Listen up, high-tolerance flavor-chasers who need that lip-smacking goodness that only modern exotics can deliver.
After another stressful sprint to Turkey Day, we all deserve some euphoric, indelible tastes to smoke and share.
Leafly’s monthly fire flower roundup for November includes flavors like Connected’s Cherry Fade, The Otherside’s new Sunrise Papaya, Cipher Genetics’ Chikitaz, and Candy Fumez grown by Greendawg.
As always, we tirelessly traveled up and down the Pacific coast, visiting contests, grows, pheno hunts, art openings, and stores. We scoured strain search trends and menus across the Western US—the world’s cannabis innovation epicenter—to distill this list of cheat codes to the best bong loads of November 2023.
It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it. #NoDaysOff. So here’s November 2023’s Leafly Buzz, another installment in our influential, three-years-running series of strain reports.
Data grinder
Super Boof
⬆ 23%
The Trop Cookies x Cherry Punch project from breeder Blockhead heads into the holidays with crazy momentum on the West Coast. Super Boof boosted up 23% month over month in views to its Strain Detail Page, capping an extraordinary year for the strain. Superboof makes for a great wake and bake weed, with hints of old-school Tangie, just with more body and dankness in gargantuan nugs. Hit the Superboof before Danksgiving to make annoying relatives more tolerable and amp up hunger for seconds.
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Jealousy
⬆ 3.5%
Leafly Strain of the Year 2023 Jealousy nudges up 3.5% in traffic this month, capping an epic year that saw the elite Gelato project double its presence in stores nationally. Jealousy has risen to become the 24th most viewed strain in the database, up from 98th place this time last year. The creamy, berry, fuel-tasting strain has become the 48th most-ordered strain on Leafly, up from No. 339 in orders last year, and Jealousy took home at least four cannabis contest awards in 2023. Over 2,000 stores nationally now carry the LA-developed strain, showing how a wave of Jealousy washed over the US this year.
Sundae Driver
⬇ 15%
Breeder Cannarado’s cross of FPOG x Grape Pie shows its age with Sundae Driver getting into a bit of a fender bender and dropping 15% in monthly views. Smelling of grape, vanilla, and berry, with giggly happy, and relaxed effects—Sundae Driver will always work for cruising. But we’re seeing newer iterations of it like Devil Driver take the lead.
Super Silver Haze
⬆ 7.7%
Give up for classic Super Silver Haze, up 7.7% in views to the Strain Detail Page on the West Coast this month. This energetic sativa from the ‘90s pairs with that pre-Thanksgiving hike or run, with a spicy citrus skunky smell. Farmers grow Super Silver Haze as a commodity crop, with eighth-ounces going for just $15, leaving you some change in your pocket for our gift guide.
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New in the Leafly strain database
Candy Fumez
Oooh, wee—watch out for this Bloom Seed Co sweet, pungent hybrid uniting the tropical Z strain with the fuel and creamy berry of Sherbanger. A Candy Fumez from California growers Greendawg won ‘Best of the Rest’ at the Transbay Challenge V statewide Finals in LA in October. But honestly, it could have won the entire event. Bloom Seed Co worked with Boston Roots to improve the Z genetics with Sherbanger’s banging shape, size, density, and bling. Watch out for it in flower, and even more pungent extract.
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Chikitaz
Compound Genetics’ foundational member Chris Lynch has evolved into his new label Cipher Genetics. The first to the session? Chikitaz—his cross of Banana Runtz to Gelato 41 and Z. You can see Chris not exactly playing it safe, but ensuring there’s money in the bank by working with these three top flavors. Seed packs go for $250 for 12 feminized seeds. San Francisco brand Sense hunts a keeper this fall—looking for that perfect, ephemeral twist of Tropical Banana on top of the best-selling Runtz. Just like a Hollywood blockbuster sequel—strain producers seek “the same but different” and Chikitaz promises to put up big numbers.
Pinnacle
There’s an old Pinnacle in the Leafly strain database comprised of aging strains Blue Dream and Hindu Kush. Set that aside. The new Pinnacle that everyone grew this fall comes from Oakland clone kings Purple City Genetics. PCG put together two bangers—Slurty 3 and Gush Mints—for a monster yielder that turns purple and tests over 28% so growers can stay in business. Gush Mints bring the polite minty note. Slurty 3 pairs Slurricane (Dosidos x Purple Punch) with Gelato #33. That’s a super-group of alleles chained together for a peak performance genetic. Look for bargains on outdoor and light-dep Pinnacle amid the flood of harvest season bud.
Tigerz Eye
San Francisco-based Compound Genetics keeps on rocking with Tigerz Eye, a cross of Jokerz 31 x GastroPop. That brings together two of Compound’s marquee strains Jokerz and GastroPop. The result? Ferocious THC power in an attractive, large purple, icy nug. It’s an indica-dominant hybrid designed for growers to get paid with notes of Gelato, figs, grapes, and floral fuel. Smoke this one after dessert to get heavy-lidded and watch reruns of “Elf.”
Picks of the dispensaries
New on shelves
Sunrise Papaya by The Otherside
The new California premium brand The Otherside launches in more than 20 stores this fall with three flavors including the delicious Sunrise Papaya—a cross of Papaya and Lemon Cherry Gelato. This bag went fastest at my house. You get warm tropical fruit smells with a petrol undertone when you crack the bag. Grinding up and smoking yields soft ripe papaya, mixed with bright, citrus notes. The effect hits active, alert, and uplifting. LA-based The Otherside grows it in 50 to 60-pound batches, which means plenty to go around this winter. Also, 20% off all The Otherside ganja on Green Wednesday.
Burning up the charts
Red Eye by Seed Junky Genetics
LA’s Seed Junky Genetics have had a banger year with Red Eye, their cross of Permanent Marker to Lemon Cherry Gelato. There’s no world in which this bag does not stink up your pocket or backpack. Permanent Marker made an indelible impression on lovers of purple weed with a confection and fuel nose. Lemon Cherry Gelato dominated menus nationwide this year. The bag design looks dope, and the nugs look big, dark, and icy with the Permanent Marker making the LCG more dense and pungent. This indica-hybrid will sit you down and can help you get to sleep on that red eye, or at least blunt the pain of taking a red-eye flight.
Best-sellers
Ballin out
Cherry Fade by Connected
Cherry Fade from Connected is one of those special cultivars that truly knocks you on your ass. It dropped in late summer of 2023, a welcomed addition to the Fall lineup of flavors from Sacramento-based Connected. The hybrid gets its unique genetics from Red Pop crossed with Apples & Bananas #20. The cultivar was a stand-out from the Connected/Alien Labs 2023 pheno hunt, chosen by the Connected team before Ted could grab it, the Alien Labs founder told me in an interview earlier this year. It’s coveted by consumers for its densely packed purple, dark green, and orange nugs. The decadent, earthy, and fruit-forward strain impresses with a cherry cough syrup-like sweetness that coats the mouth and a rich, pungent nose. Don’t sleep on Cherry Fade.—Lindsey Bartlett
Ballin’ on a budget
Holy Moly! Smalls by Fig Farms
Size matters not in the Force—nor in tasty, strong weed. Save money this month by shopping at your local stores for “smalls”—the industry name for smaller-sized nugs that look cute, have a great personality, and get the job done on a budget. The thing about smalls in 2023—they’re not small at all. An industry race for size has made anything that’s not a massive 3.5-gram nug eligible for the ‘smalls’ category. The more for us. Holy Moly! consists of award-winning Fig Farms’ unique mix of Banana Fig x Animal Mints with a banana front note and Mexican mole finish and intense, psychedelic effects.
High Note
Nobra Venom infused rosin pre-roll by CLSICS
Rosin rolls are pre-made marijuana cigarettes fortified with extra potency and flavor from a type of hash. If you want to level the smokers back home, break out one from California leaders CLSICS.
On Nov. 16 in West Hollywood, San Diego rosin brand CLSICS and St. Helena, CA. artist Porous Walker released a comical new collaboration—the most-high “Nobra Venom” rosin-infused pre-roll. That’s a 2-gram flower joint infused with a half-gram of pure extract made using only heat, and pressure.
CLSICS boss Matt Traut told me the roll contains a combination that’s half the hype strain Cadillac Rainbow (Pure Michigan x Runtz) and half a secret flavor, selected by artist Porous Walker. Walker also did the artwork, showing off his playful, ribald, yet controlled and minimal ink, colored pencil, and paper style. We do not recommend trying to interact with relatives on this High Note selection.
And that’s a wrap for Leafly Buzz November. See you next month for Leafly Strain of the Year 2023 on Dec. 5, with runner’s up and more end-of-year fuego.
About Leafly Buzz
So good they steal it—the popular, monthly strain review roundup Leafly Buzz is in its third year. We report independently on the connoisseur cannabis conversation, focusing on strains and branded flower of the US West. Reporting includes:
- review samples
- dispensary shopping
- grow visits
- events
- Leafly search data
- staff and reader tips, and more
