GROWER: Grass Queen
STRAIN: Garlic Budder
GENETICS: Bred by Humboldt Seed Co. in a 2019 pheno hunt, Garlic Budder is a GMO and Fortune Cookies cross.

Grass Queen cultivation facility currently employs all women growers! They use hydroponic growing techniques using canna coco nutrients and have 0% water waste. They're indoor facility does small-batch runs and operates only in the winter months to focus on sun grown in the summer.

Grass Queen is the first cannabis grower in Vermont to utilize Cannatrol technology for drying and curing their flower. This technology has proven to retain more terpenes and THC. Cannatrol is a local Vermont company working to enhance the quality of perfectly dried and cured cannabis.

As with most Cannatrol products, the initial aroma of Garlic Budder was mild and to someone not familiar with Cannatrol, underwhelming. However, we knew the aromas would really come alive when we cracked open the nugget. The earthy and savory aromas overwhelmed our noses, bringing a room full of smiles and filling us all with excitement and anticipation.

The nugget itself was frosty as a Vermont snowstorm! Red hairs protruded from this gorgeous kelly green glistening gem, captured with a tight-as-can-be trim job.

Earthy and savory notes led to complex smells and tastes. Starting off as a sweet and sour taste on the lips with a pleasant spicy pine note halfway through and finishing off with a delightful sweetness, this smooth and rich smoke allowed for an even and consistent sesh. It’s not often that we all agree that we don’t want the joint to end and savor every drop of this savory strain.

For our terpene lovers out there, the dominant terpenes are myrcene at .66%, limonene at .53%, and beta caryophyllene at .4%; linalool, last but not least, comes in at .26%.

Some strains have flavors and aromas more complex and beyond what terpene tests tell us, and Garlic Budder is just that—complex, long-lasting, and intense!

We noted a “heavy stone” and “what was I talking about” mid-sentence, as Garlic Budder (this batch testing at just over 20% THC) became unforgettable.

A fabulous dry and cure, wonderful genetics, and divine cultivators, Garlic Budder and Grass Queen won our hearts and a spot on Magic Mann’s (Meredith Mann’s) dispensary shelves! If you want to try some, head over to either Grass Queen in Queen City or Magic Mann in Essex.

www.grassqueenvt.com

GROWER: Island Pond Cannabis
STRAIN: Blue Sunset Sherbert
GENETICS: Sunset Sherbet and Purple Punch cross
Island Pond is premium indoor flower hand-tended and grown by three siblings in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. “We speak of grass in vibes.”

Packaged beautifully in a sealed plastic sleeve, we saw a lovely deep shade of green and rust-colored stigmas. On a closer look with our jeweler’s loupe (x 40 magnification), the opened sleeve revealed stigmas clinging to the extremely tight manicure job. Trichome coverage was moderate and what most would consider “industry standard.” Trichomes were found intact in the silhouette’s nooks and crannies and, after breaking the nugget open for deeper inspection, was mostly clear, with some milky, and a few amber heads. The tight structure and visible pockets where seeds may have been gave us a feeling of nostalgia for Canada’s greens in the ’90s.

The aroma was pleasant, with a moderate spicy and sweet combination on the initial inhale. With some fruit and berry tones and earthy aromas kicking in, we dug our noses in deeper. We couldn’t help but wonder if the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) terroir was coming through.

As we ground it up for rolling, the spicy terpenes rained louder, likely terpinolene and/or limonene. Though there were no terpene tests available, knowing the plant’s lineage helps us make an educated guess as to the predominant terpenes we experienced.

Upon tactile exploration and the grind, we felt a dryer, almost Coloradan rather than Canadian-style nugget, leading us all to a long, slow smoke, taking our time between inhales, where we held our joints to the flame more than once.

The dry feel led to dry-feeling initial inhalations, with a light-bodied smoke. As the smoke went on, it smoothed out, leaving an energetic, uplifting buzz and lip-numbing sensation. Lab tests showed just over 18% THC.

The strain is helpful for making to-do lists and motivating your soul, and the snazzy packaging speaks to the cultivator’s perspective and thoughts: “Warm berries off the vine, action is medicine, barefoot on pine needles, euphoria, lake swims, seedlings of the earth, tan lines.”

If you are new to the market, this one just might be a hit, whether on the beach or in the mountains of the NEK! 

www.islandpondcannabiscompany.com

 

GROWER: Tao Labs
STRAIN: Punch Breath
GENETICS: Mendo Breath and Purple Punch cross by Symbiotic Genetics
Tao Labs is run by a first-generation American family with Vermont roots going back over 250 years. Tao Labs is a 100% minority-owned, small-batch, in-house cultivation and extraction company.

The initial aroma on opening was a strong, earthy wooden scent, followed by a tangy yet captivating sweetness. This winter harvest flower was provided to Grass Queen in bulk and then divvied up right at store pickup in cylindrical and colorful cardboard GQ packaging. Upon inhalation, we flashed back to our good old days of picking raspberries in the muddy brambles of an old farmhouse, with dirt clinging to the inside of our nostrils and raspberry seeds sticking in our teeth.

Though the typical coloring of this strain is usually a lighter, almost minty green upon the eyes, this phenotype had impressive dark purple coloring with orange stigmas visible throughout and clinging to the tightly trimmed nugget.

We needed our jeweler’s loupes to view the magic and the trichome heads that house the THC and terpenes. This particular strain and phenotype test at just under 20% THC and over 2.7% terpenes. Limonene, caryophyllene, and pinene terpenes create familiar and enticing aromas, followed by the all-popular myrcene, which supports Punch Breath’s relaxing effects. A super-dense nugget, it took more than a light touch to break it apart in preparation for rolling. Not too sticky on the fingers or in the grinder, Punch Breath was a pretty, colorful, fluffy, and sandy mix ready for us to roll and rock!

The smoke was light-bodied and dry, giving us a quick and effective full body and head high. True to many purple-colored strains, we needed to relight the joint a few times. This strain left us feeling relaxed and uplifted all at once. With the terpenes of limonene and pinene for brightening our day and myrcene and caryophyllene to soothe and support us along the way, Punch Breath gave us the euphoria we were looking for, thanks to Tao Labs. 

www.tao-labs.com