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Everyone reaches the age where the refreshments served at birthday parties switch from punch and biscuits to schnapps and even more liquor. For some of us, that happens in high school. For others, it’s college. But then people have kids, and punch and cookies come back. Even though I’ll be a single club with no kids in my future, I still bring Punch and Cookies to the party – that means Purple Punch and Cookies Weed genetics.
Aside from the recent garlic craze and the resurgence of Chemdog, it’s hard to imagine two strain families that were more popular in Denver last year than Cookies and Purple Punch. Virtually any kid who spawns either strain will become a heavyweight contender for potency, couch lock, and sugary flavors, and both are coveted in their concentrate forms as well. There are clear differences between the two, however, with punch strains typically being more syrupy and calming, doing justice to that Grand Daddy Purple influence, while cookies carry their famous sweet, pasty flavors and a high that doesn’t differentiate between mind and body.
Each of the two children has several family names to keep, which is no easy task. Punch Cookies (also known as Cookie Punch and Purple Cookie Punch), which are considered a rarity among home growers, had done so largely because of their reputation, but when one of Denver’s better growers picked it up, I knew the time had come for one To take a bite – or drink? Or smoke? Surely I would do all three soon after – the legacy kind.
Celebrity marriages have spawned some beautiful talents, like Zoë Kravitz. But for every Zoë Kravitz there are five Jaden Smiths. I was pretty sure Punch Cookies would be a Zoë, but the fear always remains that smoking something new will lead me on inadvertently weird attempts at philosophy. Fortunately, Punch Cookies did an all-round crackerjack job, with flavourful layers of grape soda, pine, and sweet biscuit all registered separately after breaking a bud in half. The high was analyzed in a similar manner, which turned me into a stoned, giggling college boy for about twenty minutes before quickly evolving into the lucid, productive renegade who happened to smoke weed – but about an hour after smacking the stoned In life I could feel my energy fading and my eyes starting to droop. That didn’t stop until I found my bed.
We caught Punch Cookies and his alter egos at Colorado Harvest Company, The Herbal Center, and Verde Natural. Pharmacies stocking DabLogic, Verde’s concentrate brand, may also stock the variety in hash form. While that’s not a long list, it would be hard for anyone to beat the Verde cut that was strong enough to last me a few days longer than most of the strains during the pandemic.
Appearance: Passable as their parents, Punch Cookies plants are usually rather squat, with dense buds that tend to turn purple (but not always) before eventually lining with a milky layer of resin.
Smell: If punch cookies were a double combo, that syrupy purple punch aroma – a mix of sour balsamic and grape soda – would be the knee-kinking uppercut before a left hook of oak, mud, and bready sweetness rolls my eyes back.
Taste: The yeasty and pine-like aromas of Punch Cookies combine to create a dry taste in the foreground, with sweeter notes of grapes and berries, before an unexpectedly creamy, nutty aftertaste gently rounds it off.
Effects: I immediately felt the power of Punch Cookies in my eyes and head, a gloomy euphoria that could be disoriented with lower tolerances. But the fog lifted briefly, and although I moved a little slower than usual and couldn’t stop eating, all functions seemed to be working fine as I smiled foolishly through the next few hours. The decline was sure to come, however, and he did not let go until both eyes were closed.
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Thomas Mitchell has been a cannabis-related writer for Westword since 2014, covering sports, real estate, and general news for publications such as the Arizona Republic, Inman, and Fox Sports. He is currently the cannabis editor for westword.com.
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