Shasta Bloom by A Golden State
92 Points
The Quick Hit:
Shasta Bloom by A Golden State is a masterful expression of California terroir. Equal parts wild beauty and precision craft. A dynamic cross of Super Silver Haze and Sour Diesel, it opens with jet fuel and lemon-rosemary glaze before unfolding into a complex bouquet of blood orange, garlic, pine, and lavender. On the palate, it delivers a bold, zesty punch of diesel, thyme, and citrus, finishing with a bright herbal sweetness. The high is both invigorating and grounding: a cerebral climb laced with pinene-fueled clarity, mellowed by caryophyllene and linalool into a blissfully foggy descent. Energetic yet composed, Shasta Bloom doesn't just inspire movement-it demands it.
The Long Toke:
If you had told me five years ago, "Lucas, I know you hate your 9-5. The soul-sucking cubicle, the dead eyes of middle management, the quiet hum of existential dread. But if you stick to your gut, one day you'll be a cannabis critic, a judge, a writer, and hell, maybe some day even a journalist," I'd have called you insane. Who are you? And why are you in my apartment?
But here I am. Ten reviews in a month. Writing for a company that took a chance on me, on my passion, my instincts, my need to carve something meaningful out of the haze. I don't go a day without thanking whatever cosmic chaos landed me here. Six months ago, this would've sounded like a stoned daydream. Five years ago? Pure fantasy.
So, to mark the milestone, I'm closing out April with a strain and a brand l'll champion every chance I get. A Golden State is earnest in its devotion to California and the Cascade Mountains. Landscapes that don't just shape the grow, they define the soul of it. Almost supernatural in its raw power. Shasta Bloom, a progeny of absolute icons Super Silver Haze and Sour Diesel, is the latest in a growing list of future legends A Golden State has cultivated from the dirt up.
The scarlet packaging, evoking a California Poppy Red Chief in full Spring bloom, isn't window dressing. It's the prologue. The beginning of a good story, the first notes of a masterpiece. And the terpene profile on the label? Not just stats. It's a recipe: a splash of limonene, a cut of pinene, a generous twist of caryophyllene, linalool for cool depth, and ocimene riding shotgun. A volatile blend that could shoot you into the stratosphere and let you plummet-grinning-without a chute. But we'll get there.
First, the jar. Frosted white glass and sealed for freshness. Crack it open and it was like staring directly into the Ark of the Covenant. Beautiful, garden-green knuckly buds glowing with a thick layer of sticky milk-white, resin-filled trichomes and trimmed with the skill of a master topiarist. The aroma hits like jet fuel soaked in lemon-rosemary glaze-noxious and impossible to forget. Peel that back and it layers like pages in a book: sour blood orange, crushed garlic, pine sap, mountain mint, wild lavender, and somewhere in the underbrush, bergamot slowly drying on cedar mulch. I caught a whiff and immediately craved a Caipirinha. Don't ask me why.
The first pull? An electric zing of diesel fuel and flowering thyme punched my tastebuds like Buster Douglas in Tokyo, 1990. Bright, floral, flammable.
Round two hit harder: a wicked right-left knockout combo of rubber cement and bright, earthy sweetness.
Round 3 came out the corner with an herbal citrus and lemongrass uppercut that left my palate flat on the mat trying to catch its breath. And then the high. Wow. A surge of pure, oxygen-rich vitality.
The limonene and pinene cracked open my lungs, gave me energetic awareness that heightened my senses and made me believe I could summit Shasta barefoot with a grin and a granola bar. But I had to tread lightly. If I mismanaged my dose, that watershed of ionic energy could quickly become a deluge of anxiety. Respect the Bloom and she returns the favor. Once I settled into it, the caryophyllene and linalool wrapped around me like alpine fog-cool and numbing. Ocimene lifted the mood like a crisp breeze off the Pacific. I wanted to move.
Hike the San Diego hills. Pack snacks. Pack water. Or, simply melt into my couch and throw on Midnight Run.
De Niro. Grodin. A road movie classic. If you try Shasta Bloom, just don't expect to sit still long. She doesn't tolerate stagnation.
As l've said before, and I'll keep saying it, A Golden State doesn't take shortcuts. They cultivate with intention, package with subtlety, and build their brand like a story worth telling. Shasta Bloom isn't just another strain. It's a reminder of what California cannabis was meant to be: passionate, purposeful, and built to last long after the hype brands are nothing but footnotes in the dusty annals of a forgotten era.
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