Hawaiian Heirloom Genetics Maui Skunkdog x Eureka Lemon (Outdoor)

Origins and Backstory:  Bred by Hawaiian Heirloom Genetics and gifted to me by @spacemanspliff808, this is a cross of the famous Maui Skunkdog, and a plant called Lemon, presumably from Eureka, California. Skunkdog is a famous clone from Hawaii, and legends abound about its parentage and origin. It’s extremely popular on the islands both with smokers as well as growers, although I have never tried the pure thing. Knowing nothing about Eureka Lemon, I germinated these in the hopes that I could find some plants resembling the legendary Maui Skunkdog.

Appearance:  These flowers are highly resinous but also pretty fluffy. My understanding is that the loose bud structure inhibits mold growth in the highly-humid islands of Hawaii, and it certainly makes sense after seeing the plant finish. Buds are light green, and despite weathering snow and several frosts in the Colorado outdoor season, did not display much color. There were some pink pistils that showed up mid-flower, but these finished a dark reddish-brown by the time of harvest. All in all, these look like some looser green bud from the ‘90s.

Aroma:  Fresh, sharp, and astringent, this plant smells like a fresh load of laundry with some extra dryer sheets. The dominant smell really is the exact note of dryer sheets. There are other notes of febreeze, hairspray/sharpie marker tip, aloe vera, and sanitizing hand wipes. It mostly smells like fresh laundry though, with distinctive aromas of fabric softener and dryer sheets. There was a less loud phenotype that had subtle notes of macadamia nut and whipped cream, but the superior plant is the one that smells like laundry coming out of the dryer. Talk about comfort weed!

Flavor:  The aroma translates to flavor, and it is a velvety smooth experience of dryer sheets, Febreeze, and fabric softener down the palate. It is seriously like inhaling from a skunky, dank doobtube**—an awesome and bizarre experience! It makes me recall a bag of weed I received in my youth. I was actually concerned at the time that the smell came from smugglers who had sprayed the weed with chemicals, and it made me anxious about potential health effects. It was notably killer weed at the time, so I ended up smoking it. Looking back, it was probably just really killer weed and I was just paranoid. The flavor is really a wonderful experience!

**A doobtube is a cardboard or otherwise hollow tube that is filled with crumpled dryer sheets. Smoke or vapor is exhaled through the tube, thus being “filtered” by the dryer sheets, and minimizing the cannabis aromas—or at least covering them up! This was a popular choice of mine growing up and toking in an outdated midwestern state.

Effects:  Very dreamy and very stoney, this Lemon Skunkdog v2.0 is not lacking potency. It is actually some of the strongest outdoor weed I have smoked from the 2020 outdoor season, and some of the only outdoor to stand up against the sheer potency of the Gelato 41 and London Pound Cake on the shelf. This hits similar to an OG or other heavier strains, with potency and authority. It isn’t uppity, but gives a classic cannabis effect that seemlessly meshes with island vibes. This is laid back, no-worries-no-hurries type weed. I could smoke this weed on a porch, on a beach, on a river, or just about anywhere, and contentedly watch the world go by. It is euphoric and happy, and gives rise to optimistic thought. This is happy, good times bud that I really love.

Overall:  This is probably the strongest of the 2020 outdoor season, and the aroma/flavor are almost unprecedented in weed (the only exception in my personal experience being that bag of dried flower I purchased in 2007-8). The plant did take an extended time to finish flowering, and I think would typically need to be prematurely harvested most winters. We had a very mild winter this year, despite the early snows. The quality of the flower is absolutely top tier, and the structure of the plants and flower certainly seem to lend themselves to mold-resistance in high-humidity environments. I did cross this plant with Lime 1 x Grape Soda Skunk F2, an earlier finisher, and I hope to retain many of the traits of this plant in the cross. I am glad the weather allowed for these plants to finish, as they are some of the most exotic and enjoyable to smoke of any this year. I love smoking this weed for all kinds of reasons, and really look forward to seeing which traits she passes to the next generation.

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Freeborn Selections Lime 1 x Grape Soda Skunk F2 (Outdoor)

Origins and Backstory:  Released from @Meangenefrommmendocino, this cross is a blend of a couple legends from the Freeborn garden. Lime 1 is the father to Black Lime (if I recall correctly), and is the ancestor to more than one of Mean Gene’s successful Lime crosses. Grape Soda Skunk is one of Meangene’s own as well, and while I do not know a ton about it, it is reportedly very heavy on grape soda aromas, extremely skunky, and even exhibits phenotypes with high CBD, and low THC—I have even heard rumors that legal hemp plants can be found in GSS stock. I grew out several of these seeds, and pulled out a single female and several males.

Appearance:  Equally beautiful on the plant and in the jar, Lime 1 x GSS flowers are dense and fully-developed, with heavy resin content. The colors are highly contrasted, with lime greens underneath purple-tipped, plump calyxes. These are highly appealing plants as well as flowers, and the flowers have a very satisfying and familiar appearance of grenades. These are handsome and eye-catching flowers with a high color contrast, making for a pretty sexy bag appeal!

Aroma:  At once both sweet and sour, perfumey and offensive, the aroma encapsulates all aspects that I believe belong in cannabis. Lime 1 x Grape Soda Skunk offers a complex medley that lends itself to both sides of its lineage. Consisting of an intense grape (ranging from Welch’s jam to grape soda to purple gatorade and Riptide Rush), freshly sliced key lime, lavender flowers, skunk, vomit/bile, acidity, and perfume, it is one of my favorite bouquets from my 2020 outdoor season. There is a sour, fermented funk that reminds me of a still-brewing sour ale, or something akin to rotting hops. The female in my dry-farmed patch is certainly dominated by grapey aromas. While all of the above notes describe the plant, it is light on the lime, and very heavy on the grape, perfume, skunk, and acidic bile. Almost everybody is drawn to this jar, wanting to take in the complexity over and over.

Flavor:  The flavor is certainly similar in character to the aroma, but has its own traits as well. There is an immediate forefront of sour and tangy grape jam, almost identical to Welch’s. This is coupled with the complex notes of fermented beer and hops. However, these fruitier tones quickly die down into a more metallic kind of grape. The metallic flavor is not like the generic copper/tin/iron that I can generally detect in cannabis, but actually reminds me of the flavor I experience when the inside of my mouth is bleeding. It is that kind of warm, metallic, blood flavor and it is extremely unique in cannabis flowers—this is my first time experiencing it in smoke! It is like a grape-blood-hop flavor—not necessarily sopping like some of the other Lime varietals from Freeborn, but it is extremely unique and complex.

Effects:  There is definitely some CBD in this one! Evident through aroma, finger-feel (something about the way the resin feels on the fingers), and effect, Lime 1 x GSS has relatively high levels of both THC as well as CBD. This is one of those really nice blended smokes that combines the best of both worlds. It won’t be your first choice to impress buddies with potency, but it is certainly potent enough, and the character of the effect is an enjoyable one. I actually can get a head rush with this weed, just like with other super-potent varieties, but the effect never builds into the “I am SO stoned” feeling that some of the more extreme hype strains offer. The head rush and feeling of intense euphoria comes down into a chilled out feeling, reliably mellowing me out and giving me a calm demeanor. I don’t get paranoid on this bud, and it’s easy-going smoke regardless of set and/or setting. It comes on slowly and simultaneously in the body and head, but is relaxing and mellowing in both. The calm and more relaxed mindset offers a more compassionate perspective, able to see the world from a place of calm, relaxation, and clarity. I love, love, LOVE the effect of this one.

Overall:  This is one of my favorites from the 2020 outdoor season, and really one of my favorites in recent memory overall. The plants themselves are robust and hardy, willing to endure extremes in weather/environment while still putting out high quality, gorgeous buds. There is a diversity of color on both the plant and dried flower, offering a decent bag appeal. The aroma is loud, frequently popping out at guests of mine and encouraging heavy jar-huffing. The alluring and deeply-complex aroma translates to flavor in a unique character that I have never experienced in cannabis before. These unique traits yield an equally-distinctive experience of both high THC and high CBD smoke, making for a wonderfully-pleasant and relaxing smoking experience. I’d recommend this weed to my grandmother. I could smoke this weed on almost any occasion, and be better off for it. Isn’t that what’s attracting about weed to begin with, to be better off than without it?

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Gelato #41

Origins and Backstory:  A famous clone-only from the Cookie Family, I was given this plant as Gelato 41. I later heard that this may indeed not be the famed Gelato41 clone, which would make some sense—I have smoked the 33 cut before, and while there are some similarities, there are enough differences to make me think it may be another plant entirely. In any case, I will be reviewing this weed with the same name it was given to me as. The Gelato plants are sisters from a Cookie cross of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies x Sunset Sherbet.

Appearance:  Visually stunning, the flowers are completely encrusted in resin and appear an off-white ivory or bone color due to the extreme density of the glossy orbs. The growing plant was large and vigorous, but nothing much for aesthetic oohs and ahhs. The flowers themselves are much more notable—they are dense and remind me both of Gorilla Glue and Cookie plants at the same time. Coloring outside of green is not really present (this is one of the red flags that this might be an imposter, as my impression with Gelato 41 is that it is almost always accompanied by purples etc.).

Aroma:  Loud and attractive, G41 is overall like a floral-funky version of cookies. It is less candied and sweet, with definitive floral tones, and some skunky cookie funk. The floral tones remind me of Gelato 33, but the funk is a chemical-like rubber & epoxy like thing that make me think of Gorilla Glue. There is an upfront confectionary note that does remind me of Baskin & Robbin’s artificial frosting (featured on clown cones and ice cream cakes), Blue Moon-flavored ice cream, or powdered sugar. I also detect much more subtle tones of pureed peas, liquid cement, and burning rubber. Overall, the aroma is quite nuanced and complex while still being overwhelmingly loud—an excellent and impressive combination! I would describe it as funky, sweet, and floral.

Flavor:  The flavor of smoked Gelato 41 is not nearly as impressive as the aroma, but it’s certainly not a downside. It is like a more nuanced and funked-up OGKB (OG Kush Breath)—there is certainly a predominant flavor of sweet, blandish pastry dough that could certainly be described as tasting like a plain cookie dough. There is a very generic floral element present as well—I cannot place it specifically, but it is present almost ubiquitously in domestic flower varieties. Maybe it is marigold? Overall, I’d say it is a mildly-sweet, floral funk flavor. Nothing mind-blowing.

Effects:  This weed is strong! I have been smoking this next to London Pound Cake, and basically switch between the two. They are comparable in potency, but Gelato 41 is a bit easier to manage during the day. While certainly I would not categorize it as functional, I would classify Gelato 41 as less narcotic, and a bit dreamier than LPC. However, G41 is still on the indica side of things, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for a wake n bake experience—unless we are talking lazy Sunday! This weed can be downright disorienting and confusing at times, and I certainly would not recommend it if you need to be articulate. The smoke slowly numbs my mind, and I am sure that observers would swear I lost IQ points. I search for words, my short-term memory is quickly shot, and I feel like my thoughts scatter and fragment. This is sort of disintegrating weed; it seems to space me out and stretch me in several directions (as opposed to a grounding or centering smoke). This is kind of like the “alcohol” of cannabis, if that makes sense. It is relaxing and inebriating, strong and loosens you out of your usual MO, but does seem to bring one down in a way more than up.

