Why Colorado Tokers Love Garlic Cocktail

Late nights and the headaches they seed for tomorrow become less appealing with age. I'm at the point where a Saturday morning with fine herb, coffee and zero plans is the best part of my week. Monday is far away, and the introverted possibilities are infinite.

For a recent weekend session of stoned solitude, I turned to Garlic Cocktail — and like most cocktails at brunch hour, this one left me bleary-eyed and snoozing by 3 p.m. Being a child of Mimosa, another orange-heavy sleeper strain, Garlic Cocktail's stiff uppercut shouldn't have surprised me. Yet there I was, eyes closed, in front of the TV on an early Saturday afternoon as phone notification after notification went unanswered. If anything, I should thank Garlic Cocktail for showing me how many useless group texts I'm part of.

Thanks to an outdated upbringing around cannabis, newer orange strains have a tendency to catch me by surprise. Notes of tangerines or mandarin oranges no longer guarantee a head-buzzing high with focus problems like they once did, yet I still go into each session expecting that. Garlic Cocktail's parents, GMO and Mimosa, are both known for potent effects that can end your day. Even so, I thought my tolerance could handle a bowl or two of Garlic Cocktail before going about my morning. After being proven wrong immediately, however, I kept Garlic Cocktail reserved for nighttime or the occasional post-workout toke.

Although I've heard rosin and plants grown outside of Colorado have more savory characteristics, the Garlic Cocktail flower and concentrate I've had in Colorado are both very heavy on the sour oranges, with GMO playing more of a trichome-enhancing role. If you're high on orange flavor, then this is right up your alley.

Looks: Garlic Cocktail is moss green with a cartoonishly radioactive glow, and its GMO background ensures a thick coat of resin. The buds are usually segmented and like to foxtail with more pistils than average, but still look very intimidating.

Smell: Mimosa's sour and tangy orange qualities dominate the first blast of terpenes from Garlic Cocktail. Patience is required to fight through the waves of orange drink powder aroma to find other smells, but zesty bits of onion and black licorice show themselves eventually, and there are takes on the strain with savory qualities.

Flavor: Similar to the aroma, Garlic Cocktail's flavor is heavy on the sour-orange notes, but the presence of anise or licorice is a bit stronger, and the garlic/onion notes are easier to spot a few minutes after the session ends and dry mouth kicks in.

Effects: Do you like strains that bring stoned-face highs for hours? Then Garlic Cocktail may be worth trying, especially for tastebuds partial to oranges. Focusing isn't hard during the ascension, leaving me about an hour of movement. Once the peak ends, often within ninety minutes, I'm too lazy to wiggle my toes. The near-comatose effects are almost impossible to outlast, but they're good for killing stress and stiffness.

Where to find it: Garlic Cocktail has recently been served at 1136 Yuma, Best High Denver, Callie's Cannabis Shoppe, Canna Botica, the Center, Colorado Harvest Company, Cookies, Den-Rec, Emerald Fields, Everbloom, Greenfields, the Green Solution, Golden Meds, Leiffa, Life Flower Dispensary, Lightshade, Lova, Lowell Gardens, Lucy Sky Cannabis Boutique, Magnolia Road Cannabis Co., Mile High Dispensary, Morrison Gardens, Park Hill Gardens, Reefer Madness, Rocky Mountain Cannabis, Rocky Mountain High, Rocky Road, Simply Pure, Spark Dispensary and Sticky Fingerz.

710 Labs grows the only flower cut we could find in the Denver area, while 710 Labs, Binske and Sunshine Extracts make extracted versions of the strain. You can't go wrong with any of the offerings out there right now, although 710's is viewed as the highest tier. However, Sunshine's rosin could have the best value at around $40 a gram.

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