From fresh infused preserves to sleep aids and solventless syrups, these bites, flights, and drops were clear faves among our flock
Sometimes, readers tell us what is keeping them excited in the saturated cannabis market, and we go out searching for it.
Other times, companies and cultivators reach out with news and previews of their upcoming drops, and we follow up with product reviews and in some cases field trips to see how stuff is made.
We also get recommendations from friends and budtenders, and on occasion come across new concepts at events like NECANN and the Flower Expo.
We appreciate them all, as well as the hardworking people who produce and bring these products to market. And while we hate to leave anyone out, these are the 10 cannabis products found in Mass that our think tank thought especially stood out for their flavor, originality, and/or and execution in 2023.
Suncrafted House Made Cranberry Sauce
This is the freshest infused product imaginable, the absolute opposite of cranberry sauce in a can or gummies that jiggle in similar fashion. When we ran out of turkey and toast to put it on, we just started sipping it right from the jar. From the chef’s description: “Cranberries are sourced from farms located just miles from the Suncrafted facility, one example of the company’s local focus and effort to reduce shipping freight and emissions. The live rosin itself is a solventless concentrate from fresh frozen, then ice washed, sun grown cannabis, grown and processed at Suncrafted HQ.” Also of note: Suncrafted’s tinctures and edibles which they also make with local berries.
Joy Bombs
As we have raved before, the rainbow candy-inspired collaboration between Salisbury’s Root & Bloom and the Colorado-based Joyibles yields Joy Bombs that “are precisely dosed with 2.5mg THC in each bite-sized piece,” with a full bag packing 40 pieces for a total “THC bang” of 100mg. We were already smitten with the Original Fruit Joy Bombs coming in strawberry, lemon, fruit punch, and grape, but the Sour Fruit bags holding green apple, pink lemonade, blue raspberry, and watermelon made us dedicated, salivating fans with a bundle always on-hand. A joy right down to how they melt in your palm, we like to pass a bag or two around at parties and watch people pucker up. Needless to say, they make for fantastic 21-plus stocking stuffers too.
Blue River Live Rosin Syrup
The union of the terp and dab masters from Blue River Terps and the outstanding flower power of Impressed LLC in a joint facility has boundless potential that has recently started to yield fruit (in this case, purées). One of the debut new endeavor products from the former, these delicious heavy duty (250 mg to 300 mg per bottle) solventless dessert toppers are “hand crafted from select strain specific live rosin and available in four flavors: Vanilla Bean, Blueberry Lemon, Raspberry Prickly Pear, and Blackberry Acai.” Also of note: Blue River’s live rosin vape, which comes in a kickass chapstick-size disposable from Kung Fu Vapes which will give you a swift and tasty pot chop in the throat.
Sunflower No. 9 Doob Cube
This one is on the holiday wish list of every stoner in Mass. All sun-grown, the boxed flight comes packed with 14 one-gram prerolls for a half-ounce total, and includes four different strains (allocated with color coded tips). The plastic cube is air tight, reusable, and recyclable after you puff the “mix of sativa, indica and hybrid strains for a full range of effects in one package.” Strains we saw on our trip to their grow included Pre98 Bubba Kush on the gassier side and Jelly Donuts in the sweet spot.
Bounti Hunters by Bountiful Farms
In looking for new gems to add to the menu, Bountiful Farms Head of Cultivation Zach Taylor solicited actual help from the public with their Bounti Hunters initiative. Working with “select retailers,” they offered “the first-of-its-kind custom at-home pheno(type) hunt kit” which allowed “consumers to sample different variations of some of their most beloved strains, provide feedback and choose their favorite.” The program, Taylor said, “is essentially a smaller version of the sampling process that takes place when cultivators are developing new cannabis strains.”
M-80 by Pioneer Valley Cannabis Company
Not all infused prerolls are created equal. In fact, most suck, if they suck at all; too often, they involuntarily immolate. M-80s are a rare awesome exception; “infused with top-notch distillate” and an “added burst of terps to amplify the aroma and taste,” they’re also hand-rolled in a “generous coating of kief,” a “fine layer of trichomes” that “enhances the overall potency and ensures an even burn.” As one of our reviewers explained, “This is the only joint I’ve ever smoked that came with instructions on how to light it.” If you’re gonna pick one up this season, make it the Candy Cane infused collaboration with Paper Crane Cannabis.
Sweater Weather Betty’s Eddies
Though their divine existence predates 2023, any of Betty’s Eddies deserve to make this or any other best of the year lineup (take, for example, their pink October “collaboration with the Keep A Breast (KAB) Foundation to advance breast cancer awareness education and support the millions of people affected by the disease.”) But for the sake of being seasonal, it feels right to bite their apple pie-flavored full-spectrum fruit chews. In addition to truly tasting like the quintessential deep-dish cinnamon dessert, they match every milligram of THC with the same dose of CBG, which is increasingly appreciated for its fireside appeal and is definitely welcome here.
Wana Fast Asleep & Stay Asleep Gummies
The refined gummy gurus at Wana reliably provide impressive edibles, and this year we were thrilled to see them bring sleep products tested to perfection in other markets to help us doze off in Mass. Their “fast” gummies advertise a five to 15 minute onset, and in the case of the Fast Asleep Dream Berry gushers we sampled, work as promised, presumably on the strength of their “custom blend of CBD, THC, CBG, CBN, and melatonin … enhanced with more than 30 specialized terpenes.” Combined with their Stay Asleep sedatives, we slept like whiskey hounds without the hangover.
Cloud Cover Queso Perro
We wouldn’t ordinarily put a singular strain on this list, but Queso Perro’s always on our brain. The smell just never goes away to the point that it is psychological. It’s the kind of cultivar that sticks to your sinuses, and that goes triple as a concentrate. Sweet, skunky, and cheesy all at once, it’s positively pot devotee potpourri, whether in dab or flower form. If you think we are exaggerating, grab an eighth, pop it open in the company of connoisseurs, and watch them salivate and slink toward the smell.
Chemdog Clones
It’s strange to think of clones as a “product,” but on the heels of Mass grass godfather Greg ‘Chemdog’ Krzanowski starting a clone program in 2022, this past May the Cannabis Control Commission made an official announcement that “seeds and clones are available for sale in Massachusetts.” Leading the pack, Chemdog’s work was named among “The world’s best cannabis seeds and clones to grow in 2023” by Leafly, while his Smash Hits brand dropped another round of Chem 4 clones in April.
Bonus (Celeb Edition): Tical By LowKey (Feat. Bailey’s Buds & Impressed LLC)
As Sam Gerber, the LowKey inventory manager, explained about their initial two drops with Wu-Tang Clan icon Method Man in Mass: “With The Method, this strain is a Dual OG S1 grown by our good friends over at Impressed LLC in Hanson, Mass. They’re one of the best grows, one of the most amazing facilities. We work with them very closely with their own Impressed brand as well as one of the limited partners for the Tical project.“ While “In the Love Jones package, we have a delicious Chem #91 X G13 grown by our friends at Bailey’s Buds in Lowell. Phil and Gus Bailey do an amazing job, they have an organic no-till live soil grow. … We are very selective about the cultivators across the state that we’re working with. We have the luxury of being able to pick and choose from who grows the best flower and who is the most excited to be a part of this project.”