Overall:  Gelato 41 is a contender for both the loudest as well as the most potent weed I have grown this year—however, I think the characters of these traits could be improved on. It has a gorgeous bag appeal due to the extreme resin content, and is easily the stickiest dried-flower I have in my current stash. The potency can be devastating at times, and I’d certainly classify the smoke as medicinal. The appearance, aroma, and potency are what keep me coming back to this one, and have made G41 one of my favorite current smokes. However, the flavor is certainly lacking, being one-dimensional and basic. This is one I bring out when I have a longtime friend visit, and I have something to prove—”look at the weed I grew!” This is beautiful, stinks, and is strong enough get chronic dabbers high. I did cross this plant to several different Mean Gene males, with the hopes and expectations that the progeny will be devastatingly strong, beautiful, and flavorful—true femme fatales! Whether the clone I received is genuine Gelato 41 or not, there are plenty of reasons why this plant should be popular!

Bodhi Seeds Pirate Sweat x 88G13HP

Origins and Backstory:  Bred by Bodhi Seeds and released as testers, I was eager to grow these out. Pirate Sweat is in turn a cross of an Afghan and 88G13HP, making these seeds a technical backcross, but to the 88g13hp male. I was eager to run them, but only found one female in the pack. Bodhi is the people’s champ breeder and I have been somewhat overdue to grow and review some of his gear! I have grown some of the other 88g13hp crosses, which generally impress with structure, yield, resin content, and potency.

Appearance:  Notably dense and chunky green grenades stack on the stout and vigorous frames of these plants. The flowers themselves are classically-indica, very dense and highly resinous. Unfortunately I did not get pictures of the growing plant, which had a very satisfying structure to it. It was the typical golf ball-stacking kush phenotype, but with higher yields and a very sturdy constitution. All green, this plant did not exhibit any interesting coloration, even after being exposed to low temperatures. These are vigorous and have a highly favorable structure.

Aroma:  Musty, acrid, spicy, and funky (in that order), the bouquet betrays the indica (or BLD) heritage of this cultivar. Up front and most prevalent are aromas of an herbal apothecary, wet dog, human body odor, dill pickles, and jerky. Garlic and other allium aromas are immediately prevailing once the buds are broken up, and the body odor as well as wet dog aromas greatly intensify. The broken flower is a lot funkier than the dried flower, but retains the must and almost extreme acridity.

Flavor:  As is the case with many spicier, woodier, and “kushier” type broad leaf indica varieties, the flavor is distinctly different from the aroma, but equally if not more enjoyable. It is much sweeter than the aroma would imply, and tastes of varying herbs, apothecary, and fresh forest air (not pine, but more of a sweet-wood-compost thing). There is some kind of chemical flavor in here too, one that reminds me of car washes or new-car smell. It tastes like the “imitation new car smell” aroma—it isn’t quite the real deal brand new leather luxury vehicle, but tastes the way that the cheap imitation spray smells. There is something not far off from incense and some of the sweeter, more aromatic hardwoods coming through too. All in all, the flavor is vastly different from the aroma and is deeply complex. I don’t anticipate extracts will blow minds the same way citrus strains will, but the flavor of the smoked flower has depth, subtle complexities, and diversity to satisfy the most discerning kush and broad leaf lovers.

Effects:  This is immediate and potent weed! A few seconds after exhaling, my eyes seem to tire and close a few degrees to their own accord, while my face seems to warm and flush some. I am immediately struck that this is potent and strong, but it is also relaxing and mellowing. This is pretty classically indica, making me mellow, a bit extra smiley, and allows me to slow down and let go of other anxieties. This is pretty eye-reddening stuff, and just a few hits has me looking like a stoner from a comic book. I am red eyed, shoulders relaxed, and probably look like I am gazing into some endless inner abyss. A little bit of this stuff goes a long way, and is pretty ideal for video games/movies/passive entertainment as well as the enhancement of physical pleasures like massage and sex. This is really a great example of a classic indica, as it does not make me overwhelmingly tired, lazy, or couch-locked, but I would say it is certainly conducive to less-than-active endeavors. Long-lasting and dreamy, this flower is a nice Sunday smoke, or to be savored in the evening alone or with loved ones.

Overall:  Pirate Sweat x 88G13HP from Bodhi Seeds is a winner in every category. The structure and vigor of growing plants is almost perfect for indoor gardening, leading to good yields of chunky, resinous bud on stout frames (with little trimming to boot!). The aroma and flavor are probably my favorite aspects of this weed. It smells funky and a little bit gnarly without being completely offensive and foul. The wet dog smell is not common in cannabis, but it is surprisingly appealing when coupled with garlic, body odor, dill, and herbal aromas. This is super funky smelling bud that almost everyone I show is interested in after sniffing. Many pure broad-leaf drug varietals have a flavor that is almost totally outside the aroma, with the raw terpenes seemingly transforming through the smoke. I have seen this occur in Hindu Kush, Master Kush, Iraqi x 88G13HP x OGOGJaroF2, and other plants with prevailing genetics from the middle-east. Pirate Sweat x 88G13HP is in this category, and the smoke is wonderfully sweet and incense-like, coating the mouth in a flavor that I might describe as, “how the inside of an old Arabian treasure chest would smell.” I have never smelled an old Arabian treasure chest, but this weed tastes the way I imagine such a chest might smell. The effect is very strong, and I’d actually like to be able to smoke more (for flavor and fun) without getting so completely stoned. Fortunately, the effects are never overwhelming and make for a pleasant experience under most circumstances. I have full confidence that lovers of middle-eastern cultivars will be head over heels for these plants.

Freeborn Selections New Lime x (Makrat Mandarin x Limepop) (Outdoor)

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Origins and Backstory:  Bred by @meangenefrommendocino, I started these plants as seedlings and gifted them to a first-time growing friend to be grown in Colorado native soil at 4800’ altitude. We lightly amended the soil, installed a blumat system, and mulched the area. We also fertilized lightly with Organics Alive throughout the cycle and planted other flowers, herbs, and food crops around the cannabis to encourage biodiversity. I didn’t grow these plants, but I kind of did..…in any case they were grown outdoor at altitude in Colorado with beyond-organic techniques, and come from excellent genetic stock.

Appearance:  This particular plant was completely green—every leaf, every calyx, every bit of tissue that isn’t a pistil was entirely green. The buds are a much brighter lime green, and are completely covered in resin, which gives a sheen to the flowers themselves. Trimming is easy, and the leaves that do get trimmed are “tacoed” with rails of resin along the edges. There does seem to be a decent amount of surface area on the flowers, and I would guess this flower would lend itself well to extractions of all kinds.

Aroma:  The lime is unbelievably strong in this one! A jar reeks of a lime/orange-flavored creamsicle, tictacs, pinesol (or is that Pledge?), and subtle notes of extremely fresh vinyl. An extended cure has brought out a profile that smells exactly like an orange creamsicle from my youth, but the living plants are dominated by lime terps. The growing plant had sharper and more astringent notes of solvents and lysol, but these are subtle background notes in the dried flower. There is a ton of crossover of aroma between with LimeVine flowers I smoked in the past. I cannot help but repeatedly huff this jar every time I open it—this weed genuinely smells like a lime-flavored popsicle—so much so that I crave tasting it sometimes! A cure brings out lemon and orange aromas, but in general the aroma is lime-dominant.

Flavor:  The lime and orange creamsicle flavor comes through intensely in the smoke, making for a candy-like experience. The lime and orange flavors are prevalent, as are the tictac-like notes and a creaminess that anyone who has tasted a “creamsicle” will know. The character of the flavor is great, but I wish it would coat the mouth more—I wonder if this is a consequence of the genetics, or the way this plant was grown? In any case, the flavor is creamy and popsicle like with notes of pinesol, pledge, and lysol, and will keep you packing bowls regardless of how you feel. This is probably the high point of the flower, and the aroma/flavor combination keep me coming back for more.

Effects:  Immediate, warm, and thoughtful, the effects of New Lime x Makrat Mandarin x Limepop (this one needs a name!) are to be savored with a day or evening in. This is rainy day type weed—it tends to make me a bit more dull and less enthusiastic in social settings, but it will certainly brighten your own inner world, adding sparkles of curiosity and insight in psychic spaces you previously found mundane. I enjoy smoking this weed before engaging with necessary-but-mindless tasks, like laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc., mostly so my body can go on autopilot while I go on a ride of thought and reflection. It increases my fascination and engagement with my own private psychic life, but at the cost of reducing my outer engagement. It is potent, long-lasting, and dreamy, ideal for long winter nights and introspection.

Overall:  The mere existence of a plant that makes you feel nice and tastes like a citrus creamsicle is fairly mind-boggling, and the fact I am not ranting and raving about it should highlight just how far cannabis breeding has come, and how easy it is to take these works of art for granted. If I had received a bag of this weed in my younger days as a consumer, I would’ve wondered what crazy chemical was sprayed on it to make it smell/taste this way. I would have been extremely skeptical that a plant could naturally end up like this. The intensities of the lime/orange creamsicle aroma and flavor are impressive and reminiscent of mostly artificial “food” items, making it even harder to believe a plant produced them on its own. This weed isn’t weak by any means, but I find myself smoking a ton of it just to chase the flavor experience. I will often overdo this stuff just because of the flavor, and find myself way more stoned than I ever intended on being. I imagine this varietal would be ideal in extracts, so much so that it’s actually difficult for me to imagine the extreme intensity of flavor that a concentrate would possess. While this is not my go-to flower, it is a frequent choice of mine. I love showing it to friends because of the intense aroma/flavor, and it’s certainly a novelty strain. The smell/flavor are something I actually crave, which I find interesting in itself. I do enjoy the flower alone, and I imagine there are superior and even more compelling phenotypes to be found in the line (I only grew out one female). I think this has the potential to win cups in extract or concentrate format, and look forward to seeing what other plants manifest from this genetic line.

London Pound Cake

Origins and Backstory:  Typically, I do not like to grow hyped up, “mainstream” cannabis strains (can you say, “pot snob?”). I typically prefer plants that have been bred with intention, purpose, and soul. However, I have been eating my words lately with reviews like Stir Fry. London Pound Cake is actually no different; I was not too keen on growing a clone, but @wondermademedoit pushed this one on me, and I am happy he did. LPC is a cross of Sunset Sherbet and an Unknown Indica from the Cookies family. Most cookie plants have struck me as nice commercial producers with killer bag appeal, but lacking some of the finer traits I enjoy in weed. LPC is an exception—while I cannot vouch for it being pest resistant or a beautiful plant, the finished product is of top-shelf quality for the consumer.

Appearance:   This is beautiful weed. Stunningly covered in resin glands, the green flowers have a classic and appetizing look to them. While LPC did not exhibit any interesting coloration, the intense resin production makes up for it. The somewhat-dense buds are classic lime green with wispy pistils coming off in typical fashion.

Aroma:  The absolute highlight, the aroma of buds in a jar differs from when they’re broken up, which in turn changes when burned/inhaled. Complex and shifting through the cure, at times the smell leans toward candied lemons, banana runts, or a tropical-flavored sour yogurt, while at others lending itself toward a mineral-heavy, stinky, soft cheese, or even cheetoh powder and stinky feet. I think a jar of the stuff smells like extremely stinky soft cheese, dirty feet, and lemon yogurt. The banana runts flavor and mineral-like notes come out when the buds are broken into. There are notes of lemon and citrus, but it is a sweet lemon candy as opposed to the intense lemon peel funk of OG. I was told the flowers would smell exactly like pound cake—it is far too funky for that in my opinion. However, a friend (who has previously worked as a baker for a large food manufacturer) told me the flower smelled exactly like pound cake dough while being mixed. I have no idea what would account for the funk; it smells extremely cheesy and like old feet to me, while other people I present with the jar can’t stop huffing it.

