The Year in Globs: The Best Dabs of 2017

2017 might have been the year of the sauce, as extractors continued to experiment and dabbing reached untold levels of popularity. Cannabis Now Staff Writer Jimi Devine breaks down the dabs that took the spotlight this year.

Jimi Devine

Published on December 29, 2017

As this year comes to a close, on the eve of 40 million Californians gaining access to legal adult-use cannabis and the fantastic extracts that will soon fill dispensary shelves up and down the state, the second annual addition of The Year in Globs has arrived!

This list not only gives credit where credit is due in terms of excellence, but also refreshes everyone’s memory about what these master hash producers have had to deal with over the years to get to this point.

Despite the forthcoming lure of the regulated market, 2018 will likely be a swan song for many California extractors. Whether it be small producers or folks not willing to jump through the hoops of grey market capitalism at its finest, some will indeed say farewell. But some producers on this list will persevere, as many of the world’s best extractors have been preparing for this day for a long time.

The solventless crowd is in better shape than more volatile extract methods. Some butane producers are kicking off the year as permitted solventless producers while they continue to work to find a municipality that will welcome their volatile gases and tax dollars.

As always, we hit up the experts to get their take on the most glorious globs of the last 12 months.

“It was all sauce this year for new trends,” said Secret Cup Founder Daniel de Sailles.

The simplicity of production only reaffirms the age-old mantra “you get out what you put in,” de Sailles told Cannabis Now. Hence, high-end flower producers usually have the best sauce, and de Sailles pointed to 3rd Gen Family as the producers behind the top sauce he sampled this year. 3rd Gen took home the Breeder’s Cup and second place overall at The Emerald Cup.

The other professionals who weighed in on the best dabs of 2017 included Etienne Fontan, the Berkeley Patients Group vice president, an Emerald Cup judge and a National Cannabis Industry Association Board Member, who for the second year in a row gives his take.

“Nailing down a winner or loser is hard, as I mostly mix my stuff,” Fontan said. “However, Jet Fuel by Empress Extracts struck a chord with me. There were others, but the biggest winners are really California consumers in 2018, with legalization and testing, because everyone will finally be able to get the same safe cannabis Berkeley consumers have been enjoying for years.”

According to Fontan, with safety standards and the professional production possible in a legalized system, we will see considerable quality across the board “and 2018 looks exciting from a concentrates standpoint.”

Fontan has also enjoyed mixing crystalline in with other extracts this year.

“I enjoy the Guild Extracts THCA powder and CBD crystalline,” he said. “I use the powder in my mix as I mix all my BHOs together at low temp, so I get the full spectrum. Pulling one or two memorable ones is tough for my titration standards.”