Does the weight of a new year make you a bit nervous or bummed out?

Big cannabis flavor chasers should hit the weed shop for a trending star of dispensaries this January. All across the US, the three-year-old hype strain Rainbow Sherbert #11 (RS-11) is surging onto hundreds more menus.

Available as top-shelf flower, bargain ounces, dabs, vapes and even tinctures, RS-11 delivers big, tropical Kerns nectar juice flavors and versatile fun effects. RS-11 has gotten so big it’s become our Leafly HighLight strain for January 2025.

Reviewers say RS-11 gives off notes of apricot, peach, and citrus. It makes them focused, giggly, and relaxed—which sounds pretty perfect for gaming or hobby time.

A sibling to Zoap, RS-11 is ranked No. 30 in traffic on Leafly Strains. It’s now a top 300 strain nationally in stores, with hundreds of stores adding it this year. 

Leafly reviewers give RS-11 a 4.4 out of 5 after 140 ratings, and 6,966 have bookmarked it as a favorite.

About a fifth of Leafly reviewers say RS-11 helps calm them, treat pain, or lift their blues.

RS-11’s parents include this cross of OG Kush and Z dubbed “Pink Guava” after the juice of the same name. Oakland, CA breeder DEO Farms crossed his Pink Guava to a Sunset Sherbert, and all those flavors can be found in the offspring.

Leafly “reviewers rave: “The candy guava sour citrus flavor profile is one of the best for flavor I’ve had in 30 years puffin bud.”

RS-11 has versatile effects that lie near the center between calming and energetic. If you’re getting creative, RS11 might quiet your inner critic.

A “reviewer writes: “If you create art, try this strain. Mentally energetic but without any tension or anxiety. RS11 has a place in art heaven.”

Where is the best RS-11 in the US?

Growers and extractors have blanketed the US in RS-11 flower, vapes, dabs, and even edibles. Over 1,600 stores in the country with menus on Leafly sell the cultivar.

In Los Angeles, go for the Mountain Man Melts Tropical RS-11 live rosin. Or the Friendly Brand RS-11 tincture, or Cold Fire’s cartridge.

Manhattan, New York’s nascent market has Electraleaf flower that runs $18 per gram.

By contrast, Portland, OR grams of RS-11 flower have hit just $3, while rosin is $23 per gram.

In Seattle, WA, your best bet is the Torus pre-roll, Mama J’s rosin, or Freddy’s Fuego flower.

Phoenix, AZ is for stoners—with RS-11 live rosin by 22Red, and RS-11 flower by Connected.

Detroiters in Michigan have 74 RS-11 options nearby, including live rosin all-in-ones for $40.

Where to buy RS-11 seeds

Deo Farms made RS-11 by crossing the OZ Kush project “Pink Guava” with a Sunset Sherbert. That led to the strain Zoap. The LA brand Wizard Trees took on two siblings to Zoap, the Rainbow Sherbert child numbers 11 and 54; hence RS-11 and RS-54.

Wizard Trees is heavily working this line, with a slew of RS-11 crosses like 11:11, which is RS-11 crossed back to itself to try and improve it.

Meanwhile, Barney’s Farm and DOJA Exclusive have released RS11x Banana OG. 

Unofficial RS-11 seeds abound from seed-makers and seed banks worldwide, but their quality or authenticity will vary widely.

What awards has RS-11 won?

RS-11 has a lot of winners in her from the OG Kush, Z, and Sherbert parentage. RS-11 is a Leafly Strain of the Year runner-up in 2023. Her niece, Zoap, is a Budtender’s Choice strain of 2024 across the US. An RS-11 cross Magic Marker took the strongest strain in the Zalympix contest in Michigan in 2024.

What terpenes are in RS-11?

Weed’s smell comes from flavor molecules including terpenes. If you average out the lab tests of flowers labeled ‘RS-11’ they test relatively high in caryophyllene, limonene, and humulene. These terpenes and other lesser ones as well as other flavor molecules combine to give RS-11 its loud, tree fruit juice, citrus, and fuel nose.

Other highlights this January

If you can’t find RS-11 near you, look for strains in the wheelhouse—including:

Zoap

The niece to RS-11. Zoap comes from crossing two RS plants and selecting an offspring that has a distinctly detergent or ‘soapy’ terp.

