each one brings to their favorite cannabis vapes and dabs.

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Contender #1: Sauce 

Let’s start with sauce.  The term “sauce” is a viscous liquid extract that’s made from raw plant material, through the use of a solvent and it typically describes the consistency and appearance of the extract.  It’s more potent than a standard extraction, as it undergoes a gentle heating process that further concentrates the extract down, so that milliliter for milliliter, you get more cannabinoids and terpenes out of it.  It’s amber in color, reflecting the high concentration of terpenes – similar to live resin.

Sauce Creation Process

The process of producing sauce starts out with full-spectrum hemp extract, made by applying a solvent like butane to raw cannabis flowers (dry-cured or flash-frozen, the latter producing live resin sauce, which we’ll get into more later), which separates the cannabinoids and terpenes from the plant.  Then, this extract is concentrated using low, even heat until it’s reduced into a thicker, more viscous oil than it was before.  From there, it’s winterized, meaning that fats and lipids are removed, bringing up the purity level even higher.

It’s worth mentioning that sauce is also a byproduct of making THCA diamonds.  The purification process converts the THCA cannabinoid into its purest, crystalline form, which can then be harvested from the sauce, or combined with the sauce and sold as a concentrate/vape oil.

Sauce Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Sauce is a more flavorful and potent form of full-spectrum hemp extract, which can be used interchangeably with the latter to boost the potency of any commonly available cannabis product type.

• Sauce is heated gently, unlike wax and shatter, retaining more flavor through the preservation of the flavor molecules found in the terpenes.
• Sauce is a liquid, so it’s more versatile than thicker types of concentrates.

Cons: 

• Sauce made from dry-cured flower is less potent than other types of concentrates, and live resin.

Contender #2: Live Resin 

Live resin is a hemp extract derived from fresh, flash-frozen plant material as opposed to plant material that’s been dry-cured.  Basically, dry-curing is a  method of preserving flower so that it doesn’t develop mold, but it subdues the flower’s sticky resinous trichome glands that contain the beautiful terpenes and flavonoids that give each strain its distinctive flavor profile and effects.  Live resin produces a fresher-tasting, more potent type of extract that is darker in color and thicker in consistency, showing off how concentrated it is.  

Again, sauce can be live resin-derived, as live resin can be concentrated to be turned into sauce.

Live Resin Creation Process

To produce live resin, freshly harvested hemp flower buds are quickly submerged in a flash-freezing agent like liquid nitrogen.  This maintains the integrity of the terpenes and other compounds in the trichomes perfectly, preserving them so that when you taste them, it’s like the plant was picked yesterday.  From there, the manufacturer can employ standard extraction processes, knowing that they’re going to yield a far more compound-rich extract.

Live Resin Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Live resin can be made without solvents butane (CO2 is a common alternative), while sauce requires the use of a chemical solvent.
• Live resin is thinner than sauce, so it’s less likely to clog a vape.
• Live resin can be found in many different hemp products, used interchangeably with standard liquid extract.
• Live resin offers exceptional flavor, which is better than dry-cured sauce.

Cons:

• Live resin isn’t as potent as sauce, and so the effects aren’t as strong, puff for puff.  

• Live resin isn’t really dab-friendly, unless it’s mixed into a concentrate.

The Battle of the High-Potency Liquid Extracts: Which Will You Choose?

Clearly, live resin and sauce have a lot in common – in fact, there’s such a thing as live resin sauce, which is becoming more and more standard in vape cartridges and disposables, as well as concentrates.  The key is knowing the differences between the two, so that when you’re shopping for cannabis products, you have a good idea of what your expectations should be.  Binoid even offers a vast selection live resin and live resin sauce products, giving you the potency and flavor you’re looking for.

Sauce is a more flavorful and potent form of full-spectrum hemp extract, which can be used interchangeably with the latter to boost the potency of any commonly available cannabis product type. Live resin can be made without solvents butane (CO2 is a common alternative), while sauce requires the use of a chemical solvent. Live resin offers exceptional flavor, which is better than dry-cured sauce.

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