Sour Diesel Strain

A murky history of Sour Diesel

Sour Diesel, often referred to as 'Sour' or "Sour D," stands strong as one of the most popular and distinctive Cannabis strains worldwide. The inviting profile is pungent, diesel-like aroma combined with its stimulating effects has secured its place in the cannabis hall of fame. This blog article by Pure Sativa undertakes a deep dive into the murky history, genetics, and notable phenotypes of Sour Diesel, offering enthusiasts & connoisseurs a complete overview of this iconic strain.

Most online sources quote the genetics to be ChemD / Chem 91 x Mass Super Skunk/ NL x DNL. JJ of Top Dawg Seeds describes on THCfarmer that the Sour Diesel came about from an accidental cross of the 91 Chem x DNL after the DNL seeded the room from hermaphroditing and pollinating the entire crop. DNL's lineage is Hawaiian/ RFK Skunk x NL or 91 Chem x Mass Super Skunk.

AJ's Sour Diesel

Although the history and timelines remain murky, many Cannabis enthusiasts give recognition to AJ, aka Asshole Joe; AJ is a cannabis cultivator that was one keeper of the Sour Diesel strain. AJ Was a trainee in the environmental sector at the infamous New York Wetlands Music Club in the early 1990s, where he regularly rubbed shoulders with huge-name artists like Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. It was at this legendary Wetlands club that AJ met JJ of Top Dawg Seeds. 

At the time, the venue was a cultural melting pot popular with the hippy crowds, thanks to their environmental-focused events and the kind of music artists performing there. Many club attendees would flock there after fleeing Central Park once darkness descended. One of the most famous nights was held every Tuesday; the club put on a Grateful Dead-themed night that drew many of the city's hippies & Cannabis smokers in. It was during these nights that AJ became friends with JJ through their desire to source & smoke elite Cannabis, with JJ having some stellar Northern Lights in at that time. AJ had just returned home from Amsterdam, where he'd been smoking Northern Lights heavily, and this allowed them to foster a relationship based on their deep affinity for top-shelf Cannabis. JJ had a connection to a plug called the Weasel, who was responsible for bringing ChemD flowers to the NYC area and AJ also made this connect.

Chem '91 Heritage

In the Grow Bud Yourself! Podcast on YouTube, AJ, aka Joe Murray, explains that Sour Diesel stems from a group of friends from Albany & New York City who went on The Grateful Dead Tour and were all in pursuit of the highest quality Cannabis they could find. In this pursuit, they eventually met the Weasel at the Wetlands who would sell them ChemD flowers, but scoring it took a lot of work. Every time they wanted some, they would have to massage his ego and 'ass-kiss' just to be able to score the flower. A direct consequence of this connects exclusivity ensured scarcity, which meant that ChemD became the most sought-after and desired smoke in New York at the time, which was the flower AJ and his friend would all clamour to get. Whenever they could get enough to sell, AJ would rebrand the flower as 'Diesel' as ChemD was generally a less popular term. JJ of Top Dawg Seeds confirmed that the ChemD cut renamed as Diesel by AJ was the 91 Chem. 

JJ explains in a 2014 THCfarmer forum post that, Chem Dog selected the ChemD, after he had found 13 seeds in a premium batch of flower he'd had shipped to himself across the coast back in 1991 and after popping four he was left with 3 females. One of these females he called Chemdog (aka ChemD) at the time which later became known as the '91 Chem, the second female he called Chemdog A, which then became known as Chemdogs' Sister and the final female, ia Chemdog B. Many years later more ChemD phenos were selected in 2001 and 2006, which explains why the original and most sought-after ChemD cut was named ChemD (now Chem'91) as it was the original.

Reportedly, when AJ met the Weasel, the connection was cemented. Weasel prompted AJ to pack him a bowl of cannabis flowers in a pipe, and he would repay him two weeks later with some actual connoisseur-grade weed. AJ reflects that something drew him to take this character seriously initially; sure enough, two weeks later, he came back when he'd finished his crop; the Weasel pulled out a killer batch of ChemD.  Weasel also met ChemD in the early 1990s and traded cuts, the real Sour Diesel then came from crossing the clone-only Chem 91 with the Mass Super skunk.

AJ had been smoking the ChemD as frequently as he could and hadn't had any luck getting the clone from anyone. The growers who were cultivating it; were all too aware of the popularity of the phenotype, and they ensured they made sure that they didn't give it out to anyone outside their small circle. As a consequence of this, AJ just kept buying the flower, hoping to find a few seeds, which would crop up occasionally, and he and his friends would pop any that they found so they could grow their iterations of ChemD / Diesel found from these bag seeds. AJ had sprouted five of these seeds and germinated them all successfully; the se ChemD bag seeds kept him going for a while until the Albany grew gave him the D1 cut, and the following year, his friend received the Sour Diesel cuts for the first time in 1996, AJ helped his friend build the growing area he was cultivating it in, and he began growing that strain ever since. 

In the Treat Show Podcast, AJ reflects that he later learned from this crew that they crossed multiple ChemD bag seeds together to produce what was given to him as Sour D. He had kept The resulting Diesel in his stable & cultivated it for 20 years. Around this time, when AJ was trying to go legitimate, managing a Coffee Shop he became acutely aware that countless cuts and seeds were being sold branded with his name attached to them despite him having no official connection with them.

