OG Kush from Elephants Growth via North County Terps on 12/18/2022. This has been up on the Patreon for a bit, and while this was acquired way back in December, the notes were compiled shortly thereafter when the batch was as close to fresh as possible. No testing info available as it’s traditional market. This eighth was $150, and while I have heard of people letting them go for around $130, it’s still a pretty decent sized price tag. After what felt like years of hearing the hype revolving around Elephants Growth OG, I finally managed to get my hands on some (huge thanks to North County Terps for making it happen!). For the uninitiated, this particular OG is known to be one of the most expensive flowers in the traditional market space, which often makes it the subject of debate amongst connoisseurs when it comes to what defines a reasonable spend on a single ounce of small batch cannabis. 

These fluffy trident-esque buds are thoroughly green, yet cover the entire spectrum of the color, ranging from the light end of tea and seafoam greens all the way to the depths of pine and sacramento greens, contrasted against numerous sporadic spindly rusty orange-brown pistils wildly weaving throughout the budscape, all of which is fully drenched in an impressive eye widening deluge of fully formed paper white triches. 

The nose out of the bag is very standard issue OG, it was actually a bit fainter than I’d expected so I jarred it up for a few days in hopes of capturing some of that off gassing to drill into the bouquet a bit more, but it remained a light sweet herbaceous freshness with a distant hint of lemon water. On breaking open a bud, the fresh herbaceousness shifted into more of a gassy mint, with that timid lemon quality still hanging out in the corner, which culminated into a very familiar OG scent. Busting it down by hand, my fingertips were left absolutely stained with that same scent, coated in a gnarly triche grime, while the grinds themselves smelled strongly of pine-sol with a lemony kick. 

The dry pull brings a sugary sweet floral that lingers on the palate, almost as if it infects the saliva around the tongue with a light version of that sweetness. That same sweet floral is consistent on the inhale from both the bong and the joint, with the former occasionally presenting a gassy undertone. The exhale however differs, with the joint producing a very light semi-sweet musty floral with a hint of spice, whereas the bong came with a musty cream combined with a very light floral sweetness and the occasional reminder of gas. My flower vape is still out of commission but my assumption, given the experience with the smoke, is that it would read heavy on the pine notes at lower temps. 

The headchange comes on quickly and has a bit of a pick me up to it. It’s the kind of herb that makes me stand up after I take a hit, but I’m not exactly sure why I’m standing up, the body just feels like it has to move in that moment so I comply before I even fully comprehend what I’m doing. Mentally I felt overall cognizant, I didn’t have any issues getting lost mid-thought nor did I space out much, it was very easy to stay on task and in the moment. Physically there was a slight ASMR-ish tingle in the shoulders that ran to the base of my neck, a bit of pressure behind the eyes, and a minor headband effect that sat right on top of that. It was a solid experience for sure, but one that’s familiar and none too unique, however it’s very satisfactory and scratches an itch out the gate that a lot of herb misses the mark on these days. 

OG Kush has an unusual place in its ubiquity, it’s sort of everywhere and grown at all scales and levels of care, and as a result the consumer experience with it can be extremely varied. It’s akin to fried rice at any given Asian restaurant. The fried rice at Benihana for example is pretty damn tasty and it’s been really consistent on my visits there over the years, but when it comes to Panda Express it’s hit or miss, sometimes there’s egg and sometimes there isn’t, sometimes it’s dry and inedible. Of course Mom and Pop’s are probably going to do it best, but you have to put time into finding those small batch gems, as small scale doesn’t always mean top tier. Surprisingly, the best fried rice I’ve ever had in my entire life came out of a corner market with a small kitchen attached run by a husband/wife team, he manned the store and she manned the grill, and in addition to the rice they had a variety of grease pit style foods made to appeal to drunk college kids as it was nestled in the neighborhood right behind UCR, and was the only outside source of food in walking distance. It unfortunately closed long ago but I still think about that fried rice on occasion. The ingredients were standard, rice, onions, carrots, egg, spices, but it was the precise amount of all of those, put together and cooked in the exact right way, that just made it absolutely jaw droppingly delicious and I have never come across a fried rice quite like it since. 

