This past weekend, growers, breeders, and tastemakers alike traveled far and wide for one of the most prestigious competitions in the industry: The Emerald Cup. For years, this competition has been making waves by bringing cannabis connoisseurs together and recognizing some of the best farms, sustainable growers, and product innovators in the world.
This year's event also presented the opportunity to shake off a string of challenges that have popped up for the cup over the last several years. Between a roller coaster of pandemic rules and some less-than-fruitful partnerships, many were concerned about whether or not the Cup could survive.
But as Tim Blake, founder and figurehead of the Cup, took the stage for his 2023 opening remarks, he projected a clear and promising message to an excited crowd of VIP guests: “The Emerald Cup is still standing, [the brands are] still standing, and we're gonna be the ones that are the foundation for this new business … We're not going down.”
Reinforcing Tim's bullish message, the execution and choice of venue for the event this year were both top notch and gave the sense that the Emerald Cup will continue setting high standards for years to come.
The Emerald Cup: then vs now
When this competition began in the Emerald Triangle in 2004, it started as a low-key event at a time when recreational consumption in California was illegal. Fast forward 19 years, and it's turned into what some call “the Oscars of weed,” featuring big name music performances, organic food and beverage vendors, and a wide variety of other quality programming. But more than anything, the entire experience is one huge celebration that honors the best of cannabis culture and its people.
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This year, The Emerald Cup judges were tasked with critiquing up to 48 cannabis categories based on their expertise, ranging from the best sungrown flower and ice water hash to the best dispensary and most innovative product. Each consumable submission is lab-tested by a third-party partner, SC Labs, that provides in-depth terpene and cannabinoid profiles to inform the judging process on a whole other level.
This year's winners
Below, see who won at the 2023 Emerald Cup.
Category: Flower
Sungrown Flower
Breeder's Cup (First Place): Rebel Grown – Double OG Chem #15
- 2nd: Naughty Squirrel – Venom OG
- 3rd: Greenshock Farms – Peppermint Sleigh Ride
- 4th: Heartrock Mountain Farm – Lemon Head
- 5th: Sanctuary Farms – Blunicorn
- 6th: Esensia – Orange Creamsicle
- 7th: Rebel Grown – Double OG Chem #5
- 8th: Farmer and the Felon x Rebel Grown – Natty Bumppo #4
- 9th: Esensia – Lime Juice
- 10th: Greenshock Farms – Tropical Sleigh Ride
- 11th: Esensia – Pixie Dust
- 12th: Farmer and the Felon – Menage 21
- 13th: Ridgeline Farms – LANTZ
- 14th: Farmer and the Felon x Rebel Grown – Rebel Cookies & Lemon Lary OG
- 15th: Esensia – Honey Dew
- 16th: Lempire Farmaseed x Dougie Fresh – Wicked Sour
- 17th: Ridgeline Farms – Ridgeline Runtz
- 18th: Farmer and the Felon – Lemon Sponge Cake
- 19th: Esensia – Maracuya
- 20th: SoHum Royal x Southern Humboldt Royal Cannabis Company x Global Genetics – Blue Nerds
