(Ry Prichard photos, The Cannabist)

A few of our favorite strains: 25 ranked reviews from our critics

The Cannabis Cup has become synonymous with ranking strains of cannabis. Some blogs assemble click-baity lists of the BEST MARIJUANA STRAINS IN THE WORLD! And High Times magazine’s annual strongest-strains issue is among their most popular every year.

This list is not about being comprehensive, though it is well curated.

What you’ll find in this list and slide show: 25 top strains our three marijuana critics — Jake Browne, Brittany Driver and Ry Prichard — reviewed in the first five months of 2014. These strains propelled us to movement and soothed our most prominent aches. They’re old standbys, trendy new hybrids and old-school classics known by our parents. These strains helped ring in legal recreational sales in Colorado, and they’ll soon do the same for our friends in Washington state.

So from our living rooms to yours, here are 25 of our favorite strains in mid-2014:

25. Flo

Jake: “For me, Flo is the “Eh, let’s just order pizza” of strains when you’ve seen too many jars and need to walk out with something. If it were a re-run on TV, it’s an episode of “Friends” that’s all Phoebe. Sure, it’s fun and light, but you really wanted a good Chandler zing. Why do I keep buying this? … Next to Blueberry, it’s arguably the biggest strain that DJ Short has ever produced. He’s never spun a record professionally — although I’m not sure DJs still do that — but he is an extremely influential cannabis breeder who takes great pride in this Purple Thai and Afghani sativa hybrid. Available through online seed banks and basically anyone who sells clones, it has taken over the Denver market.” Read the full review


24. Larry OG

Ry: “Larry OG is a hybrid consisting of the Lemon Larry OG mother plant and a SFV OG Kush F3 male that was created by The Cali Connection Seed Company. The Lemon Larry cut is a famed Southern California OG clone which is known for having more of a sativa effect than many OGs as well as a very citrus-heavy flavor palate. This particular sample consisted of a single nug that I eyeballed as weighing somewhere near five grams, which is somewhat unusual for an OG variety, as they normally produce smaller, compact, dense flowers. This nug was pretty gorgeous and seemed well-grown; there was a generous coating of well-preserved trichomes all over the minty green surface and it also had a wonderful texture with the appropriate amount of moisture.” Read the full review


23. Golden Goat

Brittany: “The first of the week is when we collect our green, and this time I wanted something completely different. Hoping only for a cool sativa, I got a strain I’d never heard of — Golden Goat. In the zodiac, Capricorn (the goat) is said to represent practicality and reservation. I could only hope this strain would not live up to its name … Golden Goat hits on a flavor that I refer to as “planty.” I’ve heard others use the term “earthy.” There are no fruity notes, and no sweet overtones. There is just a delicious and rich herbal taste. Smoking my chillum it went down without a single cough. I’m glad I took the extra day to cure it.” Read the full review


22. Green Crack

Jake: “Everyone loves a good weed story, even if they tend to be really, really long. So when Snoop Dogg smoked some herb so intense he dubbed it “Green Crack,” it became a legend overnight. Being zoned out for a few days as some recent dental-health issues started to affect my mental health, I thought an energy boost might be in order for the NoCo Hemp Expo. Meeting and greeting drains me as an introvert, but Green Crack was over-the-top in terms of what I needed. It’s the go-to strain if you want to make fun of the silliness inherent in the naming conventions we use. Clearly, it’s not good to name anything after crack cocaine. At the end of the day, I could care less what they call it, as I don’t think “Cush” — the original monicker — is that much better. Names are important, however: calling it Marijuana #2943 tells me nothing about the lineage or expected effects. At least when the word crack is involved, I can guess it should be energetic.” Read the full review


21. Triple Diesel

Brittany: “If Sour Diesel, NYC Diesel and Strawberry Diesel had a ménage a trois, Triple Diesel would be their debilitatingly dank lovechild. Triple D is a sativa that in small doses can produce a focused and attentive high for both the medical patient and recreational user. But if one chooses to indulge it can absolutely be used for some serious relaxation. This makes it a very versatile strain that can be ideal for both daytime and nighttime consumption.” Read the full review