The reason I took you, dear reader, on that stroll with me down memory lane was to say this. I’d probably pay anything to get another plate of that liquor store fried rice. It holds a nostalgic place in my memory that makes it nearly priceless to me, and probably me alone. When it comes to Elephant’s Growth OG, others could have had a similar experience like I did with that fried rice, and in that respect, the ticket is of no consequence to them. I had a great run with this OG, it’s obviously well grown and meticulously cared for at every stage, and with it being traditional market, a lucky consumer can get their hands on it before some of the more nuanced volatile terps off gas leading to a powerful experience. However, when contrasted with readily available OG’s on the recreational market and respective rates for them, I can’t say I would have a reason to double dip on this. In the end I’m all about the bang for the buck, and subjectively speaking, there’s really almost not enough bang possible for the buck typically associated with EG OG. $150 an 8th or more than 1k a zip is a lot. That’s definitely not a knock on the quality here, it’s just that I’m not the right consumer for it, just as I’m not the right consumer for those BWDs from MSCHF. While people may feel comfortable putting out the dough they do for those, I don’t see the value in it personally, and I’m happy to stick to my Brooks Beasts as they are high quality and work really well for me, and come in a ticket I can comfortably afford.  

Ghost C@#&! from Royal Key Organics via @catalyst_dtlb on 12/24/2022. THC tested out to 30%. Normally this goes for $60-ish after tax but I was able to get it for $30 with the Kushmas 50% off sale. The morning of Christmas Eve I found myself pouring over Catalyst Downtown Long Beach’s menu in preparation for the best sale of the year (Kushmas!), and while Royal Key was already on my radar, this Ghost C@#&! stood out to me for the weird name alone. There’s a lot of fun things you can guess that obscured word might be but it turns out the answer is pretty straight forward, it’s Candy, which apparently is one of a few words according to state law you can’t use on California Cannabis packaging.

The surface of these dense buds are mostly a mix of tea and persian greens with sporadic patches of rich aubergine, coupled with flares of ubiquitous apricot pistils busting out in all directions, awash in a glistening sea of white and egg cream colored triches.

The nose out of the jar is a semi sweet cream that smells very MAC “adjacent”, there’s also a hint of nutmeg-esque spice, and a solid musty underpinning to it all. The first time I broke open a bud, for a millisecond, it smelled nearly like I’d just opened a bag of Golden Crisp, so much so in that moment I quietly sang that old familiar jingle “can’t get enough of that Golden Crisp” to myself. While in subsequent sniffs, it still retained that cereal like vibe, there’s a solid pine quality in the mix as well, accompanied by a musty creamy gas filling out the back end. Breaking it down by hand my fingers were left with a scent of light cream and distant pine-sol , while the grinds themselves still have that cereal quality coupled with a fruity scent that was difficult to pull apart. At first it hit me almost like an artificial cherry, but as I dug in, I got some mango and berry-ish components too, and even a touch of banana, all wrapped up in a pine-like freshness. It’s very complex, and even in that sprawling description, I’m not sure I really did it justice. 

The dry pull on the J comes with a honeysuckle sweet freshness uptop that takes a quick acrid turn to more of a general sweet floral. It was a familiar flavor to me being half Peruvian, it tastes very similar to Ambrosoli de Chicha that are abundant down there, which I realize may not be informative to non-Peruvians, but I can’t think of a more widespread item that has the same exact flavor. The inhale on the joint comes with a floral freshness that leans into pine territory, where the bong is similar but also brings a doughy must along with it. The exhale on the joint presents as a creamy floral with a tinge of an acrid electric (tongue on a 9volt) lilt, and a chemical pine backing, whereas the bong comes with a musty dough interwoven with deep vaporous tones, and that same electric/metallic quality echoing the distance.

The headchange comes on quickly and with a satisfying thwack. Physically there’s a pressure that settles in right on top of the eyes, as well as some weight that pushes down on the shoulders, which didn’t make me seek a seat immediately, but did encourage an easily observed laziness in my stance and gait. Mentally I felt relaxed but fairly cognizant, I was able to think clearly and strategically about the day’s tasks ahead of me and plan accordingly. Although I ought mention there was this hazy IDGAF goblin hanging out in the background of my thoughts, and if I were so inclined to give in, I could see myself just hanging out, smoking more, and marathoning the rest of The Afterparty to get through it before my Apple TV+ trial runs out. 

All and all I really liked this Ghost Candy from Royal Key, which is really not surprising, as I’ve had nothing but solid experiences with everything I’ve gotten from them so far. While I picked this up partly due to the killer deal I was able to get on it at Catalyst’s Kushmas, for the caliber of smoke, I think $60 after tax is an extremely reasonable price for top shelf. While I’m not exactly chomping at the bit to get my hands on more ASAP, I could see myself picking it up again if I came across it and were in the mood for a rainy day type smoke as I think it’s well suited to staying in, and in So. Cal we’ve no shortage of rain lately, so I might find myself re-upping sooner than later. Great job on this one Royal Key, keep up the solid work!