Sour Diesel

1. Summary

Sour Diesel is a clone-only New York cultivar of the mid-1990s. It came from seeds found in seeded bud traced to the Staten Island grow of Mike "Klopp", known as "the Weasel". Weasel had received the Chem 91 (Chemdog) cut from Greg "Chemdog" Krzanowski in a 1992 trade. The seeds were grown out by an Albany/Long Island circle and distributed through Joe Murray ("AJ").¹²³⁴ All the insider accounts agree that Chem 91 is the mother and that the father was an accidental pollinator in Weasel's room. The core lineage claim is therefore well-supported as "Chem 91 × an unknown pollinator from Weasel's grow". Which pollinator is disputed. AJ, as relayed by Archive's Fletcher in 2015, names a mid-90s Sensi Super Skunk hermaphrodite and says Mass Super Skunk was not in that room.⁵ A 2024 Overgrow synthesis of Weasel's podcast statements makes Sour Diesel Mass Super Skunk × "Underdog" (Chem 91 × Sensi NL).⁶ Weasel himself, on a 2020s podcast, recalls selling a seeded half-pound out of a room of his Northern Lights/Super Skunk work.² A Staten Island dispensary history says "most likely" Northern Lights with a DNL-line Skunk.⁴ The popular "Chemdawg 91 × Super Skunk" (Leafly, Barney's Farm) is a simplification of these accounts. The origin of the name ("Diesel" as slang for top weed, then "Sour") also has competing stories. The cut picture is muddled too: AJ's cut, ECSD, the Albany cut, "Weasel's Diesel", Original Diesel/Headband and the Rez lines are all argued to be the same or different clones.¹⁷⁶⁸

2. Identity

• Names/aliases: Sour Diesel, "the Sour", Sour D, East Coast Sour Diesel (ECSD), AJ's Sour Diesel / AJ's cut, "Albany" Sour, NYC Diesel (Danko lists it as an alias, though Soma's NYC Diesel is a different seed strain; see nyc-diesel).¹⁶ The precursor "Diesel" plants were Diesel #1, #2 and #3. Original Diesel / Diesel #1 / Daywrecker / Underdog / Headband is a related or identical cut, treated in headband.⁴⁶⁸
• Type as reported: sativa-dominant (Leafly calls it its most popular sativa-dominant strain). Barney's Farm sells a seed version as 70% sativa.⁹¹⁰
• Era: seeds 1993–1994; named and sold in NYC 1994–1995 onward; AJ's cut circulated publicly from about 2005; the legal NY market from 2024.¹⁴
• Originators: no single breeder. Chem 91 cut from Chemdog; accidental cross in Weasel's (Mike Klopp's) Staten Island grow; seeds found and grown by the Albany circle (Vondo/"Bondo" and others); popularised by AJ (Joe Murray, "Asshole Joe").¹²⁴
• Propagation: clone-only. Seed "Sour Diesel" lines are remakes or outcrosses.
• Region: Staten Island and Manhattan (Wetlands Preserve) / Albany / Long Island, New York.¹⁴

3. Genetics & lineage claims

3a. Chem 91 × unknown accidental pollinator in Weasel's grow (the consensus core)

Confidence: well-supported.

Danko (High Times 2016), drawing on interviews with AJ and the Chem circle, gives this sequence. Chemdog and Weasel traded cuts at a 1992 Phish show at Roseland: Chem 91 went to Staten Island and Weasel's RFK skunk went to Massachusetts. In late 1994 AJ named an accidental cross of Chem 91 with "an unknown hermaphrodite from Weasel's grow" "Diesel", and Albany friends dubbed it "the Sour". AJ's own quote in the piece says he was 20 in 1993, which conflicts with the 1994 date.¹ Weasel confirms the Roseland trade on a Craft Growers Network podcast. He says he traded an RFK cut and a skunk cut and got "the chem". He also recalls that in 1994 he was running roughly ten varieties at once: RFK #1/#2 bag-seed skunks (until he came back from Amsterdam), Chem and briefly Chem's Sister, Super Skunk, NL, NL#5, Big Bud, Oasis and Nigerian.² Leaf Magazine (2026) gives Sour Diesel as Chem 91 × "Diesel", with Diesel itself an accidental Chem 91 × Super Skunk or Northern Lights.¹¹

3b. Father = Sensi Super Skunk hermaphrodite (AJ's account)

Confidence: reported (AJ's statement, secondhand via Archive's Fletcher; contested by 3c and 3d).

