Xeno from Alien Labs via Catalyst Belmont Shore on 7/25/2020. THC tested out to 30.95%. Purchased for $80 out the door. I happened to catch part of a live stream where @returnofthealien said that Xeno was the best thing smoking and he’d put it up against anything currently on the rec market, which is definitely a bold claim, so I got my hands on some in order to test it’s might. These beautiful christmas tree nugs are mostly a tea green with hunter green accents, shaggy pops of cinnamon orange pistils, and throngs of yellowing triches that are at points so thick it’s as if someone took a tiny trich trowel and smoothed over every crevice with it. Truth be told it’s a bit hard to pin down the coloring due to the swarms of triches completely obscuring a majority of the surface.

The nose out of the jar is a strong candy fruit sweetness, coupled with a deep musty funk and a hint of mint, all wrapped up in this thin candle wax smelling package. Busting open a bud there’s this burst of sweet fruit that nearly overwhelms all other scents but leaves just a bit of room for a creamy backend. Breaking it down by hand you really get a sense for its density, as well as the scent of sweet pine left on your finger tips, where the grinds themselves have a chalked out fruity candy sweetness that brings to mind the smell of warm Skittles and necco wafers while still maintaining that sugary cream in the background. The dry pull on the jay had a sugar sweet candy fruit quality that hit me like a mango hi-chew with a distant musty floral undertone. The inhale was smooth, and had a very unique fruit profile that came off like an overripe pear on the joint, whereas the bong was more of a sugar sweetness with a mint lean. The exhale on the joint is all over the place. It’s a combo of floral and sugar sweet with a chalky twist and a savory chaser that reminded me of the meat in a clam chowder. The exhale on the bong really brings out that sweet cream aspect with a bit of powdered sugar and another savory element that’s like a smokey ghost version of a cheeseburger patty. Cross checking the flavors on my MV1 from @ghostvapesofficial at 170c, I get a slight cooling sensation on the way in, as well as the taste of sweet minty pine that lingers on the tongue for a long while afterward. At 185c, that cooling sensation seems to get even stronger, while the flavor profile shifts to a sugar sweet floral with a piney back end. The headchange comes on quick with a little bit of energy and a nice spacey smack. It’s hard to keep focused, my mind is annoyed with the constraints of the task at hand, and it takes a considerable amount of will to keep productive. Every tiny distraction is an opportunity to take a trip down space cadet lane into a mini escape from your current responsibility. The first time I smoked it, I described it to a group chat as feeling like someone had cast “confusion” on me. My thoughts were all over the place, I couldn’t manage to focus for more than a few seconds before my brain jumped to a seemingly random port of thought deep in the recesses of my mind, so far from where I was and what I was just doing. After the initial thwap faded it became easier to stay on task, while I noticed a weight settled into my shoulders and the occasional ASMR like tingle ran up the back of my neck, while some feel good energy remained and made it a less of a chore to finish out my to-do list. In short, it’s true, Xeno is pretty damn good. In fact, I’d say it’s great. Is it the best weed I’ve ever had on the rec market? No, but it’s definitely up there and frankly there’s no way to answer that without being wholly subjective. Would I cop it again? Yeah, I would depending on the price I could find it at, but I’m not sure I’d grab it again for $80. $80 is lot, and while I believe Catalyst stores now have top tier Alien Labs at $70, I’ve seen it on menus for $100 and that’s pretty nuts. No 8th is worth $100 to me, at least not one I’ve come cross, but that is a very personal decision. I can’t speak for your wallet. This stuff is definitely top notch herb so if you’re ok paying $500 an 8th for that, who am I to stop you? Personally I’d rather grab some Malverde if we are talking straight bang for the buck. I’d put it up against Xeno and it’s half the ticket. That said, Xeno is extremely unique in its flavor and effects and I’d definitely encourage you to pick it up if you can find it at a ticket you feel comfortable with, but it’s not a ‘must have’ to the point you should break the bank over it. That’s if you can even find it really, as it was very short lived in the menus in this area, and I haven’t seen it make a comeback since. Great work on this one Alien Labs, it’s replaced Alien Mints as a personal favorite, and I’ll definitely savor the rest of the jar.