Flavor:  The flavor of the smoke is similar but different from the aroma, and equally as enjoyable. The burned flower is full of fruit aromas, and actually reminds me of milk left in a bowl after eating fruit loops cereal. There is lemon, and maybe orange as well as the sour yogurt flavor, but there are also sweet tones with a hint of tang that remind me of actual sherbet ice cream. The intense fruit flavors give way to the dirty feet/soft cheese funk which lingers on the palate for some time. Diverse, unexpected, and enoyable, the flavor is an experience in itself.

Effects:  Similar to Stir Fry, this is a hard-hitting and narcotic indica. This has knocked me out more than once, and a friend mentioned it gave him the nods while driving—a bit scary! This is reliably potent, and I don’t think insomnia would exist if the world had access to London Pound Cake on a regular basis. The effect is warm and while felt immediately, the full effect requires some time to fully manifest. I could see LPC being highly valued for medicinal use. It reliably gives me the munchies, makes me want to sleep, and I imagine is narcotic enough to address moderate-to-intense pain levels as well as problems with mood. I am not sure you’d want to use it for daytime depression though, as you would likely never get anything done, and your depression might get worse—this will kill your motivation as much as it will kill your pain! I do not accomplish much in my days after smoking LPC.

Overall: This is some of the strongest weed I grew in 2020, with the only real contenders for the spot being Gelato 41, Stir Fry, and Limepop Kush x Skyjaro. The aroma is enticing (to say the least), and the flavor is always equally enjoyable. While the plant itself is not particularly interesting to grow, it is vigorous and relatively low maintenance as well as high-yielding, making it easy for me to consider giving it another run. This is an all-around winner, and there are good reasons for the hype behind it. However, because of the almost one-dimensional narcotic stone of the effect, I really only smoke this one for evenings in and for use as a nightcap. As far as recreational and social smoke goes, there are better choices to have on your shelf.

Freeborn Selections Cherry Pyromancer

Origin and Backstory: A rare gem bred by @meangenefrommendocino, Cherry Pyromancer is a cross of HGAS (High Grade All Stars) Cherry and Cherry Limenade F5. I have not really seen it grown elsewhere and don’t know much about the HGAS Cherry, but Cherry Limenade (or is it Limeade?) has won the Emerald Cup. Everyone I have spoken to about Cherry Limenade has nothing but good things to say; the terpene profile is supposedly spectacular. I do find it interesting that Meangene mentioned his favorite smokes are the Rootbeer and Black Lime, that the “wow” factor of the Cherry Limenade is lost after having constant access to it. In any case, this is some very special weed, and is currently the closest thing to Cherry Limenade that I’ve personally smoked.

Appearance:  The growing plants are visually stunning, and the dried flower has a bag appeal similar to Cookies. The plants themselves are rich with color, leaning toward deep purples, some pinks, and even reds, before drying and curing into a mix of deep purple and a vivid green. These look like some version of a Cookie plant—buds are dense, with bulging, egg-shaped calyxes stacked on top of one another, forming bulbous floral clusters. Resin production is prolific, and the stout, nuggety buds beg to be fondled and sniffed (although I try my best to avoid the fondling!).

Aroma:  A jar of Cherry Pyromancer (or is it Cherry Pie-Romancer?) is a trip—a friend (@wondermademedoit) and I spent the better part of 15 minutes huffing a jar, attempting to articulate the finer notes. There are certainly cherry-cough-drop and cherry blossom smells up front, but plenty of chemical funk too. The chemicals come off like a sterilized bandage that has been freshly opened, or like a medical supply closet in a Dr.’s office. There are also notes that one associates with “old people,” or the smell when deep in a retirement home. Also of moderate strength is vinyl, baby powder (or is it baby oil?), and some kind of plastic. Overall, it is appetizing and enjoyable, as well as bizarre, but I would describe it as cherry cough drop/medical supply closet in a retirement home/vinyl.

Flavor:  The absolute high point of the flower, Cherry Pyromancer’s flavor is something to be completely savored and beheld. The aroma translates entirely to flavor, but the smoke is even more nuanced on the palate. The first detectable notes are of cherry blossom, cough drop, and vinyl. These quickly give way to an intense flavor of clorox bleach that completely coats the mouth. While most non-smokers probably find the assumed flavor of bleach abhorrent, it is really something amazing and delicious. The bleach flavor, equal in strength to the sterilized-bandage flavor, dominates the palate before returning to the cherry blossom/vinyl combo. There are hints of the dirty feet/retirement home, but these are put in the far background. Cherry Pyromancer has one of the most intense and nuanced flavors I have ever experienced in cannabis, and it will keep you smoking long after you’re stoned.

Effects:  The effects of Cherry Pyromancer are immediate and intense. I consistently get a facial blush, and flushing of blood to the surface of my skin when I smoke this one—wild! I tend to puff this one until I feel almost like I smoked too much weed, and start to feel somewhat uncomfortable. After riding this feeling for just a few minutes, it generally comes down into a very pleasant and relaxing state of being. While the intense peak is relatively short-lived, the overall stone is not. Cherry Pyromancer had me super high for a little bit, and moderately high for a while to follow. It’s a very warm, happy, relaxing effect for the majority of the experience.

Overall:  This is one of the most interesting flavors of cannabis I have come across. A bizarre mix of cherry blossom, sterilized bandage, bleach, and old folk funk, Cherry Pyromancer is incredibly exotic and compelling. The stone is not the most impressive in the world, but I didn’t think it was lacking either—it certainly is enjoyable, and will hit harder than many other plants I’ve smoked that have won cups. The flavor really coats the mouth in a way that makes you think, there are levels to this. The intensity and complexities of the aroma and flavor make Cherry Pyromancer a plant I will be breeding with in the future, and will certainly want to always have around. A keeper for sure.

Bodhi Seeds Pura Vida (Outdoor)

Origins and Backstory:  Pura Vida is a cross of Hollywood Pure Kush and Bodhi’s famed Appalachia (Green Crack x Tres Dawg, originally bred by High and Lonesome) male. Bodhi describes it as good life bud (a loose translation of the name), good herb to pull out with friends, to enjoy good vibes with, to be social around, etc. I personally grew these flowers outdoor organically, sun-grown and earth-grown, at 5300’ on the front range of Colorado.. This clone was selected by @bocobeans.

Appearance:  While I can only speak for outdoor samples (I have seen prettier indoor), the appearance of Pura Vida is middle-of-the-road, high-quality green bud. The flowers didn’t turn a tinge of purple, despite very cold outside temperatures, and daily swings ranging up to 40 degrees. The resin production is high, and the pistils on the plant were really impressive while she was growing. Mostly vibrant oranges, but the occasional purple or pink pistil would manifest itself on these flowers. Sadly, all of the pistils have died back to a dull brown after curing. The structure is full and chunky, but the trim on this outdoor flower was not particularly easy. Overall, this looks like high quality green bud not to be scoffed at, but it also won’t be impressing any loyal fans of MAC, Gorilla Glue, etc..

Aroma:  Probably the least-impressive aspect of this flower, the aroma is indeed very soft and feminine as described by Bodhi. However, it is disappointingly subtle. It almost smells like generic cannabis being cooked in butter or something, and is relatively subdued when one shoves their nose in a jar. It is a light skunky, soft aroma that reminds me of a turned-down Pure Kush. Up front is a citrusy (mostly orange) marshmallow aroma that is desirable, but the marshmallow isn’t as pronounced as in Pure Kush. There are some other spice-like hashy notes I usually associate with middle-eastern broad leaf varieties. While trying to nail down exactly what makes this flower “feminine,” I can notice tones that remind me of feminine hygiene products like hand lotion, facial sunscreen, incense, and vanilla. It is an enjoyable aroma, but very mellow. Strangely, this flower is extremely skunky from across the room! The notes are just much more subtle close up.

Flavor:  The flavor is actually pretty nice, and reminds me of classic cannabis. It reminds me of some of the first bags of decent weed I had in my youth. There are earthy, typical “Kush” flavors that are like tasting temple incense. The flavor is floral with just a hint of orange citrus, but there are strong, bitter botanical notes layered in as well. Overall, I’d say the flavor is surprisingly complex considering the more muted aroma. However, I have noticed this as a trend with some of the more subtle, incense-like broad leafed varieties—sometimes the flavor is surprisingly spectacular!

Effects: The effects are stand-out, especially compared to the other aspects of the flower. This is potent indica herb. Bodhi pegs it as a laid back, chill smoke—while this is on par with the aroma, I find the smoke to be pretty strong! The character of the effect is easy-going for the most part, but it is pretty potent and long-lasting. A bowl in the morning will keep me feeling laid back and mellow into the early afternoon. The smoke is happy, relaxed, and ideal for chilling out—in the mountains (or on the beach, but we are short on those in Colorado), with friends, or home alone with a movie or video game. This is happy and easy going herb! However, I do find that if I smoke this one a few times in the same day, the narcotic aspects compound, and what was a nice, relaxing smoke in the AM can become debilitating and make me extremely lazy later on in the day. Overall, this is a versatile flower that is relaxed and mellow without sacrificing potency. This is classic SoCal beach weed.

Overall: There is nothing lacking here. Pura Vida is enjoyable on every level of analysis. However, my seed collection is too extensive and my list of strains “on deck” is too long to grow middle-of-the-road varieties. Pura Vida is nice, versatile, and hard to go wrong most of the time. It’s great to pull out with buddies, or home alone. It’s great to smoke in the mountains on hikes, and enjoyable for podcasts or nights in. However, it does not stand out in any one dimension, and is really pretty typical decent-grade cannabis. There’s really nothing particular to dislike here, but I have no problem letting this plant go to make room for more exotic varietals in my garden and life!

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DJ Short Flo

Origins and Backstory:  Bred by DJ Short, Flo is a clone that has been around Colorado for many years. She has similar ancestry to Blueberry, but was bred more for her active effects as opposed to Blueberry’s couchlocking stone. She is a mix of Highland Thai, Chocolate Thai, Mexican, and Afghan genetics. The more I see modern varieties, the more I appreciate the work of breeders like DJ Short. He took those old landrace genetics, and selected some very unique lines off of his creations. Flo is an inbred line of what DJ Short refers to as his “Floral line.” F-13 is also part of this line. He has really created some of the more unique gems over the years! This flower was grown beyond organically by an extremely talented friend of mine at an elevation over 7,000’.

Appearance:  I frequently joke with friends that DJ Short was growing the original cookies. While not as dense as more “modern” Cookie strains, Flo is consistently a dappled dark purple/dark green flower with prominent pistils and trichomes—really it’s an all around winner as far as appearances go, and a bag of Flo always looks nice, seemingly regardless of how it was grown. This is pretty, colorful, frosty, flower with solid bag appeal—especially for a strain from the ‘90s!