ThaDocta (Fletcher of Archive Seed Bank), on ICMag on 2015-03-18, as quoted on Overgrow: "according to new information from AJ", Sour Diesel = "Chem 91 x Mid 90's Sensi SuperSkunk Hermi". Weasel bought the Super Skunk in Amsterdam. "Mass Superskunk aka Virginia Superskunk was not in the Garden." The only other plants in the room were NL#5, Sensi Super Skunk and Hawaiian Indica, and AJ and Weasel judged Super Skunk the most likely father. He added that "JJ think it may have been a different cross".⁵

3c. Father = Mass Super Skunk (popular version)

Confidence: disputed.

"Chemdawg 91 × Super Skunk" or "× Mass Super Skunk" is what most secondary databases and seed banks repeat.⁹¹⁰ It is explicitly denied for the Mass/Virginia Super Skunk by AJ via ThaDocta.⁵ Gaby ("Staten Island") and Notso say the "VA skunk" was a Virginia clone, distinct from the Sensi Super Skunk bought from seed.²¹²

High Times (Feb 2009) wrote that Mass Super Skunk, "various Chem strains", Mexican Sativa and Northern Lights had all been named as parents. It added that "the original East Coast Sour Diesel still grows strong … its secrets guarded by a few dedicated connoisseurs". High Times (May 2012) gives ECSD as "Chem Dog × Mass Super Skunk".¹³

3d. Sour Diesel = Mass Super Skunk × Underdog (Chem 91 × Sensi NL); Albany cut is the original

Confidence: reported (a forum synthesis of Weasel's podcast statements).

Overgrow user LonelyOC (2024-01-24) summarises Weasel's podcasts this way. Underdog/Headband = Chem 91 × Sensi Northern Lights. The Albany group bought seeded Mass Super Skunk bud that had been seeded by the Underdog, which gives Albany Sour Diesel = Mass Super Skunk × Underdog. AJ's Sour Diesel was a cut the Albany crew gave AJ. Weasel says "none of the seeds I popped from the same batch came out as this cut", and credits Sensi Seeds (Nevil) for turning Chem 91 into Sour.⁶ On the Craft Growers Network episode, Weasel recalls crossing "the Northern Lights into the Super Skunk". He says he sold a half-pound full of seeds that he didn't want, probably to JJ's or Bondo's circle, and doubts the buyers were buying "Sour" at the time.² In that version Chem 91 would be a grandparent rather than the mother. This directly competes with 3a/3b.

3e. Northern Lights × DNL-line Skunk pollinated a Chem 91 crop (dispensary synthesis)

Confidence: reported.

NugHub NY (Staten Island dispensary, 2026) says a hermaphrodite pollinated a Chem 91 crop in Weasel's room, "most likely" Northern Lights with a DNL-lineage skunk. Weasel had imported Sensi NL#5, Hawaiian Indica, Super Skunk, Early Pearl and Oasis. A seeded half-pound went to Vondo and AJ's circle, who grew three seeds as Diesel #1, #2 and #3.⁴

3f. Phylos/genomic placement

Confidence: unknown. A Phylos variety page for Sour Diesel (PGT-102325) exists but redirects; Leafly notes several distinct "Sour Diesel" chemotypes in West Coast lab data.¹⁴⁹

4. Naming

• "Diesel" was NYC slang for top-grade weed before it named a strain (MerryJane via High Times 2018).¹⁵⁸
• "Sour" — competing stories (all reported):
  • (i) Albany friends dubbed it "the Sour".¹
  • (ii) An Albany crew member wrote "Our Diesel" on a jar, which was misread as "Sour" (Notso's retelling on Craft Growers Network: the bag went to someone called "Manny", who read "our" as "sour"; NugHub cites "accounts from those present").²⁴
  • (iii) AJ: "It's called the Sour Diesel because it soured countless friendships, business relationships".⁴¹⁵

5. Timeline

• 1991 — Chemdog finds the Dogbud seeds; Chem 91 is kept (see chemdawg).¹
• 1992 (March, per NugHub) — Phish at Roseland: Weasel trades RFK and skunk cuts for Chem 91.¹²⁴
• 1993–1994 — Weasel runs Chem 91 alongside Amsterdam (Sensi) seed lines. The Albany circle (Vondo, Swell) collects seeds from his bud through 1994.²
• Late 1994 — AJ's crew names a seed plant "Diesel". Diesel #1/#2/#3 are grown.¹⁴
• 1995-05-01 — AJ dates receiving "sour diesel" (cut plus a jar) from Weasel to this day (podcast summary, search snippet only).¹⁶
• Mid–late 1990s — AJ is the main distributor (reportedly about 20 lb every few months; $500–550/oz wholesale, $800–1,000 street, $50 per 2 g).⁴¹
• ~2005 — After a break-in at AJ's, cuts from his mother plant circulate as "AJ's cut". Another grower recalls getting a "more lemon" AJ's cut around 2005–06.⁴¹⁷
• 2015-03-18 — ThaDocta posts AJ's account (Chem 91 × Sensi Super Skunk hermie).⁵
• 2024 — AJ partners with Flowerhouse (licensed NY) to bring the original Sour Diesel to the legal market. AJ appears on First Smoke of the Day (2024-01-16).⁴¹⁶

