Dream Come True
Last week a good friend at work told me about the 2022 High Times Cannabis Cup Colorado: People’s Choice Edition and about how I could pre-register to get a Judge Kit and I was like, hell yes I want to judge THE CANNABIS CUP that I’ve known about since 1988! Where do I sign up, who do I give my money to?
Yes the money. I realize this prestigious honor of judging the competition is not actually an honor or a personal invitation to judge. No, its a cattle call ploy to get my user review data and my money so they can turn around and help everyone involved sell more units …but such is the state of cannabis culture today. So I thought I’d play along and practice my dabbing and Interprening skills and celebrate these craftsmen showing off their hard work, competing head to head with their best efforts. I’m hoping to get some good judging and tasting, describing and educating experience, create some content practice blogging and honing my amateur cannabis sommelier or Interprening skills while getting pretty high.
This contest event is sponsored by the once cool bastion of counterculture ideals and a powerful voice in the pursuit of legalization of marijuana (but now it just an empty shell run by investors) High Times Magazine. (Channeling David Bienenstock here, with regard) It’s sad how corporatization of cannabis is eroding formerly iconic symbols of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Oh, and there are other sponsors including TweedLeaf, Native Roots, Cherry, LivWell, NUHI, ProMix, Next One, Natty Rems and full disclosure I work for one of them so believe me I get it. This competition is just clever marketing. I know I’m not jumping on a plane to Amsterdam anytime soon, to clumsily interpret Dutch transit schedules and negotiate foreign languages and exchange rates for the opportunity to touch and feel and experience the international underground competition then known simply as the High Times Cannabis Cup. Seeds and flower, hash, Nederhash, live music, tech expo and seminars with yoga and groovy people from all over the world converged to compete and celebrate this sacred herb. Now, we’re just trying to sell some units …so let’s get started.
I’m sorta kidding. I’m not trying to sell anything. I’m just having a good time . High Times redeems itself some, just by putting on the events. And lets face it I’ve established I’m a sucker for free stickers. High Times competition events seem to be happening in Michigan, Southern California, Illinois and Alaska as well as Colorado. They’re doing good work to bring the best cannabis to the people to judge and learn about and promote their conclusions to determine the winners in all the categories and rank their individually crafted expressions of the flower. This opportunity to judge seems a bit absurd to me after all those years of thinking it’d never be possible to be involved with the cup at such a level. I’ve become a fan of David Bienenstock author and podcast host, Cannabis Cup Judge as well as former editor at High Times and after reading about the changes at that publication that occurred around 2017, I honestly didn’t think there would be any more Cannabis Cup competitions as we knew them. But now, post-covid and recreational pot is big industry all over the country it looks like this this whole production is very savvy and well done (so far) so I’m amused and going all-in. You should too. I think there’s still kits available so go here and check out all the details. Saves me the trouble of breaking down the process so I can get down to posting my reviews of these fine specimens of carefully crafted solvent free dabbules, globules and granulated goodness found in the heavily branded high quality backpack they gave me for paying to be a judge.
Rocky Mountain High, Colorado
Special thanks to Rocky Mountain High Wazee (1538 Wazee St #100, Denver) – Official Intake and Retail Partner of the Cup. I pedaled down there on Sunday morning hoping I wasn’t rolling up too late to lay hands on a kit but also I’ve known of this little dispensary since 2009 and I’ve never poked my head in. I regret that. What a great little shop. Cool selection of Keith Haring glass bubbler pieces by K. Haring Glass caught my attention and their entire menu of cannabis products looked tasty and high quality. The people were super friendly and were very official and careful in handling my judge kit. They showed me how to treat it the same. I will go back to visit. I’m glad the Cup drew me in there. I should have visited back when I was working in LoDo, it’s super chill.
The Kit
A kid in a candy store on Christmas only its a grown ass man, paying a couple hundred bucks for a box of psychotropic self indulgence. This kit has everything; a durable possibly waterproof, possibly smell proof HIGH TIMES logo emblazoned back pack with attention to detail in the embroidery, logo’d zippers and sturdy construction as well as the multiple pockets and pouches inside. So many places to put my weed, I predict I’ll essentially be hiding stuff from myself while I forget I put it in there. But hey, you can put your weed in it, and a lot of it too. Its roomy.
This particular backpack held a bunch of stuff I’m anxious to show off. First up; the Rocky Mountain High glass jar that looks like it would store an ounce of flower quite attractively. I’ll test it out – see if stuff stays fresh in there.
Next up is the HIGH TIMES sticker featuring the ubiquitous typeface logo thats been a stoners’s beacon since, like 1974.
I love stickers. I’m a stickeraholic. Free stickers will 100 percent win me over. so touché, High Times, I’ve been talking some shit and I apologize. I’m grateful for your heavily branded stuff after all.
I also found a cool little promo from custommetaldabbers.com – a three pack of custom metal dabbers showing off “your logo here” capabilities. This is neat little artistic contribution to the kit. I really dig the presentation too. Red foil embossed with a Chinese style dragon head with 3 dabbers inlayed so nicely, I hesitate to disturb them.
The Concentrates
I plan to use the Little Dipper from Dip Devices for this judging session so I can isolate and prevent cross contamination of rosins. I’m going to rate and describe each of the entries individually so you’ll get all the details in subsequent posts but as an overview of what we are looking forward to here, I will say in my estimation some of the most talented extraction artists have offered up their interpretations of the finest Moroccan style hash, bubble hash, cold cured live rosin, solventless extract, budder and something called ‘slush’ available in Colorado. There’s so much flavor and so many cannabinoids and so much sensory stimulation …um, concentrated, in this collection. I’m telling you its a little overwhelming. Sensory overload. ALL of it smells fresh clean and delicious. I’m going to take it slow. One sample at a time, no overlap of effects. I want to give each of them my undivided attention.
NON-SOLVENT CONCENTRATES
The Greenery Hash Factory – Toaster Strudel x Tropicana Banana Moroccan Hash
Kush Masters – GMO Live Rosin (Non-Solvent)
Mountain Select – Nana’s Lemonade Live Rosin Slush
Mountain Select – Flaming Ape Live Rosin Slush
Dutch Botanicals – Grumpz Living Soil Live Rosin
Akta – Tropicanna Banana Live Rosin
Next1Labs – Chem Cake Live Rosin
Natty Rems – Sticky Bananas Cold Cured Live Rosin
Tweedleaf – Do-Si-Dos Solventless Bubble Hash
Competition Timeline
Saturday, June 4th: Judge Kits available to Loyalty Members
Sunday, June 5th: Judge Kits available to general public
June 5th – August 7th: Judging Timeframe
Sunday August 21st: Digital Awards Show