Aroma:  Perhaps predictably, Flo smells fairly floral with noticeable notes of geranium, rose, and an almost-mysterious incense note that smells like an exotic wood or something. It is feminine, soft, sweet, with that signature DJ Short floral/berry/musk in it. My experience with the Blueberry, Flo, and F-13 are that they all have a common undertone that is a telltale marker of DJ Short gear. This is certainly enjoyable and unique-smelling weed, and one that older heads describe as smelling like an old-school Nepalese temple ball. There is a sort of sweet, floral note that frequently comes out in my home-made temple balls (although I’m not old-school enough to have smoked a genuine Nepali temple ball). The aroma is another high point of Flo. It is far removed and unlike modern cannabis, but equally if not more enjoyable.

Flavor:  Following closely behind the aroma (as well as the namesake), the flavor is floral, sweet, and with fruity tones reminding me of berries, incense, and musk. The musk, berries, and floral tones are most prominent in the flavor, but really make for a unique taste. If this strain weren’t so ubiquitous at Colorado dispensaries the last 10-12 years, it would probably astound me. It is very unique and certainly from a wholly other vein than the current OG, Chem, and Cookie trends. It tastes like some kind of alien fruit, or a hybrid between fruit and flowers. It is enticing, enjoyable, signature DJ Short (anyone who has smelled his berry-musk note can instantly recognize it again), and something to look forward to with this flower.

Effects:  The effect of Flo tends to either really drive this one home as a winner, or turns people off who vow never to smoke it again. On a clean head, the effect is uplifting, happy, euphoric, and relatively motivational/functional. In my own experience however, this does not mean “light” or the opposite of potent! It is still strong smoke that will get me plenty high, and even makes me paranoid/anxious if I smoke too much. If I overdo Flo, I enter a really dreamy state and the effect loses a lot of its motivating factor. However, there is a “softness” to the effect that tends to turn off OG and Chem lovers who will tell you Flo is mid-grade flower. I see their point—in the evening when I am looking for strength in my smoke, the Flo will not deliver the punch that seasoned tokers are looking for. However, it is enjoyable and beautiful smoke that tends to brighten a mood and day, and strong enough that you don’t need to double up your bowl in the morning (as I know some folks do with lighter sativas).

Overall:   Flo is a legend on the front range of Colorado. She has been here longer than I, and when I first showed up to the scene, every cultivator, dispensary, caregiver, and really almost every garden I encountered had a cutting of Flo. This plant is easy to grow, aesthetically pleasing (both alive and dried/cured), has an incredible history, as well as unique flavor/aroma profile. The effect is ideal for outdoorsy and active people, which would explain its prevalence here in Colorado. The DJ Short signature floral-berry-musk is as strong as ever in this one, and the only other plant I have encountered that exemplifies the notes in a comparable way is Blueberry. F-13 comes close as well, but nothing brings “DJ Short” to my own mind more than an aromatic bag of Flo or Blueberry. This is (and will be) nostalgic smoke for many, but I fear the more hype-based and commercial-oriented cultivars will soon make this cutting a thing of the past.

Higher Thought (Iraqi x 88G13HP) x (OGxOGxJaro F2) (Outdoor)

Origins and Backstory: This cross has quite the pedigree, and is an impressive collaborative effort of many of my favorite breeders. These plants have been influenced by countless middle eastern farmers, Bodhi Seeds, Strayfox Gardenz, Freeborn Selections, NdNGuy (from forums if you go deep), and now myself. The full lineage goes as follows:
(Iraqi Ranya x (1988 G13 x Hashplant)) x (((OG S1) x Jaro) F2)
Iraqi x 88G13HP has also been referred to as Deep Line Alchemy #6 or DLA6 as well as Persian Delight. I grew these plants in the Colorado sun and soil, but did amend the earth with compost King Stropharia mycelium. I made a number of personal selections to create this strain, and it is really satisfying to start to see my breeding work build on itself.

Appearance:  These plants grew fairly stout, but sent out the occasional cola like in the above-picture. They were somewhat typical indica-like plants, but the leaves were not as broad and chubby as one might expect. The buds were actually a bit on the leafy side, and trimming was mildly annoying. the buds have excellent trichome coverage and a moderately diverse palate of greens, but doesn’t extend too far beyond that. They buds themselves are structured like the plants; they are more round, short, dense, and full than they are elongated or spear-like. For the most part, finished flower looks like somewhat classical greenbud. There is a hint of OG structure to them.

Aroma:  These are some of the best-smelling plants of my 2019 outdoor season. The females are fairly diverse, but the phenotypes definitely display a lot of the Persian Delight mom. There are many dough-like confectionery and bakery aromas, reminding me of fermenting sourdough, powdered sugar, funnel cake, caramel, pita bread, and scones. There is a chocolate-chip aroma as well, and on top of it all is a dank, super-skunky aroma that is classically-dank cannabis turned up to 10. This is creamy-smelling weed, with notes that remind me both of sour cream/dairy/lactobacillus, as well as sharper and more artificial notes like barbasol and shaving cream. I can detect dove soap, shaving cream, sunscreen, tea tree oil, hairspray, and silly string. The intensely-dank, earthy, barbasol phenotypes are my favorite. It is that super skunky, soapy, extremely “dank” aroma. Some plants lean more OG, with sour musky tones coming through with some gasoline. One of the phenotypes has heavy coffee aromas with mild hints of leather, cologne, and men’s locker room that brings Bubba Kush to mind. There is a really deep pool of individual notes to pull from here, but I honestly think I could probably tell that this is deep, dark, dank indica just from the aroma alone. I was surprised by the diversity of phenotypes, but they are all enjoyable.

As an added note, I need to mention that I previously thought these flowers were Sky Cuddler Double Kush. They are not. I had prevoiusly reviewed the SCDK as having barbasol and shaving cream aromas, but it has become clear that those flowers were the Persian Delight x OGOGJaro F2.

Flavor:  The flavor of this flower rubs me just the right way, and I occasionally smoke this flower for the flavor sensation alone. It is simply incredible, and coats the mouth completely. Just like the aroma, there are a diversity of flavors depending on the phenotype. My favorite flavor was by far the bubba-esque phenotype. The flavor is nothing new; but it is the most intensely earthy, kush, cologne/leather/coffee/suede flavor that leaves a sensation on the palate for an extended period. The more fuel-like flavors tasted more like a typical OG or Diesel plant, and were enjoyable but nothing like the earthy plant. The doughy phenotypes actually tasted better than the more aromatic OG plants, with more of the stranger, more subtle middle eastern Kush coming through. This is definitely a high point, and I frequently get into trouble smoking too much of this weed for the flavor alone.

Effects:  This is some incredibly narcotic stuff, and will almost immediately start nudging me (or perhaps more accurately, shoving me) toward sleep. I frequently get the nods after, or even during my sessions with this herb. It is felt heavily in the body with a strong tendency for couchlock and sleep. You feel that you could move, but why would you ever want to? On more than one occasion, I have awoken to a half-smoked bowl, and will reluctantly move into bed (I usually wake up 9 hours later)—I always finish bowls. This is really strong smoke, great for insomnia, and also with a great pain-killing ability. The analgesic effects come coupled with the narcotic nature of this strain, and I imagine it is really not far from opiates. This is the stuff for putting elephants down.

Overall: While I’m sure I am biased (as I did “breed” this one myself), I am really impressed by these plants. They seem to be an overall complete package, my only real complaint being that a majority of the phenotypes were on the leafy side. The aromas of all the plants were unusual, nuanced, and complex with notes from all my favorite “tones” of cannabis. My favorites were on the louder and funkier side, and the flavors of the smoke are REALLY some of my favorites! This is super-narcotic mouth-coating Kush weed that is great for all kinds of pain killing, sedation, and winter nights in. This is a great one to enjoy by the fireside! It was also pretty easy to grow, vigorous, with great resin content. I really think it would be worth it to grow out a high number of these to select for an F2 genetic line or two, and look forward to doing so someday. These are an indica-lover’s delight that could replace some of the elite Kushes I’ve smoked, and will be a nostalgic smoke for Hindu and Afghani lovers.

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This plant seemed to thrive in the Colorado high desert environment. The biggest threat was probably from cyclists on the road.

Doc D Seeds SHADYNASTY

Origins and Backstory:  Originally bred by Doc D Seeds, (who I believe is re-branding under the moniker Magic Spirit Seed Company) the “SHADYNASTY” is a cross of Big Wyrm’s Chem 91 clone, and Frank’s Little Beauties (FLB) This clone (and the strain in general) was selected and became instagram-popular for a bit thanks to @midsmastermike. He was kind enough to give me this clone so I could give it a shot in my garden. I wasn’t aware of what FLB was, and it in turn is a cross using “Thundergun Express,” another cultivar I have never heard of. In any case, @midsmastermike raved about this clone to me enough that I wanted to give it a go.

As a note, I did recently learn that “Frank’s Little Beauties” and “SHADYNASTY” are It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia references. I don’t personally understand them.

Appearance:  This plant produces classic cannabis spears, and fairly robust ones at that. This is actually one of the most vigorous plants I have grown in recent memory—I do not recall more vigorous plants than Blue Dream, and SHADYNASTY. Buds stay completely green, even if temperatures get low. The buds are very resinous and frosty, and all of them have a satisfying spearhead shape to them. The calyxes are a bright green while the leaves remain somewhat darker, somewhat diesel-esque. The frost factor definitely gives this herb a high bag appeal.

Aroma:  When I first whiff jars, the first thing that comes to mind is baby poop. This one is definitely strong, chemmy funk! The profile overall is very reminiscient of Chemdog. However, there is a much stronger emphasis on sweeter tones, even with hints of dark stone fruit like black cherry. There is a semi-rotten weird funk in this one. I was told by Mike that the aroma was “chocolate-cherry”—I can get hints of these if I look for them, but personally would not have picked out those descriptors. This is really a sweet, rotten, almost overly-ripe garbage smelling strain. It is not quite as putrid as other strains or Chemdog itself, but is nasty and funky enough to get your attention. While I generally favor the nasty, funky strains, the sweeter twist on SHADYNASTY is welcome. The aroma is very appealing, and almost reminds me of some home-made fermented drinks I’ve had on summer days.

Flavor:  The flavor follows suit of the aroma. The smoke is sweet but not sugary with mild fruit notes that remind me of dark cherries and stone fruits. There are also some mild chemical and metallic notes, which are typical of the Chem family—particularly Chemdog 4. The smoke is very smooth and goes down easy—not a cougher like Sky Cuddler Double Kush. It is classically-dank, with some sweet dark fruit notes and a prominent baby poop flavor. I am not super into the baby poop thing going on, and I’d say the flavor of SHADYNASTY is above average, 3 out of 5 stars.

Effects:  This is happy, warm, and uplifting smoke without sacrificing potency. Each hit is a noticeable uptick in stoniness, but it’s hard to get overwhelmed with this one—the effect is consistently a pleasant, warm, happy smoke. The come up is euphoric and cerebral, mostly felt in the front of the head along with an immediate shift in thinking. This quickly shifts to being felt behind the eyes, and more of a traditional stone settles in over time. The full effect of SHADYNASTY takes some time to manifest, with full peak coming about 20 minutes after smoking. I was joking with a buddy that this weed puts the “fun” in “functional.” The effect is fairly long-lived, and each hit is strong enough that I’ll often leave a bowl half-smoked. I’ll start getting high, and will start going about any given task. Even though this isn’t zippy weed, it can be really motivating while still being satisfyingly strong. Some functional, happy weed just doesn’t have the punch that a lot of smokers look for, but that is certainly not the case with SHADYNASTY. This is about as close to a functional Chemdog as one can get!

