Billy Kimber from Garrison Lane via Catalyst Santa Ana on 11/29/2020. THC tested out to 23.848%. It’s a little hard to read the receipt because of the discounts and the taxes but, this batch was originally $69 out the door but I got it for about $45 otd. Just a few short years ago, Billy Kimber had a legendary status in the traditional market, and I remember a couple friends simultaneously talking it up and being astonished at it’s going rate. The last time I picked it up from a traditional vendor, it came in a black bag and was still excellent as ever, so when I saw this green bag Kimber on sale at Catalyst I jumped at the chance to see if things were still the same. The surface of these semi-dense nugs is mostly pear with fern green accents, sporadic bunches of gangly rusty red pistils, and a fairly thick coat of half intact slightly off white triches.

The nose out of the bag is musty with a dingy lemon tang and a sweet floral back end. The lemon hits in a very “dirty” way to the point my notes say it smells like someone took an old lemon and wiped it on an unwashed and well worn linoleum floor at a long since abandoned hospital. Busting open a bud, the must gets pushed back and a semi-sweet floral comes to the foreground, while I pick up on notes of freshness in the distance. Breaking it down by hand there’s a sweet minty floral left on my fingers, where the grinds themselves have that filthy lemon floral but it’s slightly sweeter than before, and with the added elements of mint pine it starts to give off those household cleaner vibes. A dry pull on the j is a vague, semi-fresh, minorly sweet floral with a very distant hint of lemon, but it’s all very muted. The inhale is smooth and hits with a slightly sweet floral on the bong, whereas the joint is essentially the same but has a slightly more acidic tone. The exhale has a muted curry like spice couple with musty floral off the bong, but is an extremely vague floral off the joint, to the point where it’s essentially nondescript. Cross checking the flavor on my Ghost Vapes MV1, at 170c there’s a slight cooling effect on the way in and there’s a muted lemon fresh floral whereas at 185c, there’s still a bit of a cooling effect on the way in but it’s a more pronounced citrus and skunky floral.  The headchange comes on quick but is really middle of the road and unimpressive compared to its previous iteration. I remember being extra cautious when I smoked the old school Kimber as it was one quitter hitter status, and no matter the time of day, if I tried to smoke more than a single bowl then I’d find myself knocked out only mere minutes afterward. This is not that. Physically, I feel a touch of haze across the eyes and a bit of weight behind them that half heartedly extends into the body as well. Mentally my energy levels seem dampened slightly, and I feel the start of the “I don’t give a fucks” brewing, but none of it is quite powerful enough to subdue my will when it comes to finishing my to do list. Without comparing it to the old Kimber, it’s a mildly satisfactory OG that you can smoke any time of day if you are just looking to get a general functional buzz, and you can continue about your business without fear of being incapacitated in anyway. However, I can’t overlook that this batch was being pushed as “THE” Billy Kimber with the intention to ride that hype, and (without actually knowing) there’s part of me that can’t help but think this was a purposeful attempt to bamboozle the consumer into picking up a lesser herb a a much higher ticket than it would normally call for. That said, I’m very glad I got this on a huge discount as it was on the Catalyst “kill list” but in retrospect, that’s probably about the appropriate rate for a batch like this and it shouldn’t have been going for more in the first place. If you’re looking for an alright OG at an inappropriately high ticket then this one might be for you. However I’d say your funds are better applied elsewhere as this batch of Billy Kimber was disappointing in nearly every regard and should be avoided by anyone who’s tried the real deal. Sorry Garrison Lane, Billy Kimber used to knock it out of the park, but this one was a major whiff.