9 runner-up varieties for the leaf variety of the year 2023
Record of the Year was awarded at the Grammy Awards. Time Magazine named Person of the Year. And Merriam-Webster is even the word of the year. You know what’s way cooler? Leaf Variety of the Year, and it arrives on Tuesday, December 5th.
So, let’s get your bong wet with nine badass strains that topped the list and were named Leafly’s 2023 Strain of the Year. We repeat: The following strains are NOT the 2023 Leafly strain of the year – but they performed admirably and they deserve plenty of glory of their own.
Here are some all-star strains that have been on the rise this year – find and buy them on Leafly and take a big shot of transcendence.
9th place – grape cream cake
Hundreds and hundreds of pharmacies served fresh grape cream cake in 2023, which caught Leafly’s attention and added it to its shortlist of potential winners this year. Bred by Bloom Seed Co from Cannarado’s Grape Pie x Wedding Crasher, she should exude smells and flavors of grapes, cream and cake and produce an indica hybrid effect. Colorado has eaten it up, and so have the hash makers – they’re always looking for strains that crush well and release gobs of sticky rosin. All these features proved to be fashionable and adorable in 2023. Congratulations Bloom Seed Co on another flower in your crown – look out for more tasty treats from Bloom Seed Co in 2024. We love their new Candy Fumez.
8. Runner-up – GastroPop
Breeder Compound Genetics has had a solid year with one of its royal strains GastroPop – a cross between Apples & Bananas x Grape Gas. It is purple in color with grape, fuel, and lemonade flavors that have a hybrid effect and may potentially help manage pain, depression, or stress. Plus, you’ll eat your entire fridge. Grape Gas was bred during the Chris Lynch era at Compound and includes winners Grape Pie and Jet Fuel Gelato. Apples & Bananas continues to win with the potent parents Blue Power x Gelatti. Last year we saw GastroPop appear on hundreds of pharmacy menus nationwide and create a big buzz – two key characteristics of each flavor of the year. GastroPop Crossroads also had a solid year; Don’t miss Pink Certz or Glitter Bomb. Even newer specimens will be coming to grow rooms in 2024, such as GastroPop S1 and GastroPop x Mellowz.
7. Runner-up – Devil Driver
We’re keeping an eye on everything relatively new breeder Tiki Madman is working on – especially after seeing the year Devil Driver has had. Tiki combined Cannarado’s powerful dessert strain Sundae Driver with Midwest Best’s Watermelon Z x Lemon Tree #11 hybrid, called Melonade. Appearing over a dramatic dark leaf dotted with icy white trichomes, Devil Driver sets a new benchmark for weed aesthetics in 2023.
“It’s a rock star in the grow room,” said Anna Willey, founder of CAM, the large-scale, high-end indoor grower from California. “I love it. It’s literally the most beautiful plant that has ever grown.” Devil Driver tests sky-high THC levels with sativa-dominant hybrid effects and a subtle lemon-citrus-spice smell and taste. You know Devil Driver is a Hit when you consider that all breeders are working to make crosses out of it. Budtenders across the country also recommended Devil Driver often in our first annual Budtenders’ Choice Awards survey, the results of which were released on December 5th with the award “Leafly Strain of the Year”. See also: Dante’s Inferno.
And these are three of the varieties we shortlisted in our search for the leafy variety of 2023. Check back on Thursday and Friday, November 30th and December 1st, as we introduce the 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st candidates – up to the 2023 Leaf Variety.
And set your alarm for December 5th at 6am PST when we announce the 2023 Leaf Variety of the Year – it’s going to pop!
6. Runner-up – to be announced
On Thursday, November 30th, we will reveal sixth place in the Leafly Strain of the Year 2023 category.
5. Runner-up – to be announced
Leafly will announce the fifth runner-up on Thursday, November 30th.
Fourth runner-up – to be announced
Leafly will announce the fourth runner-up on Thursday, November 30th.
Third runner-up – to be announced
Leafly will announce the third runner-up on Friday, December 1st.
Second Runner-up – to be announced
Leafly will announce the second runner-up on Friday, December 1st.
First runner-up – to be announced
Leafly will announce the first runner-up on Friday, December 1st.
How do we choose the leaf variety of the year each year?
Leafly Strain of the Year aims to encapsulate the essence of the cannabis connoisseur conversations that have taken place across the country and online worldwide over the past year.
We combine two approaches to land on the leaf variety of the year each year: 1) a qualitatively Approach informed by 2) data of unprecedented quantitatively Insight into national exposure trends.
The Quality: Leafly has almost complete access to the quality aspects of weed. We smoke hundreds of new strains every year and travel the world interviewing growers, growers, buyers, budtenders, smokers and influencers to get a tactile feel for what’s being smoked. We literally have filing cabinets full of new grass.
…there is no ChatGPT prompt that would ever hallucinate anything close to the leaf variety of the year.
The Quantitative: We take all of these smoke notes and insights and go back to our analytics to look for new strains that had breakthroughs in terms of national menu penetration, strain detail page sessions, and other data factors – similar to what the NFL picks their most valuable player every year. With nearly 6,000 strains in the database, thousands of listed store menus, and millions of monthly active users – only Leafly has this insight into the data of modern strains and the sensory properties of smoking them.
Until computers are able to handle, smell, taste, and get high on the weed beat in the US, there is no ChatGPT prompt that would ever hallucinate anything close to the leaf strain of the year. So thank you so much for rocking with us.
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