Tahoe OG

1. Summary

Tahoe OG is an OG Kush clone associated with the Lake Tahoe region of eastern Northern California. It was popularised on the SoCal clone scene in the 2000s and made into seed by Swerve of The Cali Connection around 2009–2010. That seed line is the "original and legendary Tahoe clone" × his SFV OG Kush F3 male; there is also a feminized Tahoe × Tahoe S1 version.¹²

The seed line is a verified breeder statement. Its 2011 Amsterdam Cup placings (3rd Indica, 1st Seed-Company Hash as Tahoe OG Kush wax) are verified in High Times and Wikipedia.³⁴

Where the clone came from is disputed or unknown:

• Cali Connection calls it "the original OG Kush clone from Lassen County, Northern California".²
• A 2010 THCFarmer catalogue says Swerve got it from a grower who sourced it around Lake Tahoe in the 1990s. Another poster in that thread tied the source to South Shore Lake Tahoe, 1988–95.⁵
• Retail copy credits a breeder "Ganja Guru" in the Tahoe/Mammoth region.⁶
• The OG Kush origin legend relayed by Danko (2016) has a Chem 91 S1 bag seed reaching Lake Tahoe around 1994.⁷

High Times itself described Tahoe as both "from eastern Cali" (2011) and "a classic Southern California Kush" (2012).¹³ Forum belief that Tahoe, Ghost and the Josh D OG are genetically one clone remains unverified.⁸

2. Identity

• Names/aliases: Tahoe OG, Tahoe OG Kush, Tahoe Kush (clone), TOG, "Tahoe OG Nor Cal" (WA lab name).¹²⁹
• Type as reported: indica-dominant (Cali Connection); "heavy indica" (Future Cannabis Project growers).²¹⁰
• Era: clone in the 1990s (claimed); seeds from about 2009–2010; awards 2011 onward.⁵¹
• Keepers/breeder: clone keeper unknown; seed line by Swerve (The Cali Connection).¹²
• Propagation: both.
• Region: Lake Tahoe / Lassen County (eastern NorCal), then migrated south as a clone.²¹¹

3. Genetics & lineage claims

3a. Clone "from Lassen County" / Lake Tahoe region (Cali Connection)

Confidence: reported (a breeder statement about a clone he did not originate). Cali Connection: "the original OG Kush clone from Lassen County, Northern California".² High Times (2013, a Harborside entry): "Originating in the Tahoe region of NorCal and migrating south in clone form".¹¹

3b. Brought in by Swerve from a grower who sourced it around Lake Tahoe (1990s); South Shore 1988–95

Confidence: reported (forum, 2010).⁵

3c. Bred by "Ganja Guru" from OG Kush phenotypes, Tahoe/Mammoth region

Confidence: reported (retail menu copy only; the same copy says recent genetic testing linked Tahoe cuts to OG Kush, with no citation).⁶

3d. Tahoe as the landing place of a Chem 91 S1 bag seed (~1994) that became OG Kush

Confidence: reported (a legend relayed by Danko; Chemdog denies OG descends from Chemdog). See og-kush §3d.⁷ Skunk VA separately recalls a friend who knew Chemdog moving to Tahoe in the late 1990s and receiving Chem Dog cuts from him. This is circumstantial and is not evidence for 3d.¹²

3e. Same clone as the Josh D OG / Ghost OG

Confidence: reported (forum belief; no genotype report seen).⁸

4. Seed versions (breeder statements)

• Tahoe OG Kush (regular) = Tahoe Kush clone × SFV OG Kush F3 male. Seedfinder's copy also says "SFV OG IBL F7 male". The two generation numbers conflict.¹³²
• Tahoe OG (feminized) = Tahoe mother × reversed Tahoe S1 male. Seedfinder's basic info also says "never available as feminized", which contradicts this.²
• Flowering: 60–65 days (about 63).² High Times 2011 gives 9–10 weeks.¹
• Derivatives: Buddha Tahoe (Cali Connection, made for the 2011 Cup; 3rd for Green Place); Strawberry Tahoe; White Tahoe Cookies.³⁹

5. Timeline

• 1988–1995 — South Shore Lake Tahoe source era (forum claim).⁵
• ~1994 — Chem 91 S1 Lake Tahoe legend.⁷
• 2009–2010 — Cali Connection Tahoe OG Kush seeds. In Nov 2010 Swerve showcases Tahoe at the Cup.¹³
• 2011-01 — Danko lists Tahoe OG Kush in "Top 10 Kush Strains of All Time".¹
• 2011-11 — 24th HT Cannabis Cup Amsterdam: Tahoe OG (Cali Connection) 3rd Indica; Tahoe OG Kush wax 1st Seed-Company Hash; Buddha Tahoe (Green Place) 3rd.³⁴¹⁴
• 2013 — Harborside's Tahoe OG Kush tests at 22% THC and appears in HT's Strongest Strains list; Cali Connection reports 2nd Best Hybrid at the LA Medical Cup.¹¹²
• 2016 — Tahoe OG Live Resin places 3rd for Best Hybrid Concentrate (Michigan Cup).¹⁵

6. Historical descriptions by era

• 2011–2013: "thick nuggets completely covered in glistening, glandular trichomes" without the "hermaphroditic tendencies" of imitations; calming, relieves insomnia, bodily pain and stress (HT 2011); "citrus-and-diesel fu[el]" flavour (HT 2012).¹³
• Grower recollection: "The limonene and Tahoe… you could just smell this citrus coming off that plant with that fuel underneath"; "perfectly formed colas, chunky".¹⁰

7. Cannabinoid & terpene profile

Caveat: strain names are not reliable chemotype identifiers.

Limonene-forward lab profiles agree with the "citrus over fuel" descriptions. This is one of the few cases where lab data and lore line up.

8. Community sentiment

• Citrus-fuel aroma; heavy, calming indica high — common, positive.¹¹⁰
• Seed version stable, free of hermaphrodites — occasional, positive (HT 2011).¹
• Origin and "which OG is it" confusion — occasional, neutral.⁵⁸

Overall score: 80/100 (an estimate from consistently positive press and grower recollections; no large review sample was read). Reddit not sampled.

9. Open questions

• Who held the original Tahoe clone, and was it Lassen County or South Shore?
• Genotype comparison of Tahoe with the Josh D OG and Ghost.
• The SFV male generation used (F3 per High Times vs F7 IBL per Seedfinder).
• The "Ganja Guru" attribution (retail copy only).

10. Sources