From exclusive specials to highlights from cultivators we just recently encountered, here’s some of the flower we hope to spend the high holiday inhaling
Thanks to cannabis cup season and some samples we’ve been able to secure, Talking Joints Memo has an avalanche of new strain reviews posted with more on the way—including a roundup of banana bangers, as well as a look at Mass value brands that deliver much bang for your buck.
For now, here are some favorites we’ll be enjoying in every way possible this weekend—and whenever we can find them.
Snake’s Cake S1 by Nature’s Heritage
If you’re not already on the case, we recommend following Nature’s Heritage for all its special drops like baseball card collectors monitor the auction sites. Wait too long, and you’ll likely miss the opportunity; and while any consolation from this cultivator’s worth your dollar, their specials tend to fall from outer space to overload the senses of us earthlings. This one will rest heavy on the eyes and shoulders; from the unique sparkle and orange hue to its classic American bakery (Cherry Pie x Animal Cookies x Pineapple) pedigree, we’re loving the strong limonene accompanied by ocean aromas. As a bonus, this release is packing more than 2.5% CBGA, a favorite cannabinoid linked to helping with anxiety and pain relief, among other things.
Bubba Whip by MD Cultivars
If we’re talking truly elite boutique growers, the kind of mom-and-pop shop that picky hipster consumers (like us) will be bragging about to their friends at dinner parties, it’s Morning Dew, or MD Cultivars for short. Their team is trichrome-focused and knee-deep in rare genetics that you don’t smoke every day, along with others that you’ve come across but that this small team in the Pioneer Valley perfected. Everything we’ve ever had from them brings tears to our eyes, from outrageous Razzberry Pie to a sticky and sour Sherb Diesel. But this Bubba Whip, holy shit, might be the best smelling gas-candy combination we’ve ripped. From first sniff to roach hit, it’s a multilateral experience for the senses.
Koffee Dos by Realm (Garden Remedies)
Imagine some of the most memorable nugs from the Aughts that you can recall, ones that were light and fluffy and spun you into new realms in a time before streaming, when you had to search for music like you had to search for weed. Then multiply the effect of that halcyon strain by five- or six-fold, and you have something close to this choice cut of Koffee Dos. It smells like … wait for it … weed, in the most classic sense imaginable, then delivers something extra with strong kicks of tires on a forest floor.
Bruce Banner by No. 9 Sunflower Collection
This is far from a flexible strain. A stiff high with distinct aromas, it’s not for amateurs either, smelling more like kush frankincense than some of the strawberry varieties in the Bruce Banner family tree. Typically packing around 25% THC, this sativa-leaning banger can go head to head with almost any rival advertising a higher percentage, and this spin by No. 9 Sunflower lives up to the cultivar’s reputation for inspiring the rearranging of furniture while turning you into a bright-green monster.
Layer Cake by Springtime
This one doesn’t have a huge aroma up front but the smell is there and it’s akin to what you might catch a whiff of while brunching at a fancy bistro. When you do finally light it up, it’s even classier—and gassier! An omnibus smorgasbord for the senses, what’s most impressive here is the burn. There’s nothing quite as satisfying in the weed world as a perfectly cured indica, and this layers it on. With new invigorating skunk and kush notes showing up with every click of the lighter, this should be a cake walk down memory lane for a lot of heads.
Butterfingerz by Impressed
With mesmerizing pinks and greens that warrant close inspection that will beget admiration, this descendant of Peanut Butter Breath will impress anyone who enjoys smoking weed—whether they’re a younger head who crushes on the candy strains, or an older snob who claims to reject sweetness. For starters, the smell in the bag is enough to get you thrown out of a hotel without even sparking up. And it’s a chameleon inside your nose and chest, becoming almost anything you want it to be—one of us caught a mouthful of tartufo, while another swallowed some birthday cake. All of us got whacked, and none were surprised that Impressed’s Butterfingerz took home the indica honors at the Greenskeeper Cup.
Northern Lights #5 by OMG (Wellman Farm)
There’s something about 4/20 that makes us want to get traditional, and Northern Lights ought to be part of that—even if it’s with a modern clipping. This one from OMG is bonkers, from its showboat appearance—the buds are screaming orange, with multiple shades of green goodness beneath—to its exemplary blaze. There’s no reason to go on and on about this one; frankly, we don’t care how close it is to more traditional NL cuts. This number five is very much alive, and we recommend you hunt some down.
A Smorgasbord by Smash Hits (Canna Provisions)
As is always the case, anything that comes out of Chemdog’s grow in Western Mass is worthy of a list like this as well as your attention. Here’s what the Smash Hits team reports is newly available: Chile Colombian Gold, a fire OG sativa strain you’re unlikely to find elsewhere; Chem S1, the “‘selfed’ Chem D”; and Urkle x Tres Dawg, a “gorgeous indica that crosses classic Urkle with Tres Dawg (a Chemdog backcross with Afghani #1).” The latter’s “known as a ‘two-hitter quitter’ from the great terps and THC balance.”
Hypothermia #1 by Shaka
This one discharges a phenomenal bouquet once you start breaking up the bud, which has bright orange streaks running through various greens throwing back to the strain’s AK and White Widow ancestors. The specimen that we enjoyed was perfectly dense, the kind of chillum charmer that burned on and on. This one’s not included on this list for its good looks though, nor for its aroma for that matter, but rather because it electrified our third eye and sent all three testers to the couch for pizza and a movie. It won’t leave you cold and shaking as the name implies, but Hypothermia #1 is definitely muscular.
Southern Hashpitality by Bountiful Farms
Whatever you do, and whichever fellow weed nerd you are sparring with about top-notch nugs, do yourself a favor and don’t ever count out Bountiful Farms. A purveyor of delights across the board, from eye-popping buds to artisanal edibles, this season the Lakeville company’s crew is showing off with a Waffle House x Shallot Sashimi cross via Lake Valley Seed Co. What that means for you—fluffy buds so perfectly constructed by the weed gods that you can mill them by simply crushing them between your fingers, and a burn like racing tires on gas station concrete. Bountiful is growing this one specifically for its hash production value, so the flower batches are extremely limited.
