December 2022 Leafly HighLight: Sour Diesel strain

It’s 11:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve night and you’re not going to make it to see the ball drop, or get a kiss.

Sure, you can do a shot and pay for it the next day. But you have a galaxy-level brain that thought ahead and brought a bag of the classic weed strain, Sour Diesel. One joint of Sour D and you’re dancing and playing the air flute, like Lizzo herself. Congrats, you just got rocked by the powerful, stanky Sour Diesel our Leafly HighLight for December.

Perfect for New York’s impending legalization launch, Sour Diesel has a 4.3 score out of 5 after 8,264 reviews and was one of the first ever to be reviewed on the site in 2010. Sour D gets its name for smelling like pungent, diesel gasoline, and skunk. Who’d want to smell that? Adventurous folks rewarded by its energetic, talkative, and creative effects—that’s who.

“Work of art crafted by God,” reads one SD’s top reviews.

A Sour Diesel bag keeps the party going—even if it’s a party of one for weekend chores. “It’s a great strain to talk to friends, and laugh,” one reviewer writes.

“Sour D had me bouncing off the walls. I deep-cleaned my entire house,” said another.

Lots of folks also report cerebral effects. “I am so high I could pass a pregnancy test right now. Like I’m thinking at such a high level that it’s basically like having two people inside me!”

Sour D is about more than fun and games, too. Medical patients report profound, life-saving relief with the D over the decades.

“The pain after surgery, with swelling, soreness, depression, mental effects, and anxiety all were somewhat extinguished. Very comfortable. Saved my life from long-term pain relief.”

“This is where it is at!!! Severe PTSD over here and this is the cure for when you are down.”

That said, go slow with this 19% THC strain: Negatives can include anxiousness, cottonmouth, and dry eyes.

How much does Sour Diesel cost?

Princes and paupers alike puff tough on Sour D. Sour Diesel is a great barometer of local weed prices in your area. It’s so prevalent that prices are low, but it’s so good that it always commands a premium. You see Sour D in a lot of different modalities—especially pre-rolls, ounce bags, carts, pods, and dabs.

Sour Diesel seeds

Wanna grow Sour Diesel? Badass idea. It crushes both inside a tent and outside in a field. Here’s the bad news: A classic strain this old and popular attracts all kinds of fakers and frauds. Your best bet? Go with a reputable brand name, like DNA Genetics, Humboldt Seed Co, or Humboldt Seed Org. According to DNA, Sour Diesel is a cross of ‘91 Chemdawg x Massachusetts Super Skunk and Northern Lights. That’s like Freebird on FM radio—totally classic. We’re back in the ’90s, sneaking around and buying weed by the gram.

Humboldt Seed Co has an automatic version of Sour D that’s auto-magic. There’s also like 10 generations of Sour Diesel crosses to explore. Massive Seeds has Yuki Sour. Mass Medical has Sour Pupil seeds for Christmas. And don’t forget that No. 1 strain Original Glue (formerly GG#4, ie Gorilla Glue) is a Sour Diesel project. Go apeshit on that gassy glue cross, bro.

Sour Diesel awards

Sour Diesel came out and crushed the competition like a traffic cone. It’s won as a sativa flower or seed for years, but nowadays you see its crosses also win in hash, and even CBD hemp. In the 2022 Colorado Connoisseur Cup, a Glacier Concentrates Lilac Diesel placed 3rd in the category recreation wax and butter. A frickin’ Diesel drink won a 2019 award in the Oregon Dope Cup.

Sour Diesel terpenes

Wondering what that skunky gas is that keeps stinking up dad’s garage? That’s the aroma of excellence, son. According to lab samples uploaded to Leafly, Sour Diesel has hecka beta-caryophyllene, as well as myrcene and limonene. It’s not a far stretch to be like, yeah that makes sense— those terps equal peppery/gassy, dank/rich/earthy, and lemony/sour.

You can actually search Leafly by these three terpenes and see what other strains are gonna match it. Go for Original Glue, or Chemdawg—it’s uncanny how this strain family’s terps match up. See also: Apple Fritter; OG Kush; Banner; and SFV OG.

Other highlights this December

Can’t buy our HighLight? Dry your tears with three related, seasonal picks that give energy, honor the East Coast weed scene, or just kick ass.

Strawberry Cough

Keep celebrating more of that good and classic East Coast energy with Strawberry Cough, a staple sativa that came from Vermont. It’s even more chatty that Sour D, and that strawberry smell makes a great salad with Sour D. It’s grown all over and vape-makers love it because the recipe is pretty dialed in and people love it. Shout-out to cultivation expert and personality Kyle Kushman for this one.

Gumbo

Proudly represent New York with this new all-star from the Cookies brand—Madison Square Gumbo. It hit all Cookies and Lemonnade shops in Cali Monday, November 14, and is a cross of Cookies & Cream x Secret Weapon. Gumbo brands founders Karim “Luka Brazi” Butler and Alexis Major help carry the banner for New York cannabis culture into the legal era. Our bag of Gumbo smelled super bomb and on-trend—wild, cakey, and cookie-like. Let’s just say it put our butts to sleep. When it’s time to sack out after the celebration, or nurse that Sunday hangover—pack a fresh bowl of Gumbo.

Cereal Milk

OK, you had your classic Sour D, you made a salad with Strawberry C, and you repped NYC with Gumbo. Now it’s time to plot a course for the future of weed in 2023, Cereal Milk—SF breeder Powerzzzup’s Y Life (Cookies x Cherry Pie) to Snowman. The key here is The Y—an influential strain borne out of the Cookies movement. Lucky for you, the Y is set to launch a new generation of stars. Deo Farms is breeding with The Y. Powerzzup is working it, too. Meanwhile, Cereal Milk is the on-ramp—widely available in 1,865 North American stores on Leafly, a number that’s doubled since last year. The Y also has a unique thickness to its cookie smell, an aromatic body and goodness in its baked dessert flavor that’s going to become table stakes in modern weed.

OK, we’re going to reward ourselves with some Sour D for reporting and writing this. See you next year for more greatness from Leafly HighLight.

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David Downs

Leafly Senior Editor David Downs received a Literary Excellence Award from Oaksterdam University in 2022. On the cannabis beat since 2009, he’s published three books, including the best-selling cannabis crop science book ‘Marijuana Harvest.’ Downs guest lectured at the Loyola Marymount University Law School’s Journalism Law School, UC Berkeley Extension, and contributed to Continuing Education of the Bar’s Marijuana Law Hub, sponsored by University of California and the State Bar of California. Downs’ work has appeared in San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, Scientific American, Wired, Rolling Stone, The Onion, Columbia Journalism Review, High Times, Billboard, and many more. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from UC Santa Barbara, and was a Fellow at the Medill School of Journalism’s Academy of Alternative Journalism in Chicago.

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