Overall:  SHADYNASTY is one of the most vigorous plants I’ve grown in memory, and is incredibly easy to keep happy. On top of that, the finished flowers are gorgeous, super-sticky, stinky, and hit both fruity and chemmy notes. The aroma is complex, the effect is borderline-exquisite, and the flavor is above average. I’m not a fan of the baby poop thing going on, but everything else about this plant is remarkable. It’s an incredibly vigorous, and high-yielding plant that puts out A-grade flowers. My only complaints are that the flowering time is extended (ideally you’d go over 70 days) and the baby poop flavor just isn’t my thing. The chemmy aroma with the uplifting effect is an unusual and very welcome combination—most plants that smell definitively of “Chem” are incredibly narcotic and opiate-like. I frequently bring this flower out to impress visiting friends, because it is such a winner in every category, as well as being an enjoyable and appropriate in social settings. I am stoked to have this one on the shelf and it is likely the second or third-best weed I grew in 2019 (LimepopKush x Sky Jaro being #1). It is an interesting an off-the-beaten-path work of breeding, and a great selection by @midsmastermike.

Cannarado Genetics Stir Fry

Origins and Backstory:  From Cannarado Genetics, Stir Fry is a cross of two currently-popular strains. It is a cross of GMO and Orange Cookies, and the name seems fitting. While I did not grow this plant from seed, I received a selected clone from @wondermademedoit. GMO and Orange Cookies are two extremely popular plants, with GMO in nearly every storefront at the time of publishing this. GMO is known for intense aromas of garlic, onions, OG funk, and great visual bag appeal. The plant also has an impressive stone, and is really a complete package (especially for a commercially-minded cultivator). There is a lot of (typical) controversy around GMO, some arguing it was named after garlic, mushrooms, and onions (aromas that show up early in flower), but I’ll let the reader do their own research. I have personally never grown GMO or Orange Cookies, but I can see that Stir Fry embodies most of the favorable traits of both parents. In my mind, Stir Fry represents the current commercial cannabis market. The traits in this plant seem to be those sought after by consumers and producers, and I can see why these plants (and similar ones) are all the current rage.

Appearance:  Absolutely stunning, Stir Fry’s dense buds are crusted in trichomes with extreme color variations. The color of fresh buds have nearly every shade of green you could imagine as well as light purple accents on leaf and calyx tips. While I harvested this plant early, I’d certainly expect that a later harvest would accentuate the purpling and more dramatic color changes. The pistils are an attractive and typical reddish-orange, giving a bag of Stir Fry classic appeal. These look like solid, pine-cone-like buds with plenty of color and frost. All in all, Stir Fry’s appearance is somewhere between ripened fruit, and a gemstone. This is really beautiful flower.

Aroma:  Following the lead of the aesthetics, Stir Fry’s bouquet is sweet, candied, and almost inspires hunger—certainly it inspires the want to consume the flower one way or another. Most noticeable are tamarind, orange juice, graham cracker, skunk, and some umami flavors that are somewhere between shiitake mushrooms and fish sauce. There is a prominent garlic note that has come out with a prolonged cure, and I’ve had a few friends also verify a toasted sesame oil aroma. It is some very attractive and delicious-smelling weed. Overall, I’d describe it as orange-blossom/honey/tamarind/umami.

Flavor:  The flavor closely follow the aroma. Floral and sweet, Stir Fry tastes like orange blossom honey. If the reader hasn’t experienced orange blossom honey—go get some! It is floral, citrusy/tangy, sweet/candied, and the first time I tried it I was in mild awe. I am also in mild awe of the flavor of this weed. The aroma perfectly translates to flavor, and makes for a borderline-blissful experience. Not only are the orange blossom honey and tamarind flavors prominent, but they’re tangier in flavor than in aroma. The flavor is an entourage of notes complete with the garlic, graham cracker, and toasted sesame/kelp/crackers that keep the umami aroma intact in flavor. The flavor of this smoke is nothing short of a work of art, and I’m impressed—the hype is real.

Effects:  This weed is immediately felt in the body and behind the eyes, bringing a sense of calm and relaxation. It is potent, coming on gradually but assertively. At first it is sedating and mellowing, and I can feel the tension in my shoulders/neck slowly dissolve as the speed of my thought slows. Each hit takes you higher, but there is a slow settling that occurs (unlike the instant forehead floating of LimepopKushxSkyJaro). This weed is strong but very relaxing, and is certainly in the same vein of most other commercially popular strains in this sense. While some folks complain that cookies are not potent enough, I definitely don’t have that issue with this flower—it gets me plenty high! Even two hits is enough to do the job for a seasoned toker, and my typical dose of this flower is 1-3 solid tokes. Otherwise, the relaxation turns narcotic, and the smoker is totally content with just loafing around. This is classic chill weed felt both in the body and brain. I’d say it’s a well-balanced effect that ultimately leans toward the “indica” end of the spectrum, with a good dose of euphoria and well-being felt in the mind.

Overall:  I will admit it—I am a hater of the hype cultivars. When a new strain comes out that everyone has to have, I am immediately skeptical, and likely even cynical. I assume that if the masses love it, it is probably pretty mediocre. However, in recent years, I think I’ve warmed up more to popular opinion of stoners. Stir Fry is probably one of the best examples of a cultivar that I have no business hating on! I was certainly cynical when I received it, and really didn’t pay the plant much attention. The harvest really changed my mind, and this is an elite-level plant that shines on every level. Like most hype strains, I do feel that it falls a bit short in the “effects” category—it doesn’t stand out in any one way. While enjoyable, strong, relaxing, and happy, it’s not superb. However, every other aspect of this flower is, and Stir Fry is plant worthy of a few cycles. The aroma, flavor, appearance, and everything else about this flower is a special treat!

Hawaiian Heirloom Genetics Hashplant 13 x Pogdawg

Origins and Backstory:  This was bred by @trichome.fields.forever and @hawaiianheirloomgenetics. The Hashplant 13 mother is a legendary plant that I have never even seen, whether in flower, concentrate, plant, or any other form. I have only seen it reviewed in the cannabible—the author, Jason King, raves about HP13 like it is God’s gift to man. The clone apparently has a history in NYC as well as Hawaii, but it seems to have less of an “exclusive” factor on the island. I was lucky enough to be gifted these seeds. Pog is another famous Hawaiian heirloom, but I’ve never seen/heard of it off of the island. It is a cross of Skunkdog and HP13. I believe the Pogdawg is a Pog x Chemdog plant, but I am actually not sure of the details on this one. In any case, this is a mashup of classic and rare Hawaiian heirlooms that I have always wanted to try.

Appearance:  Although broad-leafed, these plants grew tall and lanky, requiring support. The flowers remind me of something halfway between modern cannabis and old-school Thai weed. The flowers are not exactly airy, but they tend to foxtail and stack spires of calyxes—this is a specifically Thai trait in my experience, and I was very surprised to see it here! Despite taking this plant to 90 days of 12/12 before harvesting, none of the pistils had matured by time of harvest. One can see the harvested flowers at the bottom of this post; all the pistils remain white. It is possible they could have finished if I had allowed longer flowering. The resin production on these plants is excellent, and the appearance really reminds me of high quality sativa weed from 2000s Amsterdam.

Aroma: Truly bizarre, the aroma is the high point of this flower. It is simultaneously sweet and savory, offering fruity notes, garlic salt, and other culinary notes that are normally never coupled. There is freshly-chopped white onion and equally-strong notes of as green melon, guava, and fruit punch (Hawaiian-C?). Oregano is also prominent, as is mustard, pickles, and a velveteen spice and floral/ perfume-like back end. It’s a complex smell that is something like a salad a five year old might make. The combinations of sweet honeydew and raw onion are attractive, and possibly the most unique thing on my shelf right now. The sweet, fruit-juice notes seem out of place with the salty, garlic/onion/oregano that reminds me of Italian cooking. I have definitely never smelled weed like this before, and it is awesome. It is a bizarre mix of attractive/repulsive tones, seemingly out of place, that most ganja enthusiasts come to love.

Flavor:  The flavor of this weed is spectacular. Nuanced and layered, a clean pipe makes all the difference! You can taste onion up front, but the flavor lingering in my mouth is like a sour, green apple jolly rancher. It is not super-sweet like candy, but the flavor is there. There are also some really beautiful and soft floral/perfumey notes that come through the back end, and remind me of Thai and Cambodian landraces I’ve smoked. It is a like a mildly spicy perfume, but mostly floral—it’s a rare but distinct aroma in weed that I wish I saw more of! Overall, the flavor is an experience of mildly sour, green-apple-melon-onion perfume tones. Killer and extremely unique—I think what I enjoy most is the diversity, complexity, and strange combinations of flavors you don’t normally associate with one another. The exotic floral spice I associate with southeast Asian sativas is icing on the cake. The taste is on par with the aroma—excellent.

Effects:  This weed is deceivingly potent (all white pistils..?), and is at once euphoric/rushing and relaxing. I find that my inner state goes on a roller coaster ride with this one. Similarly to the aroma, the effect is pulling in two opposing directions. I get giddy belly rushes of excited euphoria that make me feel like a small child. These are immediately followed by calm, centered, and grounded feelings of gratitude, finished off with paranoid thoughts about my nosy neighbors—I seem to be all over the place with this one! The seeming unpredictability makes this a bit of a wildcard, and I smoke it when some “wildcard weed” seems appropriate—social events with friends, feeling like an unusual evening experience, etc. Hashplant 13 x Pogdawg seems to offer something in all occasions, and makes for a fun smoke on all occasions. My only complaint is that the effect is somewhat short-lived, or at least the euphoric aspect. This calls for relatively frequent smoking, and can lead to burnout early in the day.

Overall:  This is extremely unique and high quality cannabis. Every aspect of this weed is unlike any other I’ve smoked really—the appearance is somewhere between high-grade indoor frost-covered commercial strains, and a wild equatorial landrace. The white pistils and platinum sheen of resin make for a striking and unique appearance. The smell is even more captivating; the savory Italian cooking notes mix warmly with the cool, refreshing, sweet-fruity-tropical tones to make a richly layered smell I’ve never experienced elsewhere. The closest thing would be a freshly-baked pizza next to a high-end floral fruit smoothie. On top of it all is a rich, woody, floral-perfume-spice that brings me back to pure Thai and Cambodian weed. The aroma is nuanced, complex, and on par with any weed I’ve ever smoked. This translates to flavor. While not extremely “dank” and mouth-coating, the flavor is enjoyable, nuanced, and one can detect every note from the bouquet. The equally-novel mixture of effects and unpredictability of this weed make it a fun smoke that I don’t take down from the shelf often. However, when I do, I know it is a special occasion that will be remembered (or, won’t!). I understand the legend of Hashplant 13 if it is anything like this herb, and I also understand the Hawaiian enthusiasm for Pog and Pogdawg. Growing and smoking this cultivar are both fantastic experiences, and the quality of this seed is on par with any others I’ve grown.