Mixed Light Flower
Breeder's Cup (First Place): Ridgeline Farms – LANTZ
- 2nd: Preferred Gardens x Doja Pak – 11:11
- 3rd: Local Cannabis Co – Florida Kush
- 4th: Local Cannabis Co – Orange 43
- 5th: Local Cannabis Co – Ice Cream Cake
- 6th: Healing Herb Farms – Crush Mintz
- 7th: Preferred Gardens x Duke of Doja / Doja Pak – P41
- 8th: Local Cannabis Co – Sherbhead
- 9th: Dos Rios Farms – Lemon Creme
- 10th: Quantum Humboldt – Thin Mint Cookies x Jealousy
Indoor Flower
Breeder's Cup (First Place): Fig Farms – Blue Face
- 2nd: Sense – Gas Face
- 3rd: Cannabiotix – French Alps
- 4th: Maven Genetics – French Laundry
- 5th: Fig Farms – Animal Face
- 6th: Decibel Gardens – Watermelon Punch
- 7th: Cannabiotix – Blue Flame OG
- 8th: Fig Farms – Dark Karma
- 9th: Team Elite Genetics – Pearadise
- 10th: CannaCruz – Biscotti Bx1
- 11th: Cannabiotix – The Silk
- 12th: Decibel Gardens – Roswell 47
- 13th: Fig Farms – Gelato 41
- 14th: Fig Farms – Moonana Wreck
- 15th: Fig Farms – Zeclair
- 16th: Sattva Cannabis – Purple Push Pop x Cap Junkie
- 17th: Pure Beauty – Spritzer
- 18th: Fig Farms – Lemon Cherry Gelato
- 19th: Cannabiotix – Mountain Sage
- 20th: Sattva Cannabis – Biscotti x Bx1
Sungrown Greenhouse Flower
First Place: Chameleon Craft – Bubble Bath
- 2nd: Cre8 Cannabis – Cre8's Gelonade
- 3rd: Chameleon Craft – Mule Fuel
- 4th: Xotic Flavors – Gushers
- 5th: Cre8 Cannabis – Cre8's Jokerz #31
Personal Use Flower
First Place: Brandy Schneider – Mountain Cultured Terp Blendz 241
- 2nd: Derek Roseboom – In The Pines
- 3rd: Colin Teurfs – Double OG Chem (sungrown)
- 4th: Parker Moselle & Jackson Moran – Orangutan Titties #3
- 5th: Matt Jones – Hippie Crippler
3rd-Party Certified Sungrown/Mixed Light Flower
First Place: Sol Spirit Farms – Element
- 2nd: Emerald Spirit Botanicals – Four Directions
- 3rd: Lakes Own – God's Breath
Best in Show
Fig Farms – Blue Face
Category: Pre-rolls
Infused Solventless Extract
First Place: Heritage Hash Co. x Huckleberry Hill Farms – Whitethorn Rose Flower x Whitethorn Rose Live Bubble Hash
- 2nd: Holy Smoke by Holy Water – Holy Smokes Papaya
- 3rd: Arcata Fire x Humboldt 36 Farms – Grape Runtz Arcata Fire Hash Hose: Ice Water Hash Infused 1g Pre-roll
Infused Solvent Extract
First Place: West Coast Genetics X Holy Water – Paleta Z x Oz Kush Rosin x Kiwi Resin
- 2nd: Cream of the Crop – COTC Diamond Barrel Monkfruit x High C
- 3rd: Khalifa Kush – Khalifa Kush Infused Pre-roll
Non-infused
First place: Royal Key x Suprize Suprize – ROLLS Ghost Candy Walls
- 2nd: Huckleberry Hill Farms x CannaCountry Farms – Whitethorn Rose CannaCountry #26 Blend
- 3rd: WeedLove – WeedLove John Lemmon 1g
Deluxe
First Place: Rosin Tech Labs x Decibel Gardens x LUMA Farms – Roswell 47/Cali-O (Flower) – Papaya (Rosin) – Hash Hole
Hemp Wrap
First Place: Paletas – Paletas Infused Blunt 2.1g – Jealousy Cap Junky (Hybrid)
Category: Solventless Concentrate
Ice Water Hash
First Place: Heritage Hash Co x Hucklebery Hill Farms – Whitethorn Rose Live Bubble Hash
- 2nd: Heritage Hash Co x Mattole Valley Sun Grown – Purple Papaya Live Bubble Hash
- 3rd: Moon Valley Hash Co – Super Boof 119u-104u