6. Notable cuts / phenotypes / remakes

• AJ's cut / East Coast Sour Diesel (ECSD). LonelyOC groups DHK, ECSD and "Chaco ECSD" as one clone and says Wing Wang is not AJ's. A forum grower concluded "ECSD is NOT AJ's Sour Diesel".⁶¹⁶
• Albany cut — argued to be the original, with AJ's cut descending from it.⁶
• Weasel's Diesel / Original Diesel (Diesel #1, Daywrecker, Underdog, "Headband") — see headband. LonelyOC groups the Amish, Schroomy420, Archive and Original Diesel cuts as one.⁶⁸
• Rez lines — Reeferman "Sour Diesel" = Rez SS-SD × East Coast Clone BX. The Riri cut came from the Rez IBL.¹⁸⁶
• "Gassy" modern cuts — Dave Perkins and the James Loud host contrast the "sour" of the 1990s with a gassier modern "Sour Diesel" sold as real.¹⁷
• Seed remakes: Barney's Farm Sour Diesel = Super Skunk × Chemdawg (70% sativa, 10–10.7 weeks); Royal Queen Seeds = Original Diesel × (NL × Shiva × Hawaiian); Fast Buds auto = Sour Diesel cut × FB Auto #1; Riot = Sour Diesel × Hawaiian Lites.¹⁰¹⁸

7. Historical descriptions by era

1994–2000. It was sold simply as "Diesel" for $50/g in 1990s NYC, and Wall Street buyers paid $800–1,000/oz.¹⁵¹ Insiders recall a taste that persists to the roach: "it still tastes like sour" after being relit several times.¹⁷

2005–2010. Subcool (2006, Chemdog's sample) found it "more dieselish" than sour, with an oily taste on the tongue, and it "hit me pretty hard".⁷

2015–present. Leafly: the most popular sativa-dominant strain on the platform, energising, with stress, anxiety and depression the most reported uses. Growers call it "not easy to grow". Inferior cuts flooded Sonoma/Mendocino.⁹¹⁷

8. Cannabinoid & terpene profile

Caveat: strain names are not reliable chemotype identifiers. "Sour Diesel" is among the most-tested names in US markets and spans several chemotypes (Leafly notes multiple West Coast "Sour Diesel" chemotypes).⁹

9. Community sentiment

• Energetic, cerebral sativa high; daytime use — common, positive, all eras.⁹¹⁵
• Unmistakable fuel/"sour" smell that lingers — common, positive; insiders say it can be identified from a cold roach.¹⁷⁷
• "Real Sour" authenticity disputes (AJ vs ECSD vs Albany vs gassy imposters) — common among growers, negative, 2005–present.⁶¹⁷¹⁶
• Hard to grow well; stretchy; long flowering — occasional, negative.¹⁷¹⁰
• Anxiety/racy at high doses — occasional, negative (consumer reviews).⁹

Representative paraphrases: the James Loud host said most "real Sour" handed to him is a gassier strain unlike the 1990s Sour, until one bag brought back 25 years of memories;¹⁷ Subcool found Chemdog's Sour Diesel sample more diesel than sour, but strong;⁷ LonelyOC argued that the Albany cut, not AJ's, is the original;⁶ AJ said the name comes from all the friendships it soured.⁴

Overall score: 82/100. This is an estimate from Leafly's large review base (about 8,500 effect reports per snippet) and consistently positive grower and insider sentiment, offset by authenticity disputes. Sample size estimate: about 8,500 Leafly effect reports, insider podcasts (Weasel, Gaby, Notso, Dave Perkins), and Overgrow threads. Reddit was not sampled for this strain.

Conflicts with lab data: Sour Diesel is marketed as the archetypal energising "sativa", but its label-wide profile is myrcene/caryophyllene/limonene (not the terpinolene profile common in sativa-labelled product), the same pattern as Chemdawg-labelled product, consistent with Chem 91 ancestry.

10. Open questions / could not verify

• AJ's own long-form accounts (First Smoke of the Day 2024-01-16; Light Culture "Joe 'AJ Sour Diesel' Murray Comes Out"; Adam Dunn Show): no transcripts read.
• The ICMag thread "Notsodog Sour Diesel" and the ThaDocta original post (Wayback 429; ICMag Cloudflare).
• Whether Diesel #1/#2/#3 were Chem 91 seed (3a/3b) or seeds from Super Skunk bud seeded by Underdog (3d). No genotype comparison of AJ/ECSD/Albany cuts was found.
• Phylos PGT-102325 page content (redirects).
• The exact year (1993 vs 1994) of the "Diesel" naming.

11. Sources