Why Colorado Tokers Love Poontang Pie

Cannabis breeders like to get risqué with strain names, and most of the Alaskan Thunderfucks and Jigglers of the weed world don't cause me grief. But the thought of stepping up to a budtender and asking for Poontang Pie has always made me blush like a sixth-grader, so in order to justify that humiliation, it should be some of the best weed I've ever had.

Short answer: It's not.

Short answers leave out the meat of the story, though, and whatever Poontang Pie lacks in flower appeal, it makes up for in concentrate form.

More popular among hash heads than flower smokers, Poontang Pie has no relation to Pootie Tang, another relatively popular strain in Denver. Instead, it's a mix of Tropicanna Cookies, Grape Pie and Papaya from the pre-buyout crew at Oni Seed Co., which was known for making extraction-friendly strains. I'd come across Poontang Pie rosin (let's go with PTP, because typing this out so often makes me feel like a loser sidekick from an early-2000s college movie) a handful of times at friends' houses and was always impressed by the flavor profile — but never enough to ask for it in public.

Coming across PTP flower at a dispensary sparked my interest simply because I'd never seen it before. And since I was alone in the store with a budtender who had more than one tattoo on his face, I gave it a shot. After opening my pre-packed eighth, though, I regretted not sticking to rosin.

PTP's airy buds and heavy pistil coverage are a turn-off, and the smell, flavor and effects, a hybrid high that sits on the fence between hazy and lazy, are not standouts. Take a dab of the right rosin, though, and all of those notions disappear. I'm still too bashful to order PTP out loud, but don't blame someone who does — as long as it's extracted.

Looks: The bag appeal suffers from a loose, airy bud structure and heavy pistil coverage. Not even purple calyxes and above-average trichomes can save it, thanks to the strain's tendency to dry out so quickly.

Smell: An uplifting mix of berries, citrus, juniper and pine will blast you in the face upon opening jars of PTP, but don't run away. Keep that jar under your nose, and you'll find tropical notes of mango or papaya and a spicy, onion-y layer that's impossible to ignore once you notice it.

Flavor: PTP's spicy, piney flavors are strong up front, but the fruit salad enters the picture soon enough, with both layers hanging around tastebuds well after the exhale.

Effects: My high is usually straight down the middle, with instant euphoria and excitement followed by a cloudy head and never-ending hunger. I've successfully used PTP as a wake-and-bake and nightcap strain, though the effects can be too relaxing at times.

Where to find it: A Cut Above, Chronic Therapy, Den-Rec, Emerald Fields, Golden Meds, Life Flower Dispensary, Lightshade, Little Brown House, Mana Supply Co., Medicine Man, Mighty Tree, Oasis Cannabis Superstores, Reefer Madness, Rocky Mountain Cannabis, Silver Stem Fine Cannabis and Top Shelf Dispensary all have various forms of PTP, though the majority of them only have hash. Den-Rec, Locol Love and Veritas Fine Cannabis have grown PTP flower in the past, while Edun, Green Dot Labs and Single Source all make PTP rosin, and Locol Love distributes PTP Moroccan hash. We've also seen Dialed In Gummies made with PTP Rosin.

Den-Rec's and Locol Love's flower aren't lookers, but they smoke well enough. Still, it's best to stick to the hash world if you want the best experience with PTP. Single Source's rosin is my favorite so far, though I've yet to try Green Dot's, and Locol Love's Moroccan hash (of PTP or any other strain) is now at the top of my shopping list.

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