- 4th: Papa's Select x Archive Seeds x Emerald Queens Farms – Rainbow Belts 90u Water Hash
- 5th: Heritage Hash Co x Bon Vivant – Hova Live Bubble Hash
Rosin
First Place: Fullymelted x Alien Labs – Zkittlez
- 2nd: El Krem x Purple City Genetics x Ahti Hash x Sunrise Gardens – El Krem Moroccan Peaches Live Rosin
- 3rd: Papa's Select x Booney Acres – Strawberry Rainbows Premium Live Rosin
- 4th: Punch Edibles & Extracts x Redwood Valley Farms – Rambutan Badder Rosin – Redwood Valley Farms/ Bloomseedco
- 5th: El Krem x Purple City Genetics x Ahti Hash x Sunrise Gardens – El Krem Peach Panther Live Rosin
- 6th: Punch Edibles & Extracts x Luma Farms – Poochies Papaya by Luma Farms Rosin
- 7th: Heritage Hash Co x Bon Vivant – Hova Live Rosin
- 8th: Heritage Hash Co x Emerald Queen Farms – Queens Chem Live Rosin
- 9th: Real Deal Resin x LUMA California – Lemon Limes
- 10th: GOATX RAMBUTAN – GOATX RAMBUTAN
Personal Use Solventless
First Place: Brett Byrd – Purple Magic
- 2nd: Matt Schackow – Papaya Live Rosin Badder
- 3rd: Christian Luevano – Papaya Piss
- 4th: Brett Byrd – GAKnana
- 5th: Matt Schackow – Lemon Sour
Category: Cartridge
CO2 Cartridge
First Place: Huckleberry Hill Farms x Vesuvio Garden – Whitethorn Rose
Distillate Cartridge
First Place: MVN Productions – XXX OG
- 2nd: Helmand Valley Growers Company (HVGC) – Afghanimal
- 3rd: Jetty Extracts – Jetty Vanilla Blossom Cartridge
Live Resin Cartridge
First Place: Arcata Fire x Humboldt Trees – Strawberry Zkittlez- Arcata Fire 100% Live Resin Sauce Vape: Original Blend
- 2nd: Absolute Xtracts – ABX Farmer's Reserve 1g Vape – Honey Banana
- 3rd: PaperPlanes Extracts – Zawtz x Runtz Live Resin Vape
- 4th: Gold Drop x Lemon Tree – Kiwi Tree Liquid Diamonds
- 5th: Halara x Sweetleaf Collective – Halara Live Diamond Sauce – Forbidden Roses
Solventless Cartridge
First Place: Arcata Fire x Humboldt 36 Farms – Arcata Fire All in One 100% live Rosin Vape: Banana Punch
- 2nd: Arcata Fire x Royalbudline – Zkittlez Vape – Rosin Syrup All In One (.5g) Vape
- 3rd: Arcata Fire x Humboldt 36 Farms – Arcata Fire 100% live rosin syrup All in One Vape: Orange Tree
- 4th: Jetty Extracts – Jetty Gas Man Solventless Rosin Cartridge
- 5th: Real Deal Resin x Booney Acres – Strawberry Meltshake
Category: Solvent Concentrate
Hydro-Carbon Solid
First Place: Jetty Extracts – Jetty Super Lemon Haze Live Badder
- 2nd: Beezle Brands x Ember Valley – Orange Peel Live Resin Budder
- 3rd: Beezle Brands x Luma Farms – Papaya Live Resin Budder
- 4th: Beezle Brands x Ember Valley – Red Runtz Live Resin Budder
- 5th: Beezle Brands x Ember Valley – Verzace Live Resin Budder
Hydro-Carbon Liquid
First Place: Holy Water x Lemon Tree – Melon Tree/Gas Tree Split Jar
- 2nd: Cannabiotix – Mountain Sage Terp Sugar
- 3rd: Cannabiotix – Blue Flame Terp Sugar
Category: Topical
Therapeutic
First Place: Val's Original x West Valley Patient Center – Val's Hawaiian Cream (Pono)
- 2nd: Hello Again – Hello Again Period
- 3rd: Liquid Flower – Deep Relief
Category: Tincture
Overall
First Place: Proof – Bazillion Drop
- 2nd: Queen Mary – Boost
Wellness
First Place: Proof – CBG Elixer Drops
Category: Edible
Beverage
