Each January, we tell ourselves stories to make it through the season. Resolutions, declarations of self-betterment, and if you’re me, Dry January. It’s like being shot from a cannon through the gluttonous haze of the holidays directly into a freezing new world of self-judgment. Funnnnn!
Sometimes I wonder if we feel inclined to make these grand statements of change because the calendar’s new year is not in line with nature’s new year, which begins on the first day of Spring. Since the vibe of January 1st doesn’t always feel brand new, we must become brand new, transforming into better, less drunk versions of ourselves while the rest of the living world is simply enjoying hibernation.
Thankfully, weed makes a far more positive companion for the dark months ahead than alcohol ever could. It’s no coincidence cannabis is harvested in October, just before the cold snaps us into submission.
Each year, I do a harvest tour in the Emerald Triangle–a corner of Northern California known for producing the best weed in the world — visiting organic, regenerative cannabis farms and checking out what they have to offer. Below you’ll find the best weed I’ve seen come out of that harvest. We’ll start with some uplifting varieties for the short days ahead when you simply can’t but you categorically have to.
Just because it’s Dry January, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. And if you need ideas on how to best consume whole flower, we’ve got your guide here. My personal favorite is still the Volcano.
Vietnamese by First Cut Farms
Vietnamese by First Cut Farms is a lightning bolt of energy, mental clarity, and joy.
This is an extremely rare and pure Landrace Sativa strain from the Red River Valley in Northern Vietnam. Landrace refers to varieties of the original non-hybridized cannabis strains found in nature that are grown where they are from, and sativa refers to flowers with looser bud structures and thin, razor-edged leaves that tend to produce uplifting effects.
It makes a big difference when you consume flower grown by a legendary grower and activist like First Cut Farms founder Jerry Munn. You can feel Vietnamese’s zingy, exhilarating effects just by smelling it. Spicy and refreshing on the nose, the taste of the smoke has a fruity undertone with spicy, lemon/pine overtones.
Bottom Line: Get your entire to-do list done whilst shimmering with joy. Vietnamese is like a cup of espresso in the morning that makes you feel happy and creative instead of energized and jittery.
It’s a true work of art. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on it, cherish every puff.
Buy it here: Available in 1/8th oz, 1/2oz and oz. Price varies.
Boost T1 by Emerald Spirit Botanicals
The Boost T1 by Emerald Spirit Botanicals (available through Farm Cut) is one of the flowers that I am most excited about this season. Family-grown in the hills of Mendocino, it radiates love and brings an overwhelming sense of existential warmth, making it perfect for filling up the cold, boring space that is not partying for a month in the dead of winter.
While this may sound far out, the growers at Emerald Spirit Botanicals communicate with plant spirits to produce minor cannabinoids like THCV at never-before-seen levels. THCV is a cannabinoid that offers an uplifting, focused, and vision-enhancing high that also controls blood sugar, and thus curbs the munchies associated with cannabis use, making it highly sought after.
Boost T1 is a cross of their viral, energizing THCV variety, Pink Boost Goddess, and T1, is their greatest feat yet. It’s also historical in that it’s the first time a THCV-dominant strain has ever been created in an indica-leaning variety.
The smell is like a bouquet of every type of flower and tropical fruit. I also jotted down flowering trees in a pine forest, and effervescent jackfruit. The sensory experience is fruity, tingly, and activating, with a savory, tart cherry exhale. The high is relaxing, focused, and inspiring.
Bottom Line: The best possible flower for enjoying time spent alone.
Buy it here: $ $70 for ¼ oz
The Harvest Queen Cola by Moonmade Farms
This show-stopping presentation has a better chance of dethroning a fancy bottle of wine than any product I’ve encountered. The Harvest Queen by Moon Made Farms, a woman-owned regenerative farm high in the hills of Southern Humboldt, is a single, intact 24g cola of their Grapes & Cream flower, ensconced in glass in all her glory.
