Jawbreakers from The Russian Assassin Boyz via Los Angeles Traditional on 7/17/2021 (big thanks to them both for making it happen!). THC not listed on this batch. This was gifted to me but looking at the menu at Traditional in DTLA I’d estimate this would go for about $46 out the door. Way back in July Russian Assassin Boyz gifted me this jar of JawBreaker as it was just about to hit store shelves and they wanted to get my opinion on it. I went home, shot my first impressions video, went through all of my normal note taking over the course of a week, and here it sat waiting to be written up into a full review. When my instagram page was disabled I took it as a sign that I needed a break, one which went a little longer than I intended, but I wanted to pick back up where I left off so here we are. So when you look at the date at the start of this review don’t let that fool you, while the notes are old, the herb was fresh when I took them. That said, on to the actual review. 

The surface of these dense bulbous buds is a patchwork of forest and lime greens with light siphoning midnight blues that are so deep it nears black in some spots, coupled with bunches of tightly coiled creamy melon orange pistils, and a thick coating of bright white and clear triches that when contrasted against the background look like a galaxy of stars in a Joshua Tree night sky. 

The nose out of the jar has a strong chem/gmo smell with a minor chalky sweetness in the background. On busting open a bud the chem gets louder and that grungy savory funk is definitely dominant, but it leaves just enough room for a distant shifty mint and a hint of fresh dough. Breaking it down by hand it leaves a sweet semi minty must on my fingers, while the grinds have a sugar sweet floral with a chem backing, and this savory sour lean that hits me almost like a funky BBQ sauce. The scents are all tumbled together and hard to differentiate, but there’s this mix of freshness and chem that when taken together has this dental antiseptic quality to it, like a familiar yet foreign mouthwash. 

The dry pull on the joint comes with a sweet chalky chem and a minty lilt, almost like a minty candy cigarette with a floral kick. The inhale on the joint has a chemy gas that bounces off the tongue, and I’m one to use the term “gas” sparingly, but was truly surprising how close it came to a legit “car exhaust” taste. The inhale on the bong was a bit more faint, had a slight snickerdoodle like taste, but that’s all I could glom on to at the time. The exhale on the joint was a sweet floral with a musty chem tang, whereas on the bong it was more of a sweet floral cream, with that chem like zing coming through on the back end. Cross checking the flavor on my Ghost Vapes MV1 at 170c I get a really strong sense of pine on the way in and on the exhale the pine remains strong with just a hint of a floral backing, whereas at 185c the pine is still dominant but has a chemical twist where it comes off closer to a pinesol like taste with that floral still lingering in the background. 

The headchange came on quickly with a touch of haze across the eyes, a numbness in the face, and a slight weakness in my knees that didn’t exactly force me to take a seat but made the idea of taking one that much more tempting. Mentally I felt cognizant but spacey, it put me in a place where I was easily sucked into my phone and absolutely lost track of everything going on around me, only to look up and realize 20 minutes had passed in what felt like the span of just a few moments. I could remain aware with a concerted effort, but lacking exterior motivation to do so, it simply felt better to allow my mind to wander unchecked. Over time, the pull of the couch got stronger, and while I still felt alert I could feel my body settling in hard with zero intentions of an exit strategy. 

All in all, I really enjoyed my time with this batch of JawBreaker and could definitely see myself picking it up again in the future. It’s a tasty solid smoke with an enjoyable smack that’s perfect for rainy day lounging without putting you down for the count. If you’re a chem/GMO fan, but looking for something in that vein that won’t absolutely obliterate you, I’d say this is right up your alley. Great work on this one Russian Assassin Boyz/Traditional, keep cranking out these hits, I’m looking forward to seeing what you put out next!