Would a strain by any other name smell as sweet? Sour Diesel, a name revered in toking circles, is one of the most ubiquitous, powerful, and sweetest-smelling strains ever created. The eponymous gasoline scent and sativa energy boost have been fan favorites since the early ’90s, but beyond the signature uplifting high, even connoisseurs don’t know all that much about Sour D—until now. Here are 12 power facts about one of the greatest strains in the world.
It supposedly began as a coveted luxury strain in ’90s New York simply called “Diesel.”
This is according to an anonymous NYC dealer who experienced the rise of Sour Diesel firsthand. Originally selling for $50 a gram and known just as Diesel, the strain was so coveted that it supposedly earned the “Sour” addition to its moniker for how many relationships it ruined.
Its lineage traces to Chemdawg 91 and the Grateful Dead.
Like most strains developed in the ’90s, Sour Diesel doesn’t have a birth certificate. The documentation that does exist is mostly legend, but accepted history states that the cultivar traces back to a Grateful Dead tour in 1991. A bag of Chem Dog with 13 seeds in it ended up in Massachusetts, which spawned Chem 91, Chem Sister, Chem C, and Chem D. From there the story unravels, with reports that Sour Diesel resulted from an accidental cross with Super Skunk, Skunk #1, or Northern Lights.
In NYC, “diesel” was code for good weed.
According to a “servant and keeper” of Sour Diesel, the term diesel was simply slang for kind bud before it became codified as a specific strain.
It will make you feel the opposite of sour.
Sour Diesel is preceded by its reputation,