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Freeborn Selections Sky Cuddler Double Kush (Outdoor)

Origins and Backstory:  Bred by the famous @meangenefrommendocino from Freeborn Selections, SCDK is quite the doozy. The lineage, straight from the horse’s mouth, goes as follows:
Pure Kush x Sour Diesel x Pure Kush x Purple Urkel x Black Afghani x Pure Kush x Skywalker x Pure Kush x Hindu x Big Red
There’s a lot of Pure Kush in the lineage, and a lot of back-crossing and inbreeding. The reader might also notice the lineage seems like a balance between many of the classical tried-and-true varietals (OG, Pure Kush, Urkel, Sour D) with some of the more unique heirloom varieties Gene is famous for (Hindu, Big Red, Black Afghan) tied in. This strain’s lineage more or less has mean gene written all over it!

Appearance:  While flowering, the plants in the garden had a “look” to them—I have only been growing about 10 years, but sometimes I will notice a plant that just looks special. Some are obvious (extreme frost, color, structure, etc.) but the SCDK is much more subtle. It is the cannabis equivalent of a martial artist; when an experienced fighter enters a room, he’s confident but does not need everybody to know. Most people can sense the confidence, but it is understated—this is more or less SCDK! She looks beautiful and incredibly dank, but does not stand out from afar the way the more glamorous varietals might. All my outdoor SCDK plants stayed green, even though they finished with typical CO temperature swings—very hot days, and very cold nights. These plants went into the 30s and even 20s for a brief period of time without turning purple. They did get extremely dense however, and the resin production is spectacular. This herb just looks like classically-dank, chunky, indica greenbud. While not colorful by any means, the structure/density coupled with extreme resin coverage gives SCDK significant bag appeal. The appearance is actually a high point of the flower, especially when on the live plant.

Aroma:  The smell is absolutely the highlight of this flower for me. Most growers I’ve seen have described SCDK as green melon and WD40—yes, I can notice these. It is sweet, not quite candied but close, with both natural aromas like fruit and artificial solvent-tones equally present. There is a note of extreme freshness that brings “spring” to mind, and almost makes me think of Irish Spring soap or some similar hygiene product. The smell is simultaneously sweet/fruity, chemical/funky, and fresh/alluring. This is classically-attractive greenbud.

Flavor:  The flavor of this herb hits every single note of the aroma out of a clean pipe, and is simultaneously new and familiar. The green melon is dominant, as are clasically-dank flavors like soap and WD40 solvent. It is really bizarre and weird, and again—it is these artificial notes that seemingly don’t belong in the plant kingdom that first got me fascinated with cannabis (that and its anxiolytic properties!). The flavors are intense and carry through the bowl to an extent. The green melon and classically-dank skunky notes are omnipresent, but the barbasol and soap notes quickly fade and give way to more herbaceous notes. I even noted menthol on some hits. Each hit is nose-crinkling and full of terpenes as well as cannabinoids, making each individual toke a satisfying experience.

Effects:  SCDK’s effect is typical of high quality greenbud, but is enjoyably potent, warm, and comforting. I can feel the effect settle in a few seconds after exhaling, with a mild headrush. However, the effect is more settled and less euphoric than most smokes that start out that way. The stone settles in the forehead, temples, and really just all over the head in general. I can feel my body relax, and the little tensions in my musculature dissolve to nothing. This is classic. It is happy, warm, sweet, strong, comforting, and relaxing. This won’t have you passed out on the couch from supreme potency, and it won’t have your heart racing with excitement, anxiety, or paranoia. Sky Cuddler Double Kush makes sweet times a bit sweeter, and is an embodiment of all the things that made me personally fall in love with weed in the first place—it enhances almost everything. I notice I’m more grateful, more considerate, more aware, and just generally a better version of myself when I smoke Sky Cuddler Double Kush. As Bob Marley said, “the herb reveals you to yourself.” How true that is of Sky Cuddler Double Kush. SCDK is versatile weed, and a great choice for almost every occasion.

Overall: This is another exceptional example of American weed from Freeborn Selections and @meangenefrommendocino. Every trait is a high point on both the living plant as well as the dried flower. My plants were self-supporting with generous yields, and really beautiful to look at in the garden. The impressive and nuanced aroma is new and familiar at the same time, which is both intriguing and comforting. This one will keep you coming back with its warm, blissful effect and deeply satisfying flavor. This is versatile weed, making it a great daily driver and one to keep on the shelf. It was difficult for me to make sense of so many people raving about SCDK when all of the detailed reviews just made it sound like “normal” weed. This is certainly classic, familiar, and predictable—but it is in all the best ways, with a balance of its own unique spin. My experience of Sky Cuddler Double Kush is how I would imagine it to be falling in love with your wife a second time; smoking this weed is a potent reminder why we fell in love with cannabis to begin with.

DJ Short F-13

Origins and Backstory:  This is a rare one, and it was a combination of vigilance and luck that brought a package of seeds into my possession. It is DJ Short’s self-proclaimed Holy Grail of sativa plants. Named F13 as an almost anonymous plant from DJ Short’s floral line (think Flo and others), these seeds are actually an F5 selection. After being unavailable for many years, the man himself released some packs from his personal vault. I got my green thumbs on a pack and germinated them shortly thereafter. I grew out four plants, all of which were female. I first read about this strain in Jason King’s Cannabible. King raves about this one as if it is the greatest weed on earth, and I’ve been intrigued ever since reading his review.

Appearance:  These were some of the most visually appealing plants I have grown, and the flowers certainly have a bag appeal as well. The plants had a lot of variation, and were unbelievably beautiful in the garden. I could see these being ornamental someday. Plants were every combination of green and purple you could think of, with some fading toward black at harvest, others displaying neon greens and yellows. The pistils are a bright fire-orange, and the structure of the flowers was either short stacks of calyxes reminiscent of Bubba Kush, or tall stretching foxtails—both ends of the spectrum. There was a lot of variation here in terms of structure/color, but all seemed to pull from the same color palate. Some plants had green flower and purple leaf, others had the opposite, and still others mixed. There really was every combination of colors and structure between the females, but you could easily see they were all sisters. All in all, gorgeous plants. The finished flowers look like skimpier cookies in a bag—they aren’t as chunky as most commercial designer strains, but the color is attractive, and they have a great frost-factor as well.

Aroma:  While anyone who has grown DJ Short gear will be able to tell these come from the same pool, they are incredibly unique, and I have never really smelled weed like this before. Up front is the tell-tale velvety, floral, “blue” smell that DJ Short strains exhibit. There are definite musky notes of leather and cologne as well, and strong notes of almost every berry you can think of—blue, rasp, black, and other exotic variants like bilberry and probably others I’m not personally familiar with. There is a sour/tart back-end as well, that makes me think of currants and elderberries. The incense tones and body odor are also pretty strong on my favorite pheno of F-13, with notes of nag champa, patchouli, garlic, and homeless hippy odor. Some phenotypes tilted one way or the other, with some leaning to gummy bears, Flintstone vitamins, geranium, marigold, vanilla, and even rose. The geranium/rose/marigold phenotypes are really fun to smell in jars, but my ultimately-favorite plant has a great balance of all of the aforementioned aromas. It is musty with notes of body odor, eastern incense, sour berries, and flowers. There is a ton of variation in the smell, and I can see why this strain received such mixed reviews over the years. If I hadn’t found my winning and evenly-balanced plant, I’d be disappointed with this strain.

Flavor:  Well, this is a strange one! The overall mouthfeel is soft and velvety, but the actual flavor of the smoke is pretty wild. It tastes like a cola-flavored drink, and reminds me of Dr Pepper. I’ve probably had a single can of Dr. Pepper in my life, but this just really tastes like a generic cola beverage with a hint of wood-based incense. It is pretty wild, but unfortunately is not incredibly intense. I recently reviewed Triangle Kush, and have been smoking a lot of Limepop Kush x Sky Jaro—compared to these two, F-13 is muted and subtle. The character of the flavor is definitely unique and interesting, but the lack of intensity is a moderate letdown. If the flavor were as lip-smacking, intense, and lingering as the current cutting edge of American ganja, this would be a popular elite.

Effects:  This herb is enjoyable, functional, positive and pleasant. F-13 immediately feels happy and uplifting, with an emphasis on optimism and euphoria. There is a sensation that reminds me of psilocybin mushrooms—this is unfortunately lost if you smoke a lot. F-13 is really best enjoyed in moderation, as I feel the finer points of the smoke are lost to overindulging, and the effect becomes much more generic. The high point of the effect for me is the trifecta of relaxing, psychedelic, and euphoric traits. F-13 emphasizes all three of these things, and is a lovely choice for daytime or morning smoking. It is surprisingly strong, and a little bit can go a long way. If I smoke this on a Saturday or Sunday morning, I just like to take 2-3 hits from a bowl to sail through my morning and brighten the day.

Overall:  F-13 is on the more unique end of the spectrum in every category. Unfortunately, I think these plants lack the traits needed to make them popular and commercially viable. After growing these, it is apparent why this has never become a people’s strain, in spite of every aspect of the experience being enjoyable. The aroma and flavor are pleasant, nuanced, delicate, and subtle. The effect could be described similarly—while not lacking in potency, I do think the best traits of the high are lost after smoking heavily. While the plants are incredibly beautiful, none of these factors are appreciated by the market, and therefore are not appreciated by commercial cultivators. While I enjoy smoking this weed and certainly enjoy growing it, it is not something I need to have on my shelf all the time. And on top of all the aforementioned reasons, I might’ve gotten lucky with my single “keeper” phenotype—there was really only one female I had that was worth even considering growing a second time, with each of her sisters basically being fractions of her. For example, imagine an athletic, intelligent, and sociable human with an athletic sibling, an intelligent sibling, and a sociable sibling—only one is the complete package, while the others are all somewhat unremarkable on their own. F-13 is unique enough that I hope it is preserved for the long term in seed, but the gene pool does need to be narrowed down in my opinion, even at F5.

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Wifi Ghost

Origins and Backstory:  This famous cut is a cross of Ghost OG and Wifi or White Fire, in turn a cross of the White and Fire OG (originally done by OG Raskal). I’m not sure if the Wifi Ghost was made by Raskal, or just the Wifi. I received the clone from @bocobeans, but it is a somewhat well-known clone on the front range of Colorado. I’ve seen it in dispensaries and friend’s gardens, but this is the first time I had an opportunity to grow it myself. I have no idea who created this strain originally, or who selected the cut, but it is really an amazing plant. I’ve seen it around in Colorado the last several years, so if anyone has information I would love to hear it!

Appearance:  These plants look like something out of a lab; the resin production is excellent, and the structure is absolutely perfect for someone trying to keep an even canopy and full room. The plants stay relatively short and don’t stretch much, and put out hefty harvests of goff-ball shaped buds. All of which are caked in resin. The calyxes glisten with trichomes, and the foliage turn all kinds of autumn-like colors through the finish. The buds stay green with minimal purple accenting, but the sheen of resin on the round buds is really impressive. The pistils finish darker than fire-engine red, and really make for a striking appearance. These plants exhibit excellent bag appeal, and are fun to watch.

