8 Best Smelling Cannabis Strains

Cannabis aroma can give you away. Strains once all smelled alike. Smoking a joint would blow your cover with pungent skunk and diesel aromas. The odor would spread quickly and thoroughly, and it would cling to hair, skin, clothes, and surroundings.

Thanks to continued research