Why Colorado Tokers Love Strawberry Shortcake

If the past couple of months have taught me to appreciate anything, it's the power of food: maneuvering crowded grocery stores with empty shelves, discovering our dependency on restaurants (and how much time and money we spent going out to eat), realizing how lost we feel and how much we care when one of our favorite kitchens closes for good. Food has also brought my household closer during a pandemic, as dinner is currently the highlight of the day.

Pray that we don't spend all summer at home, but if we do, I'll be attempting to make strawberry shortcake. The simple, classic mixture of biscuits, strawberries and cream is perfect for moving past barbecue on a summer night. And to get a jump on it, at the start of spring I tested Strawberry Shortcake, to see if it'd be a worthwhile addition to my summer lineup. There's something special about a toke in the back yard after dinner, as the sun sets and your tastebuds are craving something sweet. And while I expected nothing more than a syrupy smoke and pillowy-soft effects that lulled my happy ass to sleep, that's not a small ask.

Strawberry Shortcake is a rare strain nationwide but has a strong Colorado connection: It was born as a result of collaborative breeding between Cannarado and the Los Angeles-based Jungle Boys. The two renowned growers crossed the White, a popular strain for THC potency but not necessarily flavor, with White Wookie, a lesser-known mix of White 91 (the White and Chemdog 91) and Girl Scout Cookies. If someone had told me that Cookies and Chemdog influences were given such a blank canvas, I'd have expected a gassier version of Girl Scout Cookies. Instead, Strawberry Shortcake flicks my nose with a fruity blast up front, surprising my nostrils before thick notes of sourdough and gas fumes kick in the door. (I unwittingly opened my jar of weed over my heating vent, which I will recommend that everyone with floor heating do from now on.)

Strawberry Shortcake's biscuits aren't as sweet as I’d hoped, with dry notes of sourdough and wet dirt as well as small hints of petrol all hitting the tongue harder than noticeable-but-short hints of strawberries. However, the strain's high secured it a place in my summer rotation. It made me a best friend of a lawn chair for at least two hours, sitting at cruising altitude before coasting toward bedtime without a worry or pain in the world. Strawberry Shortcake is grown both wholesale and internally by dispensaries and can be found at over a dozen stores in the metro area.

Looks: Unafraid to show off its lineage, Strawberry Shortcake has qualities reminiscent of the White, Cookies and Chemdog strains. Moderate bud density and nugs shaped like Christmas trees could pass as Girl Scout Cookies, with a bright forest-green color and a bed of trichomes nodding to Chemdog and the White, respectively.

Smell: Although not as sweet as Strawberry Cough or as berry-full as Strawberry Sequoia, this deserves a spot in the patch. Notes of strawberries and sugar bounce around your nose, climaxing before the combination of a gas cap and cornbread carry the aroma to the finish line. (That’s a better mix than it sounds.)

Flavor: Those strong strawberriy notes shrink in favor of thicker flavors of biscuits, soil and rubber, all of which hang around in the aftertaste without much berry impact. Not a bad flavor, but I can't help feeling let down after the joyride my nose just went on.

Effects: Strawberry Shortcake's high allows me to clear past stress while staying calm and collected without second-guessing. If it weren't for the strain's inevitable comedown and eye relaxation, I'd smoke it more often during the day. However, the peaking-and-crashing high makes it best suited for evening sessions.

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