Montana Weed Contest Lovers Cup: Winners and Photos
You may know Montana for its epic skiing, legendary steaks, or “Yellowstone,” but it’s also home to the newest recreational cannabis market in the US.
And while we might not (yet) have a giant blowout cup like you’d find in a bigger market like California or Illinois, we do have something a lot crazier: the Lovers Cup, a DIY celebration of the best weed for sex that the coolest strains for our long winters and a much-needed opportunity to raise a glass to our unparalleled community of craft growers.
When a couple of friends and I decided to create the Lovers Cup—the first cannabis competition in Montana since cannabis went on sale here on New Year’s Day—we knew our ultimate goal was to support the growing community spirit of the state’s industry to promote. Medical marijuana first became legal here in 2004, but the industry has long been stifled by government regulations and fierce competition alike.
We also wanted to celebrate the country’s artisan producers and their tremendous efforts leading up to the Rec sale, and ensure the barriers to entry are low and the enticements high: no entry fee for competitors, no cover at the door and free beer at the bar.
Finally, we felt it was critical to acknowledge this unique and brief window in the development of the Montana industry. A moratorium on new licenses burned into the state’s legalization law expires in July 2023. At this point, companies based outside of Montana can enter the market and potentially disrupt today’s unique ecosystem of small, indigenous businesses.
So we launched an open call for entries in late January and packed the long-established Missoula brewery, Draft Works, on February 23 to announce the winners.
That’s how it all came together.
A cannabis competition that reflects Montana’s cannabis culture
Although Montana is as big as Germany, only one million people live here. Our cannabis community is similarly intimate and we wanted our competition to reflect that close-knit atmosphere.
We limited entries to 20 stores and limited our judging panel to five Missoula-based connoisseurs representing a wide range of backgrounds:
- Tom Winter, a candidate for Montana’s new congressional seat and a former state legislator who introduced an unfortunate legalization law in 2019
- Ariana Newton, COO of The weed tube
- Beloved local artist Jesse Blumenthal
- Mike Zens, co-founder of great edibles brand Montana High Road Edibles
- Nicko Lannan, a former pharmacy manager and current Creative Marketing Director at Draft Works
Our judges had about three weeks to test the 20 strains that were nominated for five awards: Best Flavor, Best Smoker, Most Relaxing, the Aphrodite Award (this was the Lovers Cup, after all), and Best Overall Strain.
Almost all of the entries were insanely terpy (especially Tropical Runtz by Big Sky Buds, winner of our Best Flavor Award!), and most were indica-dominant. Of the 20 varieties, there was only one repeat: Donnie Burger.
“It was really difficult to judge all these exceptional products,” Lannan said after the event. “There were some close encounters. It was a fun challenge, but it was still a challenge.”
“What a privilege to see the best efforts by Montana entrepreneurs in this new industry,” said Tom Winter, the conventionee. “The quality was just so high. It’s so clear that growers in Montana are putting everything into their work.”
For Newton, testing unfamiliar strains meant both thrills and some risk to her sanity. “I found the strains that work for me, but opening the floodgates to all these new strains that I had never tried without knowing what they were was a bit risky for me,” she explained.
A week before the Lovers Cup, the judges gathered at my house to choose the winners. They arrived with notebooks full of observations to debate and vote and — after grabbing a few last-minute puffs — to eat a homemade Ziti pork puttanesca. The consensus was bold and they made their decisions remarkably quickly.
Then we had to shut our mouths and throw away the key for a week.
A whirlwind of beards, beer and support
The party itself was a whirlwind. About 120 shopkeepers, growers and passionate consumers gathered at the Draft Works, whose fairy lights and exposed wooden beams evoke a sprawling, cheerful ski lodge.
It’s also the most vocal pro-pot brewery in town. When asked how he felt about hosting the state’s first cannabis contest, co-owner Paul Marshall didn’t beat around the bush. “We feel freakin’ great about it!” he said. (Separately, the Montana State Providers Cup has previously organized cups in the medical market and is hosting an upcoming 4/20 event in Missoula.)
As attendees poured in, they greeted each other with hugs and swarmed around the long wooden bar in a sea of beards and plaids. They came not only from Missoula, but also from the capital Helena, from Bozeman and Belgrade – 200 miles to the east – and from the Flathead Valley to the north.
“It’s weird, I only know most of the people in this room by their Instagram names,” says Joey Clams, co-owner of the Missoula shop urban farmer, remarked. “Like ‘What’s up, GrowMT406?'” he added, laughing.
A history of contention and intense competition
Here’s what you might not know about the Montana cannabis industry: Until recently, it wasn’t very amicable. Perhaps it was due to a years-long “tethered” medical program that restricted patients to only shopping at a single store. Or a fully vertically integrated market that stifles any opportunity for collaboration. Or the sheer number of stores, often on the same block and sometimes in the same building, vying for the attention of the state’s 40,000 medical patients.
Whatever the reason, Montana’s vendors and growers aren’t exactly known for their camaraderie.
That all changed dramatically in January, however, when recreational sales began in Big Sky Country. Suddenly the vertical market became completely horizontal. Competitors became allies.
“I was shocked to discover that in my first four years [in the Montana market] that there was anything but community here. Tethering only exacerbated that territorialism,” told me Jay Bostrom, co-owner of Dancing Goat Gardens, which won second place for his Queen’s Candy. “When I attended the Lovers Cup, it was fascinating to see how suddenly all these people were open to discussion and ideas. People were seriously trying to establish relationships for the first time.”
Get to know Montana’s winning weed strains of 2022
“I’m passionate about fighting cannabis censorship,” said Ariana Newton of The Weed Tube. “To see all of these people coming together in real life and enjoying this energy is powerful and community empowering.”
When we gathered the crowd to announce the winners, the brewery was packed to capacity. As I went through the list of participants, everyone got cheers. When I announced the winners, they came forward with big grins to grab their huge Hogwarts trophies. The applause was huge.
Our winners represented a broad spectrum of Montana businesses. Pure Remedies from the Bozeman area with their insanely fruity and dizzying hybrid The Woah!!! winning best overall strain is a true mama-and-pop. Missoula’s Indo, which took third place for its Mint Chocolate Chip, just opened a few months ago and is similarly small. Spark1, winner of the Aphrodite Award for its wedding cake, is one of the largest wholesalers in the state.
“The competition has been overwhelming and we have no doubt that every grower has a serious passion for cannabis.”
Michael Lentini, owner of Pure remedies
“The competition has been overwhelming and we have no doubt that every grower has a serious passion for cannabis,” Michael Lentini, owner of Pure Remedies, later said. “The experience was incredibly humbling and also very rewarding.”
It was an evening of making contacts and strengthening friendships. One attendee later asked me for someone else’s phone number and remarked that he only asked for a hug and no business card.
When the judges and I met for an after-party dinner later that evening, the mood was one of joy, relief, and utter exhaustion.
“The sheer energy of the room that night, whether you were a business owner or just a consumer, created a buzz of people excited to finally celebrate cannabis above the fold – one that will stay with me for a long time said Nicko Lannan, one of the five judges. “It’s been a long road for cannabis people in this state. It was so cool to see people who have been fighting this fight for a long time coming together.”
Max Savage Levenson
Max Savage Levenson probably has the lowest cannabis tolerance of any author on the cannabis beat. He also writes about music for Pitchfork, Bandcamp and other bespectacled people. He is the co-host of the Hash podcast. His dream interview is Tyler the Creator.
Check out Max Savage Levenson’s articles
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