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The Most Exciting Strains of the Emerald Cup 2018

The Most Exciting Strains of the Emerald Cup 2018
Animal Mints from Fig Farms. Photo Courtesy Fig Farms.

Strains

The Most Exciting Strains of the Emerald Cup 2018

Faced with the challenges of the regulated cannabis market, California cultivators spent the weekend reminding us they cultivate the best marijuana in the world. Plus, the complete list of winners from the 2018 Emerald Cup.

Another Emerald Cup has come and gone, but this year’s outdoor cannabis celebration was like no other before it. We’ve got the strains that blew us away in the first legal edition of the outdoor marijuana world championship.

But first and foremost, it is worth noting that the number of flower options both available to purchase onsite and entered in the competition were down this year. The blame for that really can’t be placed on the Emerald Cup’s organizers. Surely if the bar for legalization set by regulators had been a bit lower for the many small farmers painfully close to making the cut, we can only imagine the number of strains available for purchase and entered for a chance at the grand prize would have been a lot higher. Nevertheless, it was an honor to browse the work of the cultivators who made it through this year. Not only did they navigate the treacherous regulatory waters that had pushed so many farmers out of the legal market, but in the turmoil, they retained the quality of their product.

Our process started with a weed walk early on Saturday as not to miss out on anything the masses might be dying to get their hands on. Cannabis Now Senior Editor Ellen HollandBong Appétit author Elise McDonough, former West Coast High Times editor David Bienenstock (also of The Great Moments of in Weed History Podcast) and I made up the initial squad of folks who toured the Emerald Cup’s cannabis, though a few reputable guests made appearances as we traveled. We started in one corner of the event and systematically made our way from booth to booth, jar to jar, while sampling many along the way.

Some booths were more exciting than others, but we visited every booth — no matter how fancy their décor. Personally, if I smelled the first couple of jars and they were at least of average quality, I figured it was worth smelling the spread. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a top-of-the-class strain, hidden within a spread of regular bud! And I’m glad I did, because a few booths had upwards of 15 samples, and it took time on certain occasions to get to the good stuff.

So based on this general methodology, these are some of the strains that really stood out to us at the 2018 Emerald Cup.

Blueberry Muffin

 

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Multiple phenotypes of Blueberry Muffin caught our attention this year. The first we came across belonged to the folks at Humboldt Seed Company. When opening the jar, we were hit with an array of aromas. But we could pick out the strain’s namesake — and one might even argue a sugary glaze went along with the blueberry smell. The next version we found came from Spring Creek Farm. Again, we were taken back to some of the best breakfasts of our lives when we opened the jar. Similar to the first, it was almost like the milk left over in the bowl after eating Boo Berry cereal.

Animal Mints

Fig Farms offered up a rendition of Seed Junky Genetics Animal Mints that knocked our socks off. It was the first thing the team spun up and the hints of gasoline mixed with a ton of other spicey flavors were something to behold. Animal Mints pairs Girl Scout Cookies x Blue Power with Animal Cookies. What you get in the end is all the best of the cookies with a little bit of extra fuel on top to spice it up. We loved it.

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake

We return to the Humboldt Seed Company booth for the next installment on our list with Pineapple Upsidedown Cake. The HSC team spent last summer hunting through thousands of seeds to find this gem that brings together Pineapple Trainwreck and Cookie Monster for something that is definitely top class.

Wifi Mints

 

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The Wifi Mints quickly validated our suspicions that The Village was an absolute must-stop booth at this year’s Emerald Cup. Another one from Seed Junky Genetics, the Wifi Mints pairs Wifi 43 — the popular White Fire OG cut bred by OG Raskal and propagated from seed by the Jungle Boys — with the previously mentioned Animal Mints. When in the hands of experts, Seed Junky Genetics easily provided some of the best weed at the Emerald Cup.

Lemoncello

It’s tough to pick a favorite from the Cookie Fam. Offerings like Snowman and Gelati had our mouths watering, but there was something about this year’s batch of Lemoncello that really caught our eyes and nostrils. While the lighting was dim by the Cookies booth, it was easy to see that we were dealing with something special as soon as the jar got anywhere near our face.

Animal Punch

 

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The Elyon Cannabis booth had a few nice selections, but Animal Punch took the cake. It was like a Lamborghini in the corner at a BMW dealership. The jar smelled like some kind of cherry cotton candy concentrate that would give you diabetes with just a spoonful. We rolled it up within 10 minutes of smelling the jar for the first time and were equally impressed with the high.