AJ's interview with Pinksy and the Brain podcast gave insight into the mass-scale explosion of Sour Diesel getting out into the hands of growers around the country when Jason Pinksy was handed four clones one night at 2 am, which he then took over to his close friend who has a grow going on at that time. Pinksy quickly moved the clones on to a mutual friend and had been handed them after another friend had broken in and stolen the plants. AJ went on to provide additional context that there were multiple leaks across the country, but that one was the New York leak, which stemmed from the robbery of AJ's home at the time. Back then, AJ was producing around 20 pounds of Sour Diesel every few months out of their production spot, and these were selling at about $8,000-8,800 a pound, aka $500/550 an ounce so this was some extremely expensive Cannabis, even by today's standards. Especially when you consider this was straight from the cultivator and that these would have been resold for up to 800 dollars an ounce. 

Rezdog / Reservoir Seeds 

The Rezdog Sour Diesel is another named Sour Diesel expression; this phenotype stemmed from Rezdog getting a cut of ChemD from Chemdog, who then produced Sour Diesel seeds under his own seed company, Reservoir Seeds then the resulting phenotypes that were found from these seeds were likely to have been rebranded too. Brokers would want to avoid explaining the true origins of the Sour Diesel phenotype they had from particular seeds; they would instead believe that they had the original Sour Diesel form. The Rezdog Sour Diesel was reportedly crossed to An Afghani to stabilize it. JJ also spoke on The Pot Cast podcast that Rez began to alienate himself from all breeders he worked with because of the lack of honesty and transparency regarding his intentions with cuts that other breeders were working with at the time. JJ describes Rez as a police informant, who snitched on several individuals. JJ also has his own Sour Diesel creations such as the Sour Diesel Bx3 are widely regarded as some of the best Sour creations on the market. Despite some people still support Rez Dog and often advise that some killer Sour dominant phenos can be found from his seeds. 

Karma Genetics Sour D

Karma Genetics Sour D Bx2 and Sowahh (Bx4) are widely considered an elite Sour Diesel reproduction by Karma Genetics that nails the Sour Diesel profile well. Karma Genetics selected an elite cut of Sour Diesel from Reservoir Seeds back in 2007, which was the mother of his elite Headbanger strain. The seed run was using Rez's2006 IBL line, and Karma explained on ICMAG that it will give you a product with the memory of Rezs. The Bx2 reproduction isolated the desired genotype and far exceeded Karma's initial expectations, with high yields of sour gaseous buds filling the space with evident Sour Diesel notes. The terpene profile from the Sour Diesel Bx2 is heavy in myrcene, limonene, and ß-caryophyllene. The aroma is full of that classic astringent sour gas, with slight hints of hops and lime. Her flavour profile is characterised as a potent flavour with a greasy sour gas that leaves a coating in the mouth. Karma Genetics also released the N.Y. Amsterdam Sour in 2023 which crosses JJ.'s Sour Diesel Bx4 with Karma Genetics' Karma Sour D Bx2 to create a slightly faster flowering Sour Diesel variety that will produce stellar Sour results. 

RiRi Sour D

The RiRi Sour Diesel is a French cut that has been reportedly found from a Reservoir Seeds Sour Diesel IBl that is reported to be a heavy mixture of diesel terps and lavender notes. This Sour D IBl phenotype was widely shared in France for free as RiRi didn't want it to be sold commercially. 

As a result of the popularity and transcending qualities of Sour Diesel, several hybrids using the Diesel moniker achieved great popularity; one such strain was New York City Diesel, bred by Soma, which AJ described as a pure marketing ploy, as the genetic heritage is thoroughly unrelated to the actual Sour Diesel lineage. Soma's NYCD is the result of crossing Mexican Sativa with Afghani and was known for its exotic, fragrant aroma, which stinks of ripe, mature, red grapefruit. 

The Cali Connection also produces killer Sour Diesel seeds where he's paired an Original Sour Diesel, aka AJ's Sour Diesel, and crossed it back to an AJ Sour Diesel BX3 plant to maximise those notable kerosene and sour notes. 

Our own Reserva Privada also has a stellar Sour Diesel option that crosses the Chemdawg' 91 x Mass Super Skunk, she's a 10-week Sour D hybrid that is a premium choice for those in search of those light-green, zingy smelling sour buds that express that ever prominent pink hue.

ECSD- According to Aronsist, a holder of ECSD, the origins of those genetics are either Old Sensi Skunk stock or another Skunk of East Coast origin. The effects and growing habits are firmly centred in the Sativa category. JJ of Top Dawg Seeds noted in the 2014 THC Farmer post that the Sur Diesel is aka ECSD, indicating that these clones are the same cuts. However, many out there have speculated there are several different traits to be found among them. As with many things that were created in the clandestine world of Cannabis, there are unknowns but one thing is for sure, and that is that the Sour Diesel is an elite cultivar that has gone down in the history books as one of the best strains bred. We hope that she is enjoyed for many more decades.