2023 Emerald Cup Winners: Flower, Concentrates, Edibles & More

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. 

Photo by: Alice Reis/Weedmaps

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

Indoor Flower

Breeder’s Cup (First Place): Fig Farms – Blue Face

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

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 

First Place:  West Coast Genetics X Holy Water – Paleta Z x Oz Kush Rosin x Kiwi Resin

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

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

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

Category: Topical

Therapeutic

First Place: Val’s Original x West Valley Patient Center – Val’s Hawaiian Cream (Pono)

Category: Tincture

Overall 

First Place: Proof – Bazillion Drop

Wellness

First Place: Proof – CBG Elixer Drops

Category: Edible

Beverage

First Place: Herba Mate – Herba Mate Lemon Mint

Beverage Enhancer

First Place: Atlas Edibles – Alta Infused Peach Iced Tea Drink Mix

Gummies

First Place: Space Gem – Sour Spacedrops

Sweet

First Place: Oui’d Confections – Bonbon Hazelnut Praliné

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

Soma

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

Southern California

Cornerstone Wellness – Colorado Blvd – Los Angeles