Best Dried Flower of 2023

Hey pancakenap here. We're looking back at the best flower we purchased this year. Here's the method we used; it's pretty casual. I made a list of all dried flower products we bought from the store (educational gifts were excluded, sorry). I gave some "Best of" categories to Squid Pants for consideration, and we will call out notable offerings that we saw this year with each category.

Number of Products Purchased

Counting up the house names we purchased this year, we have a pool of 45 offerings to select our best of the year from. 

The number of dried flower purchases increased towards the end of this year.

What We Reviewed

Here is a list of everything we reviewed, the size of the package and the price we paid.

pancakenap: I'd label this the eighth under $20 or a quarter under $40.Within that segment, I generally liked the new Pure Sun Farms offerings, but the standout for me was Knockout. I really enjoyed that one.

Pure SunFarm’s Knockout

Hey everybody, today I’m reviewing Pure Sun Farms Knockout. I’m a big fan of Archive Seeds. However, I’m not entirely certain which Archive Seeds’ specific offerings this is because they have several products with a similar lineage. Knockout Lineage Pure SunFarms show their Knockout as a Face Off OG and

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Squid Pants: I have to admit I didn’t really get anything in this category that wasn’t regrettable. The good economy buys are larger weight packages and I generally prefer to stick to the smaller package sizes. There are many entrants in this category worth investigating, but I just didn’t find anything in my samplings.

pancakenap: You can also find San Rafael '71 Farm Gas in this price range, which is worth exploring occasionally.

San Rafael ’71 Farm Gas

Taking another look at San Rafael ’71 Farm Gas for the second time within a year. The previous review involved a fresher version, whereas the one I have now seems a bit older, which shows in its olfactory characteristics, they have slightly less dazzle. Interestingly, the price difference between the

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pancakenap: Under the Pure SunFarms umbrella, I purchased an ounce of Fraser Valley MAC for $75, and I would definitely buy it again.

Fraser Valley MAC1

Thank you for joining me for today’s review. We’ll be taking a look at a Pure SunFarms product under their Fraser Valley brand and the cultivar we are looking at is MAC1. I purchased this product from Canna Cabana in Northwest Calgary on a Friday morning, shortly after they opened.

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Squid Pants: Hippie Headbanger (Carmel packaged, Magi Cannabis grew) blew me away. Large healthy buds trimmed with care, perfect humidity and loud with great scents and tastes.

Carmel Hippie Headbanger

This is objectively fantastic quality cannabis. It is also on the high end of the normal range of prices. If you’re feeling like splurging a little and this review sounded appealing I will say I loved it

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pancakenap: If I had to pick just one it would be Billy's Pheno by Carmel, the Truffle Fuel variant produced by Papers Craft.

Paper’s Craft Truffle Fuel

Hello, everyone! Today, we’re reviewing Carmel Cannabis, specifically Billy’s Pheno. I have a generally positive outlook on these processed offerings; they tend to push the boundaries in terms of new genetics and overall quality. However, I often find it challenging to categorize them accurately. My preference is to give credit

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Squid Pants: 1964 Organic Lebanese Hash. I was only presented with the flower purchases to choose from but for what I paid I got huge mileage from this hash. Also, hash keeps much better than flower so I could ignore it for weeks, go back to it and it was as good as the day I bought it. I get outsized enjoyment from quality hash so this is my pick.

1964 Organic Lebanese Hash

INTRO Squid Pants here looking at some hashish. I like hashish, and I like the idea of the genetics that are represented here so let’s see if this is yet another disappointing purchase. BLUE DREAM X PINK KUSH This is a cross of popular staples Blue Dream and Pink

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pancakenap: For value, the 33 Splitter from True Fire stands out and keeps catching my attention with its appealing profile, especially as its price keeps dropping. The Banana Bread from OGEN, priced at $46 for a quarter, was a steal, and I'm disappointed that there won't be more of their Pheno Hunt series in 2024.

OGEN Banana Bread #24

Hello pancakenap here reviewing a quarter ounce package of OGEN’s Banana Bread #24. I make a legal cannabis purchase about once a month these days. That was my main motivation for the June purchase. I saw this product listed on Canna Cabana in Crowfoot on Sunday morning, May 28th.

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pancakenap: I find myself thinking about the Pineapple Kali Mist priced at $31 for a 3.5g package. The profile, with its sticky fruit melody, left a lasting impression, and despite initially saying I wouldn't buy it again, I'm reconsidering that stance.

Sitka Legends Pineapple Kali Mist

Dispite the mis-name at the vendor this was a surprisingly enjoyable hybrid with a sativa name. Very good quality, glad I saw it but wouldn’t pay the price again to see it twice.

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Squid Pants: This is a very subjective category. I didn’t grow any of these for the LPs so I have no idea about things like yield, bloom time, pest and fungus resistance and so on. I am choosing to interpret this as out of the genetics I am familiar with, who seemed to have the best example of it judging only from the characteristic of the buds in my package. With that loose definition I have to go with Carmel’s Pink. I love my Pink Kush and this one looked perfect and the scents and tastes were layered and sublime. Now, it’s not my preferred Pink profile, so I didn’t get exactly what I was actually seeking, but I cannot complain about the quality of what I got. It’s really an exceptional cut.

Carmel Cannabis Pink

I am trying to find a good Pink Kush yet again. Yeah, I’m sure every reader has been waiting with baited breath for this nonsense again, but it’s the journey I decided to take all of you on so let’s get to it.

pancakenapSquid Pants

pancakenap: I want to highlight Next Friday here. Their array of genetics is fascinating, presented in an authentic manner with no renaming or piggybacking on others' popularity. No shade to anyone else, it's a tough business but I appreciate producers that transparently showcase their genetics, and for me Next Friday exemplifies this commitment to quality and transparency at an average price.

Next Friday Cream N’ Tina

Hey pancakenap here with a 3.5 gram package of Next Friday’s Cream N’ Tina, produced by Noble Growth. This is the 519th Canadian cannabis product I’ve purchased, not including duplicates or products I purchased and didn’t review. NEXT FRIDAY I’m favourable on next Friday they

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Squid Pants: 1964. I like the minimalist design and I like the care and little touches they display in their products, like the “1964” stamped onto the hash that you see when you first open the package. I’ve only bought two products from them and already associate their brand with quality and care.

Organic Sour Cookies From 1964

It’s Squid Pants here looking at a one gram package from 1964. Buying weed one gram at a time reminds me of long ago days where your choices when buying weed were to buy whatever the guy had or not. That was it. Dark dark times those were. Where

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pancakenap: I must mention Baked Mac and Jelly for the best branding. Whenever I see it in stock, it gives me an immediate jolt, urging me to grab the jar before it runs out. While I haven't succumbed yet, the scarcity and quality make it worth the price, exemplifying the impact effective branding should have.

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