Aroma*: As one could imagine, the smell coming from both the plants and finished bud is very OG-dominant. It reminds me of the SFV (San Fernando Valley) OG cut more than any others, even more than the Ghost. There are notes of burnt rubber, sweet-skunk, janitorial cleaning agents (most ending in “sol”), but citrus/lemon is muted if at all present. The White cut has a heavy influence, with some hashy, almost marshmallow-like tones coming through. The White is similar to some of the more traditional kushes like Hollywood and Master, in that it has hashy and spicey tones, but is relatively mild overall. This clone shares those aromas, with a lot of the softer, more velvety Kush tones coming through. There’s a sweetness to this one as well that is not found in the original Triangle/SFV/Ghost cuts—it is not candy-like, but almost a bit sweet-sour, like apple blossom or apple cider. It really reminds me of a classic OG, but is more generic. This cut is like a hashy, muted, sweet OG Kush.

*As a side-note, I thought this strain was remarkable in that it smelled almost like 100% gasoline with a hint of pinesol for several weeks after harvest. The jars smelled like literal gasoline, but this eventually fades into the sweeter, more floral and perfumey tones I attempt to describe above. I always think it is interesting how strains can transform after/during a cure. After a few months, the gasoline notes are almost completely gone.

Flavor: Immediately, the smoke has a rubber pinesol OG front end, with marshmallow-hash-kushspice sweetness on the follow through. Overall, it’s like a muted OG with heavy hashplant tones. It reminds me of Hollywood Pure Kush with the marshmallow and classic kush spice, but there are definite OG tones as well. Just like the aroma, the closest OG clone that the flavor Wifi Ghost is comparable to is the SFV cut. This clone of Wifi Ghost lacks most of the sharp, astringent, chemical tones that I often experience in pure Ghost OG. The flavor is classically dank and skunky as well as enjoyable—that being said, any of the elite clone-only OGs that have more fame (SFV, Ghost, Fire, Larry, Triangle, etc.) taste better than this one. The flavor is pleasant and enjoyable, but is not in the same league with other OGs—overall, skunky, dank, hashy, but moderate.

Effects:   This one comes up slowly and gently, and is a stark contrast to the Limepop Kush x Sky Jaro I’ve been smoking so much of lately. Wifi Ghost creeps up slowly and easily, at first yielding an uplifted, classically euphoric high. Again, this is personally reminiscent of the SFV OG. These flowers have a pleasant and pronounced feeling of well-being tat is really comforting. It seems as though you could smoke yourself straight to heaven while coming up on this weed, and it’s very tempting to go overboard. However, as I have confirmed time and again, that is not always a great idea. Most OG smoke makes me weird (at the least it makes me feel weird) in public, and I really don’t like to smoke this weed until later in the day. There is a more laid back and calming quality to this smoke compared to other OGs, and it seems like The White’s influence comes through significantly. The White has always been a relaxed, mellow, and chill effect for me—Wifi Ghost carries a lot of these traits through. I’d say the effect is more round and less sharp than some of the other well-known OGs, but it is strong and OG enough to give me social anxiety/paranoia. The upside is that although pretty relaxed in private, it is not narcotic and motivation-killing, so you can get a lot done around the house. The effect is overall just a warm, nice, mellow high that I like to enjoy on lazy Sundays or some laid-back work during the week. Like the flavor, this is pleasant but I prefer other elite clone OGs.

Overall:  This is one of the best looking plants I have ever grown, both before and after harvest. The flowers are really beautiful on the plant and in the bag, and make for an incredibly aesthetic package. This is really a commercial flower grower’s dream, and is of a quality that a connoisseur can enjoy it as well. That being said, I’d prefer to grow pure Ghost OG, or the White clone. When it comes to actually enjoying the herb, I’d prefer one or the other to a blend. I love the intense effect and sharp aroma of Ghost, and I do enjoy the relaxed and chill smoke of the White as well. However, I really would prefer picking one or the other if I had the jars on the shelf, instead of this compromise. This is fantastic flower that certainly shouldn’t disappoint anyone. This is great smoke and warrants a report of “excellent,” but if you’ve smoked pure Ghost or some of the other OGs, this won’t do anything new for you. Commercial producers should much prefer this to the Ghost though—to each their own.

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Freeborn Selections Limepop Kush x Sky Jaro

Origins and Backstory:  Bred by Freeborn Selections, I paid $5 for these seeds at the cup (only available if you bought a $2-300 pack). Limepop Kush is a combination of Ghost OG and Meangene’s famous and retired Limepop male. Sky Jaro is a cross of Skywalker and Jaro—Skywalker is a popular OG clone, and Jaro is one of Mean Gene’s in-house crosses. The lineage of Jaro looks like: Sour Diesel x (Hollywood Pure Kush x (Black Afghani x Hindu Kush)). I germinated the whole pack and grew out 5 different females (the rest were male). Obviously given the lineage, this is a polyhybrid with all kinds of plants in the gene pool. However, they’re all winners, and these seeds were surprisingly somewhat uniform.

Appearance:  The buds are so light green and frosty, and the pistils remain white so late into flower, that these flowers basically look white for a while (even after harvest!). They shimmer on and off the plant, and everyone who takes a bud out of the bag for inspection is instantly impressed. The resin production is fantastic, with copious coverage of trichomes all the way out to the edges of most of the leaves. The structure of the flowers is OG-esque, with large bulging calyxes of the typical OG curves. Pistils protrude from the almost-white flowers, giving an unusually ghost-like appearance to the buds. I could have fed my plants more, and they ended up fading a bit early. This produced mostly pale greens and yellows, but some red pigments did come out as well. This is definitely a yielder, with buds stacking the entirety of the stems with minimal leaf matter—making LPKSJ a very easy trim. At harvest, these plants basically look like platinum/white colored buds with a few yellow/red fan leaves attached for good measure. The plants are almost entirely platinum-sheened flower at finish, due to the intense resin production. Overall, this one is pretty, but seems to get more beautiful the closer you look and the more you handle the bud.

Aroma:  Like other Freeborn gear, these are extremely loud and aromatic flowers. Growing plants smelled a lot like mom (Limepop Kush), with strong aromas of lime rind, lime soda, urinal cake, lysol, and pinesol. Perhaps the best aspect of the aroma is that there are no overly-dominant notes, and each tone is easily detectable. This gives the aroma a feeling of being “layered” as opposed to being one-dimensional (as is too often the case). There are other notes that I did not experience in pure Limepop Kush as well. They are mostly sour in nature, reminiscent of Sour Diesel and OG varieties. I detect cream, heavy skunk, sponge cake, gasoline, tarmac, sugar cookies, and that sour perfume note that I associate with high-quality OG clones. These flowers are really intense and notable, and exhibit many of my favorite smells I associate with cannabis. Overally, they’re sour, skunky, intensely-limey OG plants. My personally favorite phenotypes were profoundly lime-lysol, but there are more candied and diverse citrus notes to be found in this genepool as well. I’d say the olfactory experience is a highlight for this strain, but that would not be accurate—every aspect of this flower is a highlight.

Flavor:  The smoke from these flowers varies slightly pheno to pheno (as does the aroma), but my favorite-flavored plants taste somewhere between a lime-lysol soft drink and a Country Time lemon/limeade. Genuinely, the flavor is as if Lysol made a transition to a beverage company, and then released a “Twist of Lime” version that had far more lime than just a twist. The smoke is sour, intensely and unmistakably lime (juice, rind, and flesh notes are all detectable), and my favorite phenotypes have heavy chemical influences. One is exactly like lysol, while another is more like urinal cakes, fuel, and OG. There is one outlying phenotype that tastes sweet, lacks lime entirely but has strong orange juice and urinal cake scents (as well as flavors). Aside from her, the other four females don’t stray far from one another. The flavor lingers, which is welcome—it leaves a supremely dank, sour-OG-skunk-fuel aftertaste that coats every part of the mouth for minutes. This reminds me of every great sample of Sour and OG I have had, but the lime flavor is so pronounced that it doesn’t seem old and tired by any means. All in all, this is a lip-smacker and is easily some of the best-tasting weed I’ve ever consumed. The only better-tasting weed I can recall are the bags from my youth that will eternally be etched in my mind, but I don’t think I’ve grown anything tastier. All my other weed tastes like nothing after smoking this.

Effects:  Immediate and strong, LPKSJ hits like an OG. It is less euphoric and uplifting than pure LPK, and has more of a narcotic, relaxed effect. It is more potent, and really opiate-like. The strongest effects are felt within seconds to minutes, with a steep peak, prolonged stone, and gradual come-down. There is no creeping up with this one. The high is not narcotic immediately; it is at first a bit rushing and euphoric, but the sharp upswing quickly subsides into a more relaxed, lazy, and laid-back stone that has the power to end days, inspire naps, and has the tendency to completely sap me of productivity and gumption. This is not a smoke for getting things done, but is an ideal choice for winding down in the evenings, playing video games/watching movies, or settling in for a stay-cation with your partner. This is super strong smoke with no hidden surprises—after a toke or two, the smoker is quickly rewarded with the sensation of saturated cannabinoid receptors. If you smoke this one early in the day, it is incredibly difficult to get much “punch” from smoking any other flowers later on. My personally-favorite time to smoke this herb is when I haven’t smoked all day, and come home in late evening. When your receptors are fresh after a long day, the smack from LPKSJ is extremely strong and enjoyable, and I usually just lay down with my eyes closed for about 10 or fifteen minutes before doing anything else. I just let that sweet cannabinoid saturation wash over me, and enjoy the ride. The sensation is blissful, powerful, and even introspective/insightful before it settles into a more smiley, pain-killing effect. This is really great herb to have on the shelf in winter time, and a great choice for evenings at home.*

*At time of publishing, the covid-19 social-distancing has just begun. This is great weed to have on hand.

Overall:  There was a time when I was somewhat jaded with Sour and OG crosses, and honestly I still am in some ways—after over 20 years of clone-only OG being around, I’d like to delve further into the gene pool and see what other incredible combinations of genetics are as yet unlocked. I am thankful and surprised to announce that while LimepopKush x SkyJaro carries all kinds of OG traits (less noticable but present are Sour traits), it is very unique and has been my favorite smoke (really no contest) all winter long. It is so enjoyable that it has actually renewed my interest in Sour/OG seed remixes. I have been smoking it almost exclusively for the last three weeks (except for mornings), as it is truly a complete package of a cannabis plant. There are genuinely no favorable traits lacking here—these plants were easy to grow, smell/taste incredible, produce high quality/quantity resin, are high yield, easy-to-trim, have great structure/bag appeal, and the stone is face-smacking. The mouth-coating flavor is nothing short of incredible, and the only flowers on my shelf rivaling potency of LPKSJ are the Triangle Kush clone and Sky Cuddler Double Kush flowers. I germinated the LPKSJ seeds while in a move because they held little value to me, relatively speaking (I wasn’t sure if they’d survive, but wanted to have some plants going, etc.). I knew they’d be decent coming from Freeborn, but certainly did not expect these to be the incredible plants that they became. These flowers are genuinely the best I’ve grown in several years, and it will be a sad day when I smoke the final bit. If you have some of these, rejoice—In my opinion, you are in possession of one of the greatest exemplars of everything that American weed should be.

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Bodhi Seeds Genius Thai Extreme F2

Origins and Backstory:  Bodhi originally released Genius Thai Extreme seeds as F1—a hybrid between the Apollo 11 Genius cut (originally from Brother’s Grimm seed stock) and a landrace Thai sativa. A friend of mine, @planthoarder, open pollenated those and made F2. I passed the F2 seed onto yet another friend here in Colorado, who then grew the pictured flower organically, indoors, and around 7500 feet. The Apollo 1 1 Genius cut is so named because it will get your brain juices flowing and take you into orbit; it is universally loved by sativa enthusiasts, especially those who were active in the ‘90s. Thai landrace plants are known for being hard to tame, but have uniquely soaring and cerebral highs that are sought after by connoisseurs. I imagine Bodhi’s goal of the cross was to get all of the best parts of sativa effects into a fast-flowering and easy to grow plant.

