I opened this jar of the RS-11 strain as grown by Connected in Arizona two or three days ago. I bought it earlier this year, in March, the last time I was out here visiting my in-laws. I stashed the jar then; didn’t open it until now. I kept it in a small Pelican case, presumably sealed.
The RS-11 is bone dry. The desert is undefeated. Luckily, I had moisture packs on the way, to arrive later on Opening Day. I took one of those 58% Bovedas and dropped it in with the RS-11, gave it 48 hours. And voila, the bud now feels OK. It weighed out to somewhere between 3.62 and 3.67 grams. My scale was jumping around. Either way, I’m happy with the mass.
RS-11 is a strain I have avoided. It appears to be a cross of a couple different kinds of OZ Kush (link here). I smoked some OZ Kush once, and all it did was get me stoned. Not happy stoned or funny stoned, just quiet and tired stoned. OZ Kush has Zkittlez in it, and although my experience with Zkittlez strains is evolving, my initial impression was that it simply knocked me out. Zkittlez is now mostly referred to as the Original Z. Original Z has a couple of unknown strains in its lineage but it has become one of the most popular parents of cannabis strains sold from east to west. The Z is pretty much unavoidable. Any time you see a Z show up in a strain name (e.g. Zoap, Zushi, Zcattergories) you know that the Original Z is somewhere in the background.
It was some pretty good looking bud, those five multi-hued nugs. The grind was just fine once I had the moisture pack in the jar. Ground up, the RS-11 was colorful with purple accents. It had a fruity aroma, all colors of the rainbow. It’s also called Rainbow Sherbert. Not to be confused with Sunset Sherbert or Guava Gelato!
Now I’ll smoke a .37-gram roll of this RS-11. 12:57 mountain standard time…
…It’s had an effect on me. It was an unusual tasting smoke. It tasted of earthy fuel, it was acrid. Then some fruitiness or sweetness came through to temper the burnt bread crumb flavor upfront.
I’ll try to type for a little while. I’m not sure what to do with myself.
14:06. It’s been an hour and a quarter since I smoked and I’m feeling the effects. Pleasant. Even keeled. There was at first a rush, a stimulation. Then I faced a stage of second-guessing, something was nagging at me, some risk that was hanging out there, what was it? The moment passed. I thought better of it. Now I will get back to typing. I have not had a drink yet. There’s a current to this. I see RS-11 labeled as an indica but I consider this effect to be straight up hybrid.
15:39. I still feel it, almost three hours later. There’s a body buzz but I’m alert. I have been typing. Adding an entry to this blog, Weeds of Grass. I’m happy with RS-11. After avoiding it, not wanting to try it. There has been plenty of RS-11 on offer, regardless of what state or what menu I’ve been considering.
I’m always intrigued by the so-called ‘unknown strains’. And The Original Z is all about the unknowns. Based on the taste of this, based on the effects…I am guessing that there is some Triangle Kush in that unknown lineage, or Chem Dawg, or both. It tasted like the Cresco TK-91 I had earlier this summer. Or the Proper Chem 91.
Looking again at OZ Kush, it’s The Original Z crossed with OG Eddy Lepp. The OG Eddy Lepp strain is OG Kush crossed with Grape Ape. The Grape Ape strain is a phenotype of Grand Daddy Purple or GDP. These are some pretty common modern cannabis strain building blocks. RS-11’s lineage is one of the simpler you see any more. I note that the OG Eddy Lepp also shows up in Melonade, which now that I think of it tasted pretty similar to this RS-11.
In any event, I’m glad I tried something different. I have often been looking for certain parents in the lineage of what I might be smoking: The White, Trainwreck, Sunset Sherbet. Or Animal Mints or Face Off descendants.
I have enjoyed several of the Alien/Connected offerings in Arizona, Biskante being the best. Tropical Z, BK Satellite, and Space Face are among others. I picked this up at the Trulieve at Swan and 22nd. It had been on their shelf a while, package date of December 2024. It was a bit old, it was a bit dry. That’s why I have the moisture packs.
Weeds of Grass 