In a sea of nearly 6,000 strains, what merits the best? If you flip through an old copy of High Times, or ask an OG smoker about their favorite strains of yesteryear, you’ll get a much different answer than from a 2023 member of Leafly nation. Weed is like wine, fashion, and food—every region has their preferences, their unique styles, their legacies and trends. And what might be called Michelin-starred or haute couture isn’t necessarily what keeps the people puffing.
We’ve named Permanent Marker our 2023 Strain of the Year for pushing the envelope of Gelato-family genetics and its national, titanic wave in popularity. But that doesn’t mean weed tastemakers and hype beasts have forgotten the stalwart classics of cannabis creation and culture. The best-selling strains of 2023, based on a review of a lot (a lot) of dispensary sales data, indicate that Leafly nation has a fondness for both the old and the new.
Blue Dream
- Creative • Uplifted •Energetic
- Blueberry •Berry •Sweet
- THC 18% •CBD 0%
There are some universal truths we must accept. Everyone, at some point in their life, has bought a pair of Air Force 1s, has eaten at Cheesecake Factory, and has smoked Blue Dream. Created in 2003 in Santa Cruz, CA, this Blueberry x Haze cross is nearly old enough to buy an eighth of itself at the local dispo, though its heyday winning cannabis cup titles has passed. It endures because it offers growers of the medical industry solid returns, and soothed a large spectrum of patients’ symptoms.
As former Leafly contributor and EIC of High Times Ellen Holland wrote in our Blue Dream strain history in 2021, “New cultivars quickly rise and fall, but, whether you like it or not, Blue Dream will rip eternal.”
Wedding Cake
- Relaxed • Hungry •Happy
- Vanilla •Pepper • Sweet
- THC 24% •CBD 0%
Not to toot our own horn, but do we not know how to pick em? Wedding Cake, the first Seed of Junky Genetics’ creations that we crowned Strain of the Year back in 2019, remains beloved by cannabis lovers for its striking balance of flavor and effect. Its genetics of Animal Mints x Triangle Kush created the winning blueprint for 2022 and 2023 SOTY winners Jealousy and Permanent Marker—big healthy buds that ooze that mix of sweet and sharp terps coupled with effects that offer euphoria without paranoia. We wrote back in 2019 that Wedding Cake.
Gelato
Sunset Sherbet x Thin Mint GSC
- Euphoric • Aroused •Happy
- Sweet • Vanilla • Mint
- THC 21% •CBD 0%
I think former Leafly Subject Matter Expert Danté Jordan said it best: “The smell? Loud. The taste? Sweet. Gassy. The smoke? Smooth. Wondrous. It’s a combination of everything good that comes from cannabis, all in one strain, like a cannabis Captain Planet.” You can’t have a cannabis sesh, let alone a cannabis conversation, without Gelato coming up; Sherbinksi was in his bag when he crossed Thin Mint GSC x Sunset Sherbet all those years ago. At this point, our 2018 Strain of the Year winner has so many cup trophies, rap song name drops, and progeny strains that it has nothing more to prove.
Granddaddy Purple
Mendo Purps x Skunk x Afghanistan
- Relaxed • Hungry •Happy
- Dizzy •Dry Mouthiest
- THC 18% •CBD 0%
Trends are cyclical, just like cannabis cultivation. Purple weed in all its forms, from Lavender to Mendocino Purps, were in high demand given their unique pigment, grape flavors, and bone-deep pain relief. In a landscape dominated by Cookies crosses and whatever Seed Junky comes up with next, Grandaddy Purple, or just GDP, keeps the love for the purp alive. It’s a deeply indica strain with generations of history; here’s to hoping it stays en vogue for the next generation.
Apple Fritter
- Relaxed • Tingly •Giggly
- Apple •Cheese •Butter
- THC 24% •CBD 0%
Surprised? As the “youngest” strain on this list, Lumpy’s Sour Apple x Animal Cookies cross Apple Fritter has taken its place among the people’s favorite buy. It’s a unique pick—apple tartness mingles with the gassy dough of Cookies and even notes of cheese to create a brain-tingling hybrid. We noted its dominance last fall in a HighLight column, and it’s clear that 2023 has been a strong year even as more and more boutique strains hit dispensary shelves.
Sour Diesel
Chemdog x Super Skunk
- Energetic • Talkative •Creative
- Diesel •Pungent • Skunk
- THC 22% •CBD 0%
At our recent New York City linkup with Sour progenitor Asshole Joe, the classic strain beloved on the East Coast is actually more a hybrid than straight sativa—and we moved with the quickness to make sure our strain database reflects this. Sour Diesel offers consumers a profile seldom seen in cannabis—turpentine sour funk. And it seems poised for a revival, with new collaborations and competition showings telling us that the more terps change, the more they stay the same.
Pineapple Express
- Energetic • Happy •Talkative
- Pineapple •Tropical•Mango
- THC 20% •CBG 1%
We’re not talking about the mid-aughts Seth Rogen stoner comedy, but there’s plenty of overlap with fans of this tropical sativa strain. Sativas are tricky—not everyone likes a cerebral headrush, and they tend towards more sour, citrus, or chem-like flavors. Pineapple Express wins because it offers energy without anxiety, and a tang that soothes the sting of a straight Trainwreck. And probably, because it reminds us of a movie with plenty of laughs.
Ice Cream Cake
- Relaxed • Hungry •Sleepy
- Vanilla •Butter •Sweet
- THC 22% •CBG 1%
Call it a weed nepo baby. Ice Cream Cake combines Wedding Cake and Gelato #33, a pheno also referred to as Larry Bird, for a generational Cup winner bursting with vanilla, berry, and diesel goodness that put its consumer at immediate ease. This is another Seed Junky homerun, proving that the legendary breeders can create strains that appeal to in-industry tastemakers and the everyday consumer.
