Classics, as they say, never go out of style. Now in the case of classic sativa strains, they are sadly not represented well in the commercial cannabis market because they’re not as profitable. Generally, they take more time and space to grow, and those things are both also money! I should know, I almost graduated high school. But for old heads, nostalgia can be an even stronger pull than THC. And for a new generation that’s grown up with dispensaries instead of waiting days for the weed man, there’s the thrill of smoking a nugget of stoner history and trying something you don’t often see on a store shelf. If you get a chance to smoke any of these old school strains from a cultivator that grows sativa for the love, don’t pass it up. I mean, do pass it here, don’t Bogart it. But you should smoke some too.
Super Silver Haze
The biggest reason why there’s been a distinct lack of true Hazes and other heirloom sativas in today’s cannabis market is because they’re less efficient to grow. They grow much taller than more modern genetics that have been selected for being stout and bushy as well as take 16 weeks or more to flower properly. Luckily for us, we managed to find a grower who simply does not care about the efficiency issues, and has grown an excellent Super Silver Haze. This could be our favorite sativa of the 2025 for two reasons. The first is an invigorating effect that could replace your morning coffee. The second is that it’s like a time capsule the weed of yesteryear, packed full of old school scents and flavors.
Super Silver Haze is an heirloom sativa originally created by Greenhouse Seeds in collaboration with Neville Schoenmaker and has a fairly complex phylogeny of {Original Haze F2 x Skunk #1} x {Original Haze F2 x NL5Haze}. The lineage provides mostly for the motel bible scent and flavor with some peppery notes and an undertone of gas. This cross was the top Haze amongst Dutch cannabis enthusiasts until it was crossed to Lemon Skunk and Super Lemon Haze was born, supplanting Super Silver. This sample of Super Silver Haze is chunky and so covered in trichomes inside and out, busting down this beauty to smoke is almost bittersweet. The effect on this sample is a bit more mellow than a lot of the more modern samples we usually see, but energizing enough that our wake & bake session with the sample cleared our morning cobwebs before we even turned on the coffee machine.
White Widow
Amongst longtime cannabis enthusiasts, it’s widely believed that the original White Widow cut has been lost to time and might be gone forever. At one point, we got to try a cut called Drizella from underground growers based in West Virginia — longtime operators who claimed it was the closest thing to White Widow still in existence as their selection was based on their experience smoking tons of White Widow in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. White Widow is known for its woodsy, almost cheesy scent and flavor that hits harder than basically any of the contemporary Skunks and Purps.
White Widow is a cross of (Brazilian Sativa x Indian Landrace) and hits with both cerebral and body-calming effects. It’s hard to say exactly whether this sample is a White Widow cross or not as the appearance expresses purple with a multi-peaked calyx layering and the woodsy, cheesy scent has an undertone of salty gas, which means it could be something akin to Widow Cookies. The flavor presents itself as almost all cheese and sandalwood, and the energizing potency hits quite hard in the forehead and brow. Even if it’s not exactly what older heads recognize as the original White Widow, this sample is of high quality nonetheless, as it will hit you with nostalgic loudness as soon as you crack open the bag. We recommend this to anyone who’s looking to smoke potent joints and let their cares float away during this holiday weekend.
Red Congolese
Red Congolese AKA Red Congo is a now-rare strain with sativa and African landraces. The exact genetics on this strain are very much unknown but the breeders from Snowhigh Seeds say Mexican and Afghani roots are likely also present in this strain. As we eagerly opened the jar and broke the seal on it, we immediately noticed the fruity notes, and more subtly, it reminded me of the smell of soil after a rain. Upon breaking open the buds, a burst of spicy notes fills the air, intertwining with the sweet fruit and earthy notes.
The nugs themselves are a lush emerald green. The elongated and dense buds glisten with a sprinkle of trichomes hidden within the rainbow hues of pistils that show off crimsons, oranges and golds. As we began to toke on the Red Congolese, the profile of flavor notes was, in a word, kaleidoscopical. Upon the first inhale, our taste buds picked up on spicy tangy notes with hints of fruity sweetness on the exhale. The smoke itself is smooth and the effects hit us like a train forgetting to stop at a station. Red Congolese gave us invigorating and uplifted euphoric feelings which made even the most mundane tasks feel like a grand adventure.
Lambs Bread
Lambs Bread’s genetics are disputed, but it’s widely accepted to be a rare heirloom equatorial sativa originating from Jamaica. In expression, this sample is very similar to the original Haze and Cuban Black Haze strains, with a pungent ginger root dominant over the nostalgic must of old books. This sample smoked like a dream rolled into a joint, producing lightly-colored ash and no harshness on the throat. The potency is elite, firing us into the stratosphere with the force of a Saturn V rocket before gently returning us to terra firma, as this flower left us with almost none of the post-session exhaustion we are accustomed to feeling from Haze crosses.
If you’re a sativa lover, Lambs Bread will make you fall in love all over again, because it’s it’s the perfect wake & bake strain. The first puff hits like a ray of sunshine from a cloudless sky. After smoking it, my mood is lifted, but I remain capable of functioning as normal. Lambs Bread is an exemplary sativa, both uplifting and inspiring, and perfect for bringing yourself into alignment before starting out on your day.
XJ-13
Jack Herer has been a staple in many longtime smokers’ experiences, even many younger smokers that some may have expected to only have smoked candy flavors and carts. XJ-13 is an offshoot of the classic Jack that today doesn’t have a whole lot of interest, except from longtime fans and trad market brokers with very picky whale customers. XJ-13 and G-13 Haze have eluded many of us for years, as cultivators in North America have almost no incentive to grow inefficient Haze crosses with long flowering periods. Now, we finally have XJ-13 in the stash and we’re glad this was the sample to give us our first impression.
XJ-13 is a cross of (Jack Herer x G-13 Haze) and this example is what we would consider prime. It’s fresh, has dense resin development and is expertly grown indoor flower. The scent is a blend of the typical sweet zesty skunk you would get from Jack Herer with a bit more bitterness and pine on the back end. The flavor is a perfect blend of coniferous bitterness and peppery zest and it truly coats the mouth on inhale. The effect was as potent and energizing as we’d expect from this cross. It was also quite refreshing on the come-down.