Why Colorado Tokers Love Burkle

My subconscious must think I don't deserve a good night's sleep. After months of tweaking my giraffe neck on bad pillows, I finally found the right one, a Goldilocks-just-right kind of comfortable pillow. And as far as I know, the founder of this godsend isn't a conspiracy-peddling lunatic. I thought I was cured.

But then I started waking up at three every morning no matter what time I went to bed. No recurring dreams or outside noise. Just awake. Wide awake. A pillow stuffed with Tom Selleck's chest hair wasn't going to knock me out. After three nights of a devilish little weed nug appearing on my shoulder whispering "Smoke me," I finally succumbed. But I couldn't just smoke any weed and expect to climb back into bed. I needed the big guns. I needed Burkle.

Burkle became popular in Colorado three or four years ago, and the strain's consistently violet color and tranquilizing effects have kept it on dispensary shelves. But then, it's hard to imagine any downside to a strain bred from a cross of Grand Daddy Purple and pre-’98 Bubba Kush.

Nearly everything about Burkle's smell and appearance says you're about to get blitzed by the entire legion of boom. Dark, sticky buds and notes of Kush, berries and zesty licorice on the nose are essentially the bright colors of a poisonous tree frog, warning any toker brave enough to get close that a quick end to their day is coming. I've had a healthy respect for Burkle since my first session sent me to nap town for two hours on my friend's couch. (His cat was thrilled. His girlfriend wasn't.)

I prefer to enjoy my high a little before drooling on someone else's decorative pillows, so my experiences with Burkle remained limited to friends' joints and an occasional gram for intentional early bedtimes. But it proved to be exactly what I need when my eyes can't stay shut in the wee hours of the morning, and Burkle is still getting the job done. I'm too scared to figure out the root of my internal alarm clock — add it to my tab of other worsening functions as I get older — but at least I have a short-term remedy to put me out in thirty minutes.

Burkle has been spotted at Affinity, Diego Pellicer, the Farm, Frosted Leaf, Green Cross Caregivers, Golden Meds, Higher Grade, Karing Kind, Kind Love, La Conte's, Lightshade, Lova, Maikoh Holistics, Mary Jane's House, Mile High Green Cross, Pure Harvest, Pure Marijuana Dispensary, Red Roots and Unity Road. Artsy, a wholesale cultivation that collaborates with local designers for packaging, is supplying most of the Burkle around town, but the best cut in town is at Kind Love.

Looks: Generally dense with healthy trichome coverage across the buds and leaves; Burkle's purple spots have a slick, oily look from all that resin.

Smell: Burkle's aroma is fruity out of the gate, ranging from grapes to berries depending on where it's from, with distinct Kush hints of vanilla and wet soil, reminding you of who its parents are. A sickly sweet smell, like old-school licorice, creeps in at the end, though some Burkle is more zesty.

Flavor: Earthy Kush traits play a stronger role in the smoke than fruity characteristics, but those licorice notes are more noticeable in the aftertaste, giving Burkle a distinct flavor.

Effects: Find a bed, recliner or any sort of comfortable surface that allows some stretching, because you're going to be out soon. Burkle is a quintessential strain for a night spent inside, and even that will probably end sooner than you imagine. Have your food and movie picked out beforehand, or it'll be too late to choose. The munchies aren't very strong with Burkle, however, so food isn't as important as it is with most body highs.

Is there a strain you’d like to see profiled? Email [email protected].