First Place: Herba Mate – Herba Mate Lemon Mint
- 2nd: Mari y Juana Beverages Co. – ¡Guava! 50mg THC Soft Drink
- 3rd: Lagunitas HiFi Sessions – Lagunitas x Absolute Xtracts – Hi-Fi Cloudberry Four Pack
- 4th: Mari y Juana Beverages Co. – iPiña! 10mg THC Soft Drink
- 5th: Bodega – Bodega Pear Cooler
Beverage Enhancer
First Place: Atlas Edibles – Alta Infused Peach Iced Tea Drink Mix
Gummies
First Place: Space Gem – Sour Spacedrops
- 2nd: P&B Kitchen – Watermelon Chili Gummies
- 3rd: Lost Farm – Yuzu Fizz Sour Dream Live Rosin Gummies
- 4th: Lost Farm – Raspberry Wedding Cake Live Resin Gummies
- 5th: West Coast Cure – Pink Lemonade Strain-Specific, Vegan, Solventless Ice Water Hash Gummy
- 6th: West Coast Cure – Blackcurrant Ashram Kush Strain-Specific, Vegan, Solventless Ice Water Hash Gummy
- 7th: Papa's Select – Rainbow Rubble, Hint of Lychee Gummies
- 8th: Papa's Select x Tar Hill Cannabis – Pink Lemonade Gummies
- 9th: Papa's Select x Sunrise Mountain Farms – Grape Pie + Animal Cookies Gummies
- 10th: Bigfoot Cannabis Company – Live Resin Raspberry Lemonade Gummies
Sweet
First Place: Oui'd Confections – Bonbon Hazelnut Praliné
- 2nd: P&B Kitchen – Caramel Filled Dark Chocolates
- 3rd: Cosmic Edibles x Hash & Flowers – Plant Based Solventless Peanut Butter Breath Rosin S'Mores Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough
Savory
First Place: TSUMo Snacks – Chili Limon Cannabis Infused Corn Chips
Health Conscious
First Place: Queen Mary – Enchanted
Category: Alternative Cannabinoids
Flower
Breeder's Cup (First Place): Pure Beauty – Terry T x Gelato 33 (2:1 CBD)
- 2nd: Moon Made Farms – Sungrown Mixed Ratio Flower Sapphire Tsu
- 3rd: Heartrock Mountain Farm – Love Laughter Flower
Hemp Flower
First Place: Stoney Branch Farms – Godfather OG
- 2nd: Flowgardens – Blue Meringue
- 3rd: Hemp Hop – Abacus Diesel CBD Hemp Flower
Edible
First Place: Space Gem – Mind Expanding Belt – Sleepy Fig
Beverage
First Place: Keef – Life H2O Blueberry Lemon +CBN
Tincture
First Place: Proof – CBG Elixer Drops
Cartridge
First Place: Chemistry x Emerald Spirit Botanicals – Harmony Rose Full-Spectrum 1:1 CBD Vape
Hemp Derived Ingestible
First Place: Green Truth – Weedman's Sampler Hemp Chocolates
Hemp Derived Topical
First Place: Green Revolution – Solace CBD Topical
- 2nd: Metta Hemp – CBD Full-Spectrum Topical Cream
Category: Products
Most Innovative Consumable
First Place: Compound Genetics x Node Labs x The Original Resinator x Industry Processing Solutions – Rainbow Cheddar Flower
Most Innovative Industry Asset
First Place: Pot for Pot – 5 Gallon Complete Grow Kit
Eco-conscious Packaging
First Place: Talking Trees Farms – Talking Trees Farms 100% Compostable Packaging
Awards
“Willie Nelson” Lifetime Achievement Award
Mila Jansen
Visionary Award
Amber E. Senter
Social Justice Award
Weldon Angelos
Trailblazer Award
Alex Aquino
Breeder's Hall of Fame
Photo Contest
Amateur
First Place: Ryan Gageby – @freegrow8 – “Fierce Fire”
Professional
First Place: Mark Archer – @thecuratorco.me – “The Drip”
Best Dispensary
Northern California
The Bright Spot – Walters Ct, Fairfield
Central California
Big Sur Canna+Botanicals – Carmel Rancho Ln, Carmel-By-The-Sea