RS-54

Wizard Trees has also popularized this similar sister to RS-11. When you need a rainbow inside your skull, RS-54 offers similar results.

Rainbow Belts

Archive Seeds took the tropical candy taffy grandparent of RS-11, known as The Original Z, and improved on it immensely to create the Rainbow Belts line.

OK, that’s your Leafly Highlight for January 2025. Good luck with your fitness goals and New Year’s resolutions. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is ever out of reach, but you can enjoy the heck out of the journey with RS-11.

We get the sense that America will be ordering more of the Modified Grapes strain this winter—the sleep-inducing, stress-mellowing cross of GMO Cookies x Purple Punch.

Yes—we’ve found the next top 200 strain you have to know about. Modified Grapes is our HighLight flavor for November 2024.

We get it—inflation ate all our paychecks. Well, meet a dirt-cheap, award-winning indica hybrid that smells and tastes like grape, honey, and berry. 

Disassociating for the night? Modified Grapes leaves reviewers sleepy, relaxed, and euphoric.

“Truly Dionysian, feels like you’ve just drank a pitcher of wine without the liver damage that comes with the real thing,” writes another.

It’s strong stuff, so you’re going to need water, and you’ll want to start at the lowest effective dose. Modified Grapes’ top negatives are dry mouth and anxiety.

Modified Grapes rates a 4.4 out of 5, after 146 reviews on Leafly. Bag quality can certainly vary by batch—it’s a cash crop. GMO and Purple Punch are two proven strains. So when it’s good you get:

 “Big dense purply flowers. Lush, jammy Vitis flavor with earthy pine resin notes,” said one Leafly reviewer.

Those aromas are powered by its top terpenes: limonene, caryophyllene, and pinene. Add in the high THC, and one reviewer said Modified Grapes:

“Will have you feeling like you have been shot with elephant tranquilizers, and been hit with a 2pc from Mike Tyson. Leaving you devastated, and glued to the couch unable to even lift your eyelids.”

Some people need that this winter. And fresh studies conclude cannabis substitutes for more toxic sedatives including alcohol.

Who’s got great Modified Grapes?

All praise be to the cash crop. GMO x Purple Punch has that agronomy—it’s efficient to farm. Put some savings on those wallet wounds with a $4.50 gram of Modified Grapes in Portland, OR. 

Maine has $30 ounces of Modified Grapes shake like it’s 1970.

Seattle has half-ounces of flower for $35. There’s a high-end, too.

A Modified Grapes live rosin cart sells in Denver for $33 and live rosin gummies go for $16.50.

Arizona has rosin disposable vape pens of it for $50.

Modified Grapes seeds

You can tend to your garden and get a lot of joy out of growing this chonky bud. GMO is a beast. The yield of Purple Punch is also legendary.

Klone Colorado and Highline Nursery offer little cuttings of the cultivar. 

We see Modified Grapes seeds from Horror Seeds, Blimburn, Trilogene, and a new cross from Bloom Seeds.

Modified Grapes awards

GMO and Purple Punch have both powered their fair share of Cup-winners. The California brand LitHouse took first in mixed light with Modified Grapes in 2022. The strain also has wins in 2021 and 2020.

Modified Grapes terpenes

Modified Grapes can have this funky, dank grape smell that’s great. GMO adds loudness to any strain. Many shoppers pick based on the essential oils in herb—the terpenes. Batches labeled Modified Grapes tested highest for limonene, caryophyllene, pinene, which can relate to citrus, pepper/fuel/gas, and pine. 

Other highlights this November

Can’t buy our HighLight? Don’t cry, dry your eyes—with three related or seasonal picks.

Papaya Punch

Swap out the stanky GMO for the more floral papaya in this equally sleepy and fruity half-sibling of Modified Grapes.

GMO Cookies

Get more aggressive with your sedative—crack that Modified Grape parent GMO Cookies. For fans of savory, stanky, and strong. Not actually genetically modified, for the record.

Purple Punch

The other parent in Modified Grapes is for the thriftiest of us. Purple Punch is an easy-going, grape-flavored sleep aid.

Ok, that’s HighLight for November 2024. Go stock up. Winter is coming. The wine leaves have all turned red and yellow in the fields. The grapes are being smashed. The weed barns are full of a bumper crop that’ll ripen into the new year. One thing dies. Another is born. The only constant—change.