This product encourages people to bring the party differently. The spectacle invites engagement from people who normally would pass on a nondescript joint, and the high of this flower is posed to elevate more than just conversation.
A cola in cannabis refers to the flowering part of the plant where the buds form. This Grapes & Cream cola smells creamy and peppery with a fruity, woody flavor. The high is like a hug for your body and mind, with a heavy head change that flushes out all anxiety and otherwise icky feelings, making it a great pick for social situations where people are drinking when you are not.
Bottom Line: Revolutionize your next dinner party by bringing Harvest Queen instead of a bottle of wine.
Buy it here: $170
Snowcone by Moon Valley Cannabis
The name says it all. Snowcone by Moon Valley Cannabis, a living-soil indoor operation out of Sonoma County, is quite literally bursting with layered flavors and smells, similar to the striped colors of ice in its nostalgia-laden namesake.
This weed creates joy from nothing at all. It’s extremely potent with none of the negative aspects of cannabis consumption. The smell is predominantly orange with notes of cherry with gas, kind of like a diesel-y Fanta or cracking an orange soda at a gas station.
This flower reminds me of how weed used to be when I was young, back when the traditional market was bustling with Emerald Triangle flower grown by farmers who not only knew what they were doing but cared about providing stellar medicine to the people.
The reason that Moon Valley’s flower is so good is that, unlike most indoor cultivators, they use “living soil,” and grow in large troughs of soil alive with mycelium, bugs, and other plants, and use fertilizers they ferment themselves according to Korean natural farming practices.
While most people don’t think of cannabis as a living consumable, it is. Whatever goes into its growing experience comes out in the experience you have from consuming it. The better the inputs, the better the weed. Moon Valley is living proof.
Bottom Line: Energizing, nostalgic, and soul-soothing, just like the real thing.
Buy it here: $55
Northern Lights by Radicle Herbs
I can’t imagine a better weed to welcome the winter than Northern Lights by the family-owned and operated Radicle Herbs. Everything about this flower creates a deep, genuine feeling of coziness.
If you’re a seasoned stoner, you probably remember this strain from the nineties and 2000s. The smell is mountainous in every way, like wet soil and evergreens, the earth beneath melting snow on a sunny day.
The high is fun and relaxing. It made me think of the sound of silence on a cold winter night when you can hear the hum of light radiating off the moon. Serene and, for a moment, perfect.
Bottom Line: Rarely is one able to experience something purely good.
Buy it here: $24
Dark Side of the Moon by WildLand Cannabis
Dark Side of the Moon is a brand new cultivar by WildLand Cannabis, a regenerative, artist-owned farm in Mendocino County.
These stunning, emerald green nugs smell like red fruit and pine trees, with a high that’s great for being creative or thinking deeply without experiencing anxiety.
This is a phenotype of one of my favorite WildLand strains, their proprietary Mountain Moon Cake. It’s fruity, and piney with an invigorating minty overtone that brings an unexpected freshness to the sensory experience.
Like all of WildLand’s flower, the high of this one is made to foster the creative process. While her sister Mountain Moon Cake is ideal for creating, I find Dark Side to be more effective in the reflective, editing phase that is so necessary before pushing the project to light.
Bottom Line: Great for deep thoughts, nights around the fire, and finding perspective in creative endeavors.
Buy it here: Price varies on weight.
Glitter Bomb by Sonoma Hills Farm
Glitter Bomb, the social and laid-back flower from Sonoma Hills Farm, an organic cannabis farm with a culinary bend, is perfect for enjoying the weekend without getting obliterated.
She is, in a word, sparkly. Thick, chunky nugs glisten with trichomes and red hairs. The smell is lush and potent, like a fruity, woody pine forest. The high has a disco ball feeling that is fun and upbeat. I just smoked some and if I were at a party, I would be dancing.
This flower is a perfect way to get litty without alcohol. Smoke a bunch before going out with your friends, then Irish goodbye before the bad decisions start.
Bottom Line: Party without regret.
Buy it here: $28 for 1/8th oz
