White Russian

At its first participation in the High Times Cannabis Cup, White Russian won the Bio Cup in 1996, entered by the Amsterdam coffeeshop De Dampkring. Serious Seeds also credits it with the Overall Cup for the same year, which other retrospectives of the competition do not clearly attribute. In 1997, a 2nd place in the Hydro Cup followed via De Dampkring. The strain comes from Simon, founder of Serious Seeds, who crossed the company's own AK-47 with an award-winning White Widow clone from the 1990s.

Genetics and Origin:

Simon had studied biology in Amsterdam and worked at Sensi Seeds before founding Serious Seeds in 1995. AK-47 is regarded as a breeding of the company from 1992, combining origins from Colombia, Mexico, Thailand and Afghanistan. The cross with White Widow produced an F1 hybrid that the breeder classes as predominantly indica-leaning. Other strain descriptions, by contrast, list White Russian as a sativa-leaning hybrid.

According to Serious Seeds, further awards followed, including 1st place in the Indoor category at the El Punto Cup 2005 in Málaga, Spain, and 2nd place for Ice-o-lator hash in the extracts category at the Highlife Cup 2013 in Amsterdam. As a parent, the strain is found among others in White Russian OG by Kalashnikov Seeds, a cross with OG Kush, in Babushka by Aztech Genetics and in Auto Moscow by Seedsman.

THC and CBD Content:

Serious Seeds states 22 % THC and 1 % CBD and refers to an independent comparison grow in the 1990s in which White Russian was said to be the strongest plant among 150 strains. Other strain descriptions give 21 % THC and 1 % CBG. For the autoflower version, the breeder cites a single measurement from the Spanish lab CANNA showing 17 % THC.

Aroma and Flavor:

Serious Seeds describes the aroma as sweet and fruity with a slightly floral touch, citrus leaning toward orange and spicy notes, plus honey, skunk and earth. Other descriptions mention sour cream, pepper, blood orange, apricot and lemon, or rose and tobacco; myrcene is given as the main terpene, followed by caryophyllene and pinene. Growers perceive notes that are in part distinctly floral, in part herbal and grassy.

Effects:

The breeder describes a strong, long-lasting effect that sits more in the head than in the body and makes people talkative. Users report euphoria, elevated mood, creativity and focus, in part with a progression from the head toward physical relaxation. Among growers it was described as initially activating, later making them heavy and sluggish; one report describes marked sedation with tiredness the next day. Side effects mentioned are dizziness, dry mouth and dry eyes, occasionally anxiety, and in one case heavy sweating after buds were harvested too early.

Cultivation:

Serious Seeds states 53 to 63 days of flowering after 3 to 4 weeks of vegetative growth and 350 to 500 g/m² indoors; outdoors the strain ripens in mid to late October according to the breeder, and it is described for indoor, outdoor and greenhouse. The plants stay medium-tall, carry little foliage and turn out so uniform that the breeder compares them to cuttings. According to the breeder, resin shows from about week 5 of flowering, and the smell during flowering is considered strong.

Documented indoor grows reached 55 to 75 days of flowering; among growers, around 65 days were mentioned, and extending to 85 days brought no improvement there. On bud structure the reports differ: grow profiles describe the dried buds as hard and compact with little leaf content, while other growers found them loose even after long flowering. Heavy shoots had to be supported. In a hydro grow with topped plants, the shoots stretched strongly after the onset of flowering and broke easily; this grower found the smell mild. One outdoor grow stayed free of mold. One grower described a White-Widow-dominant phenotype with a cheesy aroma after fermentation.

Versions from Different Breeders:

Serious Seeds offers White Russian as regular and feminized seeds. There are also variants with their own specifications:

• Auto White Russian by Serious Seeds crosses Lowryder #2 from Joint Doctor with White Russian, is available only as feminized and needs 70 to 80 days from germination to harvest at a final height of 70 to 90 cm. Serious Seeds gives the yield on its own page as 40 to 75 g per plant, another description by the breeder as 10 to 20 g.
• The Fast Version from Crop King Seeds, made from AK-47, White Widow and Ruderalis, flowers for 6 to 8 weeks according to the supplier and is said to yield 400 to 500 g/m² indoors and 800 g per plant outdoors, at 20 % THC and 1 % CBD.
• Blimburn gives 8 to 10 weeks of flowering for its feminized cross of AK-47 and White Widow, 350 to 450 g/m² indoors, 600 g per plant outdoors and 18 to 20 % THC.