Last year’s Leafly Strain of the Year winner—Permanent Marker proved to be spot-on. It’s showing up on hundreds and hundreds of new menus per month and going into cool crosses like Cherry Marker and Permanent Marker Bx1; all of them very tasty. (This Leafly HighLight is brought to you by I Love Growing Marijuana.)

As the strain climbs even higher into the pantheon of greats, we wanted to highlight it for people that haven’t uncapped a jar yet. It smells like marker fumes and hits like a baseball bat—Permanent Marker is our Leafly HighLight for October 2024.

This ‘Gelato times 1,000’ cross of (Biscotti x Sherb Bx) x Jealousy has reached 149 ratings, with an average score of 4.6 out of 5 and 6,226 likes. Leafly reviewers report getting tingly, relaxed and chatty on Permanent Marker. They note its ammonia, tobacco, and chemical notes—like some synthetic polymer. People smoke it and unwind, lift mood, and relieve pain.

“Oh my sweet jesus is this a potent strain,” notes one reviewer.

It’s pretty, and fits right in the wheelhouse of hit flavors.

One reviewer writes: “The bag appeal is out of this world but the flavor and smell is where it shines the unique gas/sherb taste is unlike anything I’ve tried.”

“You can actually smell that permanent marker smell no bullshit,” writes another.

Al Capone Wraps have become the number one natural leaf wrap in the US and are the only double-bonded self-sealing cellulose wraps in the market, guaranteeing an easy-to-roll and slow-burn experience. 

You deserve a wrap that is a cut above the rest. Made with love for blunt aficionados, these wraps are like little presents, each one wrapped up to keep things fresh, pre-cut to perfection, and boasting a double leaf for a laid-back burn and self-sealing sugar strip offering a clean and sweet sealant for your wraps. Available in Original, Cognac, and Rum flavors, you can snag them online or at your local spot. Treat your blunt right!

Who’s got great Permanent Marker?

Look for Permanent Marker in most major weed cities and you won’t be dissappointed. 

California brand MOCA just dropped flawless jars of their Marker. We’ve seen stellar versions from breeder Seed Junky, Made, Connected, and CAM. It’s the strain to carry if you want that reputation for zaza.

Oregon has Permanent Markers from Oregrown, Grown Rogue, Rebel Spirit and more.

Washington brands Freddy’s Fuego, Lifted, House of Cultivar, Phat Panda and more have the cultivar.

Doja and Made brings the winning flower to Arizona. Seed Junky has brought it to New Mexico. Aries has it in Illinois, and Sparq sells it in Boston. It’s really a national phenomenon now.

Permanent Marker seeds

Permanent Marker’s (Biscotti x Sherb Bx) x Jealousy genetic remains smoking hot. You can go straight to Seed Junky for fresh Marker genetics, or try ordering from Premium Cultivars or WeedSeedsExpress on the Leafly site.

You can also hit the seedbanks for even more Marker crosses.

Permanent Marker terpenes

Labs tests of samples labeled “Permanent Marker” have averaged high in myrcene with limonene and beta-caryophyllene. That gives the strain its deep sherbert notes with the pungent ‘gas’.

Other highlights this October

Can’t buy our HighLight? Don’t cry, dry your eyes—with three related or seasonal picks.

Golden Pineapple

Tired of more Sherb crosses? Grind up some classic Golden Pineapple—recently spotter from Phat Panda. It’s light, sativa, daytime fun without all the crazy narcotic effects of a GSC strain.

ILGM Lemon Fresh

ILGM wants you to check out the new Lemon Fresh (Jungle Spice x Gorilla Diesel #3)—with two of the top terps of Permanent Marker (beta-Myrcene, beta-Caryophyllene). Lemon Fresh is easy to grow hazy, citrus, gas weed.

Strawberry Pop

Red Pop x Red Runtz combine for this legit strawberry soda pop-tasting strain from Exotic Genetix. Really unique terps from Talking Trees farms.

Bonus Pick: ILGM Pineapple Donut

ILGM has an easy to grow Franken Cakes x Gorilla Diesel #3 called Pineapple Donut with tropical, cake, floral notes that’s beta-Myrcene, Limonene, beta-Caryophyllene—just like Permanent Marker.

And that’s a quick Leafly HighLight for October 2024. Enjoy the fall season and have fun out there on Halloween.