Circus Animals from THC Design direct on 01/24/2022 (Huge shout out to Edward at THC Design for making it happen!). THC tested out to 33.44%. This was gifted to me but I did find it on Kannabis Works Menu in Santa Ana going for $46 out the door, and with their first time customer deal you get 40%, so you can potentially get it for a killer deal. THC Design was the first cannabis company for whom I ever saw a billboard, and at the time it was such a foreign concept, I thought they were actually a graphic design company that was just jumping on the ever escalating canna-bandwagon. I quickly learned that was not the case and have been a fan ever since, so when my dude Edward at THC Design hit me up and asked if I wanted to try out a couple of their new flavors, I popped right over and picked them up. 

The color profile of these dense nugs vary from bud to bud but are essentially a mash up deep rich aubergine that shifts into midnight blue in parts, along with emerald and lime greens, tightly coiled veins of rusty copper pistils, and an extremely prominent surface-obscuring coat of of dazzling white and egg cream colored triches. 

The nose out of the jar is a creamy gelato like fruity sweetness along with a touch of chalky floral and a general mustiness kicking around in the background. On busting open a bud, the fruity sweetness takes a candy-like turn and also brings with it a touch of minty vaporousness. Breaking it down by hand there was bright candy sweetness with a fruity edge, but the fruit was difficult for me to pin down, at different times it read as berry, pear, or even as grape adjacent. One sniff in particular tickled my memory banks and reminded me of the time I accidentally drank Capri Sun Pacific Cooler concentrate as a kid (note: it was delicious). A strong freshness also remained present but was relegated to filling out the background. 

The dry pull on the joint comes with a sugary chalky sweetness and a touch freshness joined by a very vague fruity echo. The inhale on the bong has a very light sweet floral quality, whereas on the joint it’s more of a sugary slap that quickly bounces off the tongue. The exhale on the bong hits with a musty semi-spiced cream, whereas on the joint there’s a waxy sweetness (ala wax lips) with a hint of fruit, and a fresh underpinning that also carries a spicy bite. Cross checking the flavor at the one temp my GhostVapes MV1 is currently capable of, I got a light minty sweetness on the way in, and a predominately pine exhale with a mint cream finish on the way out. 

The headchange came on quickly and consistently made me seek out a seat. There was this near instantaneous form of calm that obliterated my anxiety and threw me into introspection. Why was I in such a rush? Why was I so anxious? Was it helpful to me in any way? It allowed me to get some perspective on the situation, reprioritize, and then execute my new plan for the day without that sense of annoyance due to having so much to handle in the first place. I was fairly cognizant, although I did notice it was hard to recall some words on occasion, but I wasn’t so stunted that I couldn’t work around it. Physically I found myself with some pressure behind the eyes and general slump to my stature which contributed to that take a seat feeling I alluded to earlier. 

Overall, I’d say this is a beautiful looking, delicious smelling, decently tasty afternoon or evening smoke for when you want to relax and kick back but still keep your wits about you somewhat. I could see myself picking it up again if I were on the hunt for that sort of buzz, but truth be told I feel as if this particular set of effects is fairly common with herb on the rec market these days, so the ticket would really be the determining factor for me personally. I did a spot check of some menus in the area, and came across a batch of this at Kannabis Works in Santa Ana going for what I’d consider a good rate, especially when coupled with their killer first time customer discount. If you liked what I’ve had to say about this batch, and if you’re anywhere in the OC area, I’d say swing through and you’ll be leaving the shop happy. Great job on this one THC Design, definitely my favorite of the bunch!