The 2018 Emerald Cup Winners

FLOWER

Licensed Sungrown

1st Place: Ridge Line Farms, Green Lantern

2nd Place: Rebel Grown, Double OG Chem #15

3rd Place: Tar Hill, Cherimoya

Breeder’s Cup

Rebel Grown, Double OG Chem #15

Licensed Mixed Light

1st Place: Tar Hill Family Farms, Pink Lemonade

2nd Place: Josh D, OG Kush Story

3rd Place: DEVI, Peanut Butter Breath

Personal Sungrown

1st Place: JD Lee, Chili Verde

2nd Place: Paula Hudgins, Wedding Cake

3rd Place: Cory Rodgers, Cherry Punch 15

Personal Mixed Light

1st Place: Jett Jenetix, Pink Pixie

2nd Place: JD Lee, Carrot Cake

Regenerative Cannabis Farm Awards

Radicle Herbs

Sun Roots Farms

Happy Day Farms

CONCENTRATES

Distillate

1st Place: Herer Group, The Original Jack Herer

2nd Place: Gold Drop/Lemon Tree/Blue River, Lemon Tree

3rd Place: Gold Drop/Bon Vivant/Blue River, Blueberry Muffin

CO2

1st Place: Peak, Huckleberry Zkittlez Amber

2nd Place: WildSeed, Candyland

3rd Place: Big Sur Extracts, Cloud Drop

Diamonds

1st Place: The Humboldt Cure with Murder Mountain and Joe Fasho Genetics, The Humboldt Cure Blend Diamonds

2nd Place: WildSeed with Cannabis Refined, White Recluse Diamonds

3rd Place: NUG, White Buffalo OG Live Resin Diamonds

Live Resin Carts

1st Place: Fieldz Extracts, Zkittlez Sauce Pen

2nd Place: Friendly Farms, Forbidden Fruit

3rd Place: Fiddler’s Green, Rogue OG Kush

Rosin

1st Place: GDP Genetics with Candy Stripe Concentrates x the Boutique, Super Glue

2nd Place: Fieldz, Zkittles Premium Rosin

3rd Place: Field Extracts with Str8 Organics, Papaya Premium Rosin

Sauce

1st Place: Humboldt Terp Council with Royalbudline, Zkittlez Cake

2nd Place: Raw Garden, Zookies

3rd Place: Summit Boys with Noble Farms, Sundae Driver

Shatter Batter

1st Place: Suprize Surprize with Arcata, Cherry Tangerine

2nd Place: Surprize Suprize with Woodman Peak Farms, Royal Kush BX1 “Badder”

3rd Place: Surprize Surprize with Biovortex, Holy  Nana Crack Batter

Solventless

1st Place: Frosty, Papaya 120u

2nd Place: Tar Hill and Frosty, Tar Hill Pink Lemonade

3rd Place: Papa’s Select in collaboration with Select Solventless grown by Emerald Queen Farms, GMO 1st Pull 120u Water Hash

OTHER PRODUCTS

Edibles

1st Place: Utopia, Raspberry Macarons

2nd Place: SolDaze, Tropical Mango Bites

3rd Place: Budlette Confections, Mellows Black Sesame

Tinctures

1st Place: Alchemy Jane, Create THC Tincture

2nd Place: OM Edibles, Nighttime Elixer

3rd Place: Humboldt Apothecary, Love Potion No. 7

Topicals

1st Place: Newell’s Botanicals, Deep Skin Penetrating Roll-On

2nd Place: OM Edibles, Lavender Bath Salts

3rd Place: CAD, Mimosa

CBD: ALL CATEGORIES

CBD Flower

1st Place: Molecular Farms, Blueberry Banana Bread

2nd Place: Molecular Farms, Dr. Fizz

3rd Place: Molecular Farms, Garlic Jam

CBD Concentrate

1st Place: Sublime, Sleep

2nd Place: Sublime, High-C

3rd Place: WildSeed, Heritage OG-CBD

CBD CO2/Distillate

1st Place: Gold Drop, Lemon Penny

CBD Edibles

1st Place: Somatik, Goji Berry

2nd Place: OM Edibles, CBD Gummi Melange

3rd Place: Space Gems, VITA Gems

CBD Tinctures

1st Place: Humboldt Apothecary, Relax

2nd Place: Fiddler’s Green, ACDC Rogue Tincture

3rd Place: Humboldt Harvest, 13:1 CBD Terpene Rich

CBD Topical

1st Place: OM Edibles Rose Geranium Bath Salt

TELL US, what was your favorite strain of the 2018 Emerald Cup?

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