Appearance:  These flowers are beautiful! The buds exhibit all the best aspects of both parents; they are full and dense, and covered in resin. This gives the flower a modern bag appeal with a heavy frost factor. At the same time, they have a tell-tale calyx structure that is omnipresent in southeast asian cultivars. The way the pistils almost fold out of the calyxes remind me of Thai temples in a way—maybe that’s just placebo. In any case, these flowers are stunning. They look like Thai flowers that have been well-tempered and bred for the indoor clime, but the density, fullness, and resin-coverage of these flowers is what is really impressive—a true achievement when working with landrace equatorial sativas.

Aroma:  Exotic, fruity, and floral, the aroma is a high point. It comes off as an exotic smoothie including pink lemonade, hibiscus tea, and indian spices. It is like a sweet-sour-floral smoothie, with immediate notes of pineapple, nectarine, mango, guava, papaya, and strangely foreign fruits that I do not have words for. An exotic note is prevalent that is somewhere between incense, fruit, and spice, and really smells like some unbelievably exotic culinary spice from Asia. I can only describe it as “Thai,” but it is strong. There are more notes of lemongrass, and a few other herbaceous/botanical notes that remind me of tropical greenhouses and botanical gardens. The aroma is “juicy,” and makes me think of a fruit blend that has been sitting in the sun. Genius Thai is really exotic, unusual, and attractive.

Flavor:  While not quite as punchy as the aroma, the flavor is a fun experience. The smoke is more herbal and botanical than the aroma, and slightly less fruity. The hibiscus and other floral/herbaceous greenhouse flavors are present, and make for a really unique smoke. The most dominant notes of the smoke are nectarine, Thai-weed-spice (I don’t know how else to describe this), mango/guava, and hibiscus. Just as unique as the aroma, the flavor is something special. It is smoky experiences like these that make Bodhi such a cult favorite breeder.

Effects:  This is a floaty, thoughtful, and giggly herb that is guaranteed to pick you up. You could expect most of the effects just from the lineage, and it is a great compromise of Thai genetics with a good indoor sativa performer, the Apollo 11 Genius clone. The come-up is floaty, happy, euphoric, with hints of soaring/cerebral Thai. The Thai effects are just traceable here, but noticeable. For the uninitiated, Thai weed is some of the most unique sativa smoke in existence—it can come in waves like psychedelics, can inspire extreme giggling/euphoria as equally as it can terror and paranoia. There is truly no weed as psychedelic as Thai/Cambodian weed, and this Genius Thai Extreme manages to capture a few pieces of that. This herb is certainly giggly and euphoric, but not as soaring as Thai. Fortunately, I think a terrifying and paranoid experience on this weed would be very difficult to have. It’s not nearly as overwhelming as a pure Thai smoke, and would probably be equally favored by beginning smokers and sativa-connoisseurs alike. All in all, this is good wake n bake herb on weekends for happy, easeful activities. I smoked this and got quite a bit done around my house, and looked around at my current life situation with optimism. The feeling does eventually fade into something dream-like; the lack of clarity keeps me from smoking this one when I’m aiming to be productive. Overall, this is a day brightener and great summer-time herb.

Overall: This is an almost ideal exemplar of breeding. Thai cannabis is some of the best in the world (it is my personal favorite), but it is just as easily some of the most difficult to manage. Even outdoors, the extensive flowering time (14-24 weeks) prevents most North American cultivators from even attempting to grow these strains. Genius Thai Extreme captures a lot of the best aspects of Thai weed in a plant that is easy to grow inside, has great bag appeal, and a very reasonable flowering time. This strain is really impressive from a breeding standpoint. It is great in theory, excellent in execution, and makes a “Thai Lite” version of weed accessible to many more growers/smokers than will ever be able to enjoy true pure Thai. This is a complete package plant, and is not lacking in any category. Personally, when I compare this to the 30 or so other varieties I have on my shelf, I tend to prefer others for smoking. That being said—if this was the only flower I had available to me, I’d be incredibly grateful. This is an excellent quality sativa in virtually every category. The effect is a bit too dreamy for me to enjoy smoking this a ton during the day, and lacking the OG punch that I enjoy during the evenings. Personally, I’d prefer a selection with a longer flowering time but a more soaring/cerebral/psychedelic effect. So, I don’t get into this jar too often. If I’m heading for a hike on a sunny weekend with a friend or doing a home yoga session—this is the first weed I’ll think of (along with DJ Short F-13). I hope that gives the reader enough info to accurately gauge where this one settles out, but overall I think it’s an impressive plant and one I feel lucky to be smoking.

Triangle Kush (Outdoor)

Origins and Backstory:  I won’t even go into the backstory on this one; if you’re curious and ignorant, you can search things like “Josh D OG” and “Triangle Kush Florida” or listen to the Pot Cast. There is plenty of information out there—rather than screw it up, I invite the reader to do their own investigations. In any case, this is one of the most legendary and revered clones of all time and it is highly likely that all other OG cuts (Ghost, SFV, Fire, etc.) are ancestors of this amazing plant. I was fortunate enough to be gifted this clone by @bocobeans. Regardless of its origins and your thoughts on it, this plant has irreversibly changed cannabis in America (and consequently worldwide) for eternity. It is a bit humbling to grow a clone with so much history behind it, and inspires wonder. In any case, after growing and smoking this flower, I am completely of the mind that this is one of the finest cannabis plants ever produced. I grew this plant using beyond-organic methods in full sun at around 5300’.

Appearance:  Triangle and other OG cuts are usually identifiable due to their signature characteristics—they tend to produce tight buds built on a somewhat lanky frame, and the top-heavy plants usually end up sagging at harvest. The buds themselves are tight floral clusters of incredibly resinous calyxes, and are always green—this plant has no genetic proclivity for purpling, even when exposed to low temperatures or other stresses. The densely packed, pine cone-shaped green buds have typical dark orange/red pistils that are typical of many strains, but the way the calyxes stack on top of each other gives OG a sort of signature appearance. When grown to full maturity, any veteran can spot OG buds or at least can tell when a plant is related to OG. It definitely has a look!

Aroma:  Triangle Kush has an endearing bouquet, and is world-class. It is at once skunky, sweet, sour, and chemical. It smells of lemon pledge, pinesol, pine tree, gasoline, jet fuel, acetone, nail polish remover, and rubber. It is unbelievably deep, and is one of a handful of strains that never gets old. Unlike some complex strains, Triangle Kush’s aroma is incredibly intense, and can be described as one of the “loudest” flowers around. My particular outdoor sample here started off with more emphasis on lemon peel, lemon pledge/floor cleaner, and gasoline. After a six-month cure (at the time of this review), the tones mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph have all mellowed out to be evenly-expressed. The acetone and nail polish remover scents are particularly strong at this point, while the lemon, citrus, and gasoline have died a bit into the middle. They are still present, but much less up front. Triangle has less rubber and asphalt tones than most OG cuts, and I would say is on the sharper end of the spectrum. The janitorial chemical aromas come through hard, but it is still very much an OG-dominant aroma as opposed to a Chemdog-like one. In my experience, Chem plants tend to lean more toward “rotten” nasty funky aromas. While many OG plants have a lot of funk, the Triangle doesn’t have much of that nose-crinkling character that only weedheads enjoy. It is hard to accurately and originally describe this one, as OGs have been smoked and reviewed so many times. Overall, this one is heavy on the sweet-skunk, solvents, cleaner aromas, and lemon, and the notes blend together into a really attractive package. The aroma is at once recognizable as OG, but veterans will definitely be able to discern between Triangle, SFV (more citrus), Ghost (more gas), and others.

Flavor:  As if the smell isn’t overwhelming enough, the flavor is equally as incredible, if not better. The smoke is immediately lemony as well as fuel-like with notes of diesel and jet fuel. The first pull is heavy on pine and nail polish too. It has markedly different emphases than the smell, but there is a lot of crossover, and it will have you reach for more. When Triangle is on the fresher side of harvest, it is really lemony and fuel like. After a cure, the flavors meld together and it becomes equally lemony (think warheads or other candies—not peel or juice) and skunky, but there are also earthy notes on the back of the palate not far from peat, forest floor, or moss. The gas seems to die down with a cure. The flavor really evolves through a bowl or joint, and you get a full spectrum experience. I have had hits that taste like lemon floor cleaner, lemon peel, skunk spray, dirty basement, northwestern forests, jet tarmac, and beyond. Even minutes after smoking, the flavor continues to change in the mouth. Tasting Triangle Kush is really a lovely experience, and certainly helps contribute to the overall legend and majesty of this clone.

Effects:  Triangle Kush hits hard and fast, but the full effect won’t manifest for 20-30 minutes. I can feel Triangle by the time I exhale my first hit, and the effect quickly builds. I feel it first in the forehead as a sensation of the frontal lobe floating, and it starts to settle into the cheeks and behind the eyes shortly afterward. This is the kind of weed that will give you forehead sweats. Take a day off, load up the bong, and take an over-confident hit—BOOM. You’ll be sweating, hot and flushed, and feeling like this is your first time smoking again. You can really layer the hits with this one—while you’re still coming up on the first hit, take another, and you can ride the high of Triangle Kush like a series of waves. This is incredibly strong, giggly, silly weed that put OG on the map. I love the high from his herb, and frequently want to share the experience with friends so that they can relate. When you hit the right dose, this is incredibly awesome weed that can facilitate experiences you simply cannot have in a sober state of mind—which is what we’re all really after. Overindulging can easily make one paranoid, and I recommend going slow with this one—regardless of how awesome it tastes. The effect eventually settles out of the forehead-sweating rush and into a more mellow, laid back effect that is great for nights in, movies, munchies, and really just all classic activities associated with cannabis. This is great for good times with friends and loved ones as well as good times alone.

Overall: I cannot overemphasize that this is some of the best cannabis on the planet. This plant captures a “Win” in every category, whether you are a cultivator, connoisseur, or both. The plants are beautiful without a tough trim, but the flowers themselves are of the highest order. The aroma is incredibly intense and layered, with so many notes attractive to cannabis lovers. The lemon-cleaner-solvent-fuel smell is incredible, and I am honestly puzzled that I never get sick of this strain. It’s hard to believe people were smoking this weed almost 30 years ago—it is just so good! The bouquet matches the flavor, with many of the better notes translating into the smoke and onto the palate. The flavor is addictive in itself, but the potency of this strain will prevent most smokers from puffing away for taste alone. The smoke really coats your mouth with a skunky, fuel-lemon flavor that will keep your tongue roaming around your mouth long after you’ve exhaled. The stone from Triangle Kush feels incredibly euphoric while also being chilled out and mellow (providing you don’t smoke too much), and will quickly become a favorite and staple on any regular smoker’s shelf. Chances are if you’re reading this, you’ve smoked herb before, and have a few favorite things to do when you’re high. If that’s the case, Triangle Kush will most definitely enhance those activities and make them more fun or engaging for you. This truly historic weed is an all-time favorite of mine. Triangle Kush has helped shape American cannabis, and is just as relevant 30 years later.

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