Why Colorado Tokers Love Golden Glue

Figuring out a strain's genetics based on its name is usually easy if you grew up playing that Pokémon Gameboy game, because Pokémon always kept a name similar in sound or meaning after evolving. Pichu evolves into Pikachu, which becomes Raichu (but let's face it: No one wanted a Raichu), and so on. Cannabis is sort of same-same, but different. Generally, New York City Diesel and Strawberry Cough will spawn (gasp) Strawberry Diesel, but every once in a while, I'll come across a Golden Glue.

Golden Glue sounded like it had to be a cross of Golden Goat and Gorilla Glue, two of the pot community's more popular strains, but one sniff of my purchase quickly showed I was wrong. A sly reference to Kosher Kush's younger days of going under the older, more offensive name Jew Gold, Golden Glue is actually a hybrid of Kosher Kush and Locktite, which carries Gorilla Glue #1 genetics. There's a less popular mix of Gorilla Glue #1 and Golden Ticket that also claims the name, but if 14er's version is going with the former, then I'll stick with that, too.

While I'm not always pleased with the moisture level of 14er's buds (though they're far from the only ones that are too dry, or too moist in an attempt to counteract the dryness), I'm usually impressed overall. The ability to consistently stink up my kitchen for the day after I open the tin is a testament to what the Boulder cultivation and dispensary are capable of, and their commitment to strains rare in Colorado, like Golden Glue, deserves to be rewarded. Paying $50 for an eighth, I suppose I was doing that — and after giving those slightly moist buds a couple of days to dry and cure further, I was rewarded, too.

I remember seeing Kobe Bryant take over for the first time, thinking for a split second that he might be Michael Jordan. He wasn't, but he came close. That's how I felt smoking my first bowl of Golden Glue, which carried such a stress-free high and thick Kush characteristics that I thought I was smoking Skywalker OG again for the first time. Skunky, spicy notes of pine stuck to the walls of my house for at least twelve hours after I smoked Golden Glue for the first time, and any attempt to transport nugs in public resulted in glares. Even Kosher Kush, a heavyweight in both flavor and haymaker power with similar traits, hasn't fumed out of my backpack like that.

Unlike Kosher Kush, however, Golden Glue's high doesn't knock me out immediately, though it certainly warms limbs and has that power if I smoke more than a half a joint. Instead, I feel the high first in my head, distracting me often but keeping my brain cool and amused enough to not care. After a few hours, though, my body is cashed.

We haven't seen anyone in the Denver area outside of 14er producing Golden Glue of late, but have caught the 14er take at several dispensaries, including Lightshade, Medicine Man, Solace Meds and the strain's source, 14er Holistics.

Looks: Typically gnarled, oblong or foxtailed, Golden Glue's buds aren't dense or huge, but they're a pretty shade of olive, brightened by healthy trichome coverage.

Smell: Like a young Skywalker OG, Golden Glue is full of piney, musty Kush characteristics, as if you decided to stick a new Christmas tree in your grandpa's old, unfinished basement. A skunky layer with quiet notes of spice and citrus are just present enough to provide a little twist.

Flavor: Golden Glue's smell and flavor are a formidable one-two combo. Although gassier on the tongue, those strong pine and Kush flavors hold strong, pumping out a flavor blast of fuel, skunky weed and pine needles.

Effects: Mental relaxation is immediate and my limbs are looser, but the comedown and slow thinking don't hit for a few hours. Keep Golden Glue around for an afternoon or evening toke — and start small, or it'll be bedtime.

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