BY ACM STAFF
Nobody in Arizona has been producing legal beautiful bud longer than Arizona Organix, the state’s first dispensary. Over the years they’ve built a well-earned reputation for top quality tops. A perpetual winner at Errl Cup competitions, Ben Myer and his cultivation staff have tried out hundreds of genetics searching for the best, most popular strains. After a recent tour of their west Phoenix processing facility, Myer asked ACM if we wanted to try out some of his favorites from their current crop of strains.
You bet we said YES! Here are some of the highlights.
Cactido: A great introduction to the overall quality of this brand. The buds are all tight, not airy, tasty green spears, so frosty they look grayish green. The smell is strong enough to leap out of the bag at your nose, just pungent enough to be intriguing with its unique, clean yet peppery smell, heavily shaped by one of the rarer terpenes, terpinolene and its more common partner, trans- caryophyllene. You can also find that flavor in Sensi Star or Dutch Treat, but this bud is worth pursuing on its own. After a few hits, shoulder tension just melts away, but long after that you’ll still be longing for another hit of that unique flavor. Also, coming in at 18% THC, the bud is strong enough to do the job, but not so crazy you can’t find your house keys.
Cactus OG: Well-formed and dense, the small bud structure of this strain is highlighted by its purple nugs. Tightly trimmed, but with the occasional fragment of sugar leaf that accentuates how purple the finished flower gets. So dense the nugs don’t break down easily, even in a top-quality grinder. Strong pungent skunky smell, but the flavor is surprisingly mild in comparison. A bit stonier than the Cactido, this OG comes in at 21.5% THC. Once again, the flavor is dominated by terpinolene, but this time it’s shaped by a different common terpene, beta-Myrcene, which brings out the zesty near-mango subtext. You’ll want to take the time to appreciate the mellow, near-sedating relaxing effect due of the Myrcene. But mostly, you will want to revisit this happy hoppy bud just for the taste of it.
Forbidden Shoes: Even stronger than either of those, Forbidden Shoes was the group’s favorite flavor with its fuzzy trichomes, gorgeous structure and strong purple-y smell and flavor. The flowers themselves are not as dense as the Cactus OG, but still rich and fluffy, not airy. Hits super smoothly, you’ll think of it as a comfort bud. The grape soda-like taste is heavily influenced by it high myrcene content so be prepared when you spark up this baby. The 23% THC/27% total cannabinoids will definitely sit you down into the couch.
Ice Cream Cake: Juicy fat buds, so dense and multi-colored, you’ll gladly risk carpal tunnel just to grind out a few bowls-worth. Talk about 1st world problems (“Dang, my weed is too dank!”) The buds are uniformly totally frosted, so much so the bud looks pale white at first glance. Coming in at just under 16% THC, the flavor is driven by its high Limonene/ Caryophyllene content. Their combined effects, along w a hint of humulene, makes this one reminiscent of an orange dream-sicle. Though they call it “ice cream,” this one will make you feel warm all over.
Sundae Driver: This is the kind of strain stoners tell stories about. Don’t let the modest 9% THC count fool you, this one feels like the highest potency of the bunch and was the hands-down all-around favorite among our testing group. We loved the fat, fuzzy, greeny-purple-y trichome covered flowers with orange red hairs. The sweet floral smell (dominated by a mix of both myrcene and caryophyllene) holds up in the flavor as well. No wonder how this one got its name. This one is sweet enough to save for dessert.
You can learn more about their entire product line at the Arizona Organix website.
–ACM Staff