Origins and Backstory: Originally bred by Greenshock Seeds, Long Valley Sleigh Ride is a cross of Long Valley Royal Kush and Tropical Sleigh Ride, itself a cross of Meangene’s Pina and Purple Candy Cane. Known for its high ocimene content, Tropical Sleigh Ride has won the Emerald Cup. Pina is a plant from meangene known for its pineapple/caramel aromas as well as uplifting high and relatively high CBD content. These were taken to the F2 generation by a friend of mine, and gifted to me for this year’s season.
Appearance: I grew two females this year and they looked significantly different, but had some similarities. One grew like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, while the other grew more stout and shrub-like. Both of them had purple stems so dark they were almost black, with buds of a similarly dark purple hue. The foliage on both plants was entirely green. The buds grown stout and compact like little golf balls. They have strange formations on top, not like a normal bud which comes down to a symmetrical point; these nugs grow almost fractal-like like Romanesco cauliflower. Both highly resinous and dense, the two plants were easy to trim with little leaf material.
Aroma: The dried/cured flower differs significantly from the live plant, but I would say that both are enjoyable. The live plants smelled like apples, grapes, tropical fruit,honey, and Febreze-like chemicals, with a characteristic tone that Royal Kush enthusiasts would recognize at once as being common to Royal Kush and its progeny. My favorite of the two females is sweet and candy-like, leaning toward artificial grape, apple, honey, and sugary-sweet candy cane aromas. The shorter plant finished with less candy-like notes, and was heavier on a sort of sour fermented dairy (maybe a lactobacillus note?) that is similar to yogurt or a milkshake. Both aromas are enjoyable but most folks agreed with me that the aroma rich with fruit and candied tones was preferable. Both plants finished with heavy floral tones which could also be called perfumey, and I’d describe them overall as honey-fruit-blossom-candy. It’s really desirable and different from most offerings in the mainstream today—undoubtedly an attention-getter! Overall, the candied fruit, the floral perfume, and the notes from Royal Kush we know and love all come together for something unique and special. I often feel like most weed aromas these days are akin to remixed music—something played around with, but nothing truly original is expressed. LVSR sheds this stereotype of modern weed, offering something simultaneously novel and nostalgic, a total winner.
Flavor: Echoing qualities of the bouquet, the flavor is at once unique and familiar, and thoroughly enjoyable. The flavor of LVSR’s smoke is soft and velvety, heavy on all of the floral, perfume, and candied fruit notes. Interestingly enough, there are also some more sour tones in the flavor than the aroma would let on about, almost like a sour patch kid. It all comes together in a wonderfully complex and deep flavor sensation, ranging from sweet grapes and apples to a sourness so pronounced a friend described it as “almost like hoisin.” The floral, perfumey, and herbaceous/botanical notes contribute significantly, maybe making up 50% of the profile. I don’t want to turn anyone off by saying that either—it is really these elements that makes the flavor so complex and multi-dimensional, and ulitmately so enjoyable—the sweet and sour fruit tones have something to contrast against, and it’s simply wonderful to smoke. Really unique and high grade, something to be sought after repeatedly.
Effects: More relaxing than anything, Long Valley Sleigh Ride is some of the most chill new weed around. Despite the very mellow relaxing effect, Long Valley Sleigh Ride contributes strong feelings of euphoria, “feel-good,” and just a general strong sense of well-being. I’m guessing there are high levels of alternative cannabinoids in here. Whether CBD, the ocimene effect, or something more obscure (or even unknown), Long Valley Sleigh Ride is laid back and mellow, and consistently-so. Surprisingly, this has consistently been the favorite among my friends from this year’s grow. This weed is always “feel-good,” contrasted by the sometimes too-potent strains that are so common today. This is excellent beach weed, excellent movie weed, really it is great weed for just about anything making it an incredible “daily driver.” While relaxing, it can be enjoyed with some light activities and certainly could be categorized as recreational, or medicinal for certain things (but probably not pain). Overall, the effect is one that is universally loved and enjoyed, and I have a very hard time seeing anybody going overboard or having an overly-intense experience of any sort. Highly underrated, consistently and thoroughly enjoyable. Everyone loves how this weed feels, myself included.
Overall: It should come as no surprise that combining genetics like Long Valley Royal Kush and Pina would produce something as high quality as Long Valley Sleigh Ride. This weed was some of the favorite from the season, and really stands out as a different smoke. The bud structure and ease of trim are icing on top of the cake that is the high quality aroma, flavor, and most importantly, effect of this fine cannabis. I love smoking LVSR as does everyone else I’ve put in contact with it. It’s a rare thing for everyone to enjoy any given strain these days, and for this (among other things) LVSR stands out. The aroma is an intriguing one, with the sour Febreeze notes a real pleasure to experience with the growing plant. This morphs into the sweet-sour-candied-perfume thing that I’ve come to love, which translates so magically and mysteriously into an flavor that one couldn’t predict from the aroma alone. The effect is really what we’re seeking though, and LVSR delivers. This is weed that simply makes one feel good, and confers all the benefits of cannabis that we’ve all come to appreciate. Highly underrated, very unique, and very high quality. I’ll be growing with this one again, and hopefully making selections to continue F3s and beyond in a direction more personal to me.