Why Colorado Tokers Love Banana Punch

Purple Punch has been a popular nighttime choice for a while, but the purple bomber's children are really growing. Punch Cookies had a moment a couple of years ago, and Punch Breath, a mix of Purple Punch and Mendo Breath, is popping up around dispensaries this summer. Banana Punch might be the biggest of them all, however.

Banana Punch's stiff one-two has created a loyal following around Denver. Popular rosin makers and hot cultivators are taking on the strain this year, and every other dispensary seems to have a flower jar, pre-roll or hash fridge with Banana Punch inside.

There's no question about what smoking Banana Punch does to a person. Heads float in clouds while limbs are stuck in trenches; eyelids swell and bellies rumble. Functioning at any level is difficult. This  might sound like a rough stretch for a normie with clean lungs, but as long as food is on the way and a bed is nearby, you're in fine shape to end the day.

A mix of Banana OG and Purple Punch, Banana Punch is a favorite among extractors and dabbers for heavy potency and a strong grip on the body. The sedation rarely leaves before my consciousness does, which is handy in specific situations but quite the hindrance when walking is required. A lot of novice users expect those effects from cannabis, however, and everyone can use a relaxing night inside sometimes.

Looks: Most of the Banana Punch I've seen is cone- or mitten-shaped, with spiky, wispy nodes that hide how dense the buds really are. Expect a heavy coat of trichomes, however, with dark-purple leaves and forest-green calyxes.

Smell: Banana Punch's fruit cocktail of ripe bananas, berries and grapes is easy to recognize up front. A few pinches will showcase more intense notes of licorice, tobacco and wood, with stronger hashy, spicy layers noticeable throughout.

Flavor: Those hashy, spicy flavors mix well with Banana Punch's overripe fruity notes, with the strain's more subtle tobacco flavors felt on the exhale and aftertaste.

Effects: Banana Punch's high hits like a thousand jabs instead of a few haymakers. Most users, including myself, feel the effects mount over time — though I typically feel them in my head faster. After about fifteen minutes, however, nothing but a comfy seat and a big plate of food will suffice. I rarely need to sink into quicksand like this anymore, and mainly keep Banana Punch for hangovers, early Sunday nights and little else.

Where to find it: Affinity, Altitude, Best High Dispensary, Cherry Peak, Complete Releaf, Cross Genetics, the Dispensary Littleton, Doc's Apothecary, Emerald Fields, Greenfields, The Green Solution, Green Valley Dispensary, The Herbal Cure, Herbs 4 You, High West Cannabis, Karmaceuticals, Laughing Grass, Leiffa, Life Flower Dispensary, Lightshade, Local Product of Colorado, The Lodge, Lova, Magnolia Road Cannabis Co., Mighty Tree, Oasis Cannabis Superstores, Pig ’n' Whistle, Police & Thieves, Rocky Mountain High, Rocky Road, Silver Stem, Simply Pure, Snaxland, Social Cannabis, Stadium Gardens, The Stone, Terrapin Care Station, Twin Peaks Dispensary and Verts Neighborhood Dispensary have all been spotted with Banana Punch, and more stores probably carry it.

Leiffa, Level 10, Locol Love, Meraki, Natural Remedies and Outlaw Cannabis all grow the strain, while Eureka, Haze, Made in Xaolin and several of the above growers sell pre-rolls, too. Extractors that have taken on Banana Punch include 710 Labs, Concentrate Supply Co., Glacier Concentrates, Natty Rems, Nomad Extracts and Sovereign Labs, but don't be surprised if that list is longer.

Meraki and Locol Love grow the best Banana Punch I've tried in Colorado, though I'd give Meraki's the edge based on cure and flavor. On the extraction side, it's tough to beat 710's rosin, but the Greenery Hash Factory's Moroccan hash mixtures with Banana Punch are great bowl toppers, too.

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