In order to give Runtz our 2020 title, we must start at the most important part: the experience of it.

In southern Humboldt County, CA, longtime cannabis cultivator Jason Gellman is the founder of Ridgeline Farms–which took an Emerald Cup in 2019 for Runtz. He’ll always grow a greenhouse of the cultivar, he said.

“Growing this day and age, you look for three things: You want the look, you want the smell, and you want the taste,” says Gellman.

Runtz checks each box and tears up the scorecard.

Gellman refers to the smell of Runtz as something “like no other strain I’ve ever grown,” and describes its aroma as a syrupy berry cream with plenty of gassy notes. The color? Purple and pink in the summer, with shades that go as deep as black-purple in the fall.

“It looks amazing, it smells like candy, grapes, and gas.”

Ridgeline Farms owner, grower Jason Gellman, southern Humboldt County, CA

“With Runtz, it looks amazing, it smells like candy, grapes, and gas, and you smoke it and it tastes just like it smells, which is [actually] kind of unusual,” he says.

The sedative effects of this hybrid lean more toward an indica, with a flavor similar to Gelato, according to LitHouse, a family-owned coastal cannabis operation in Mendocino County, California. It comes with a heavy body high and strong chill vibes. It doesn’t jolt you with too much THC; rather, it wraps you in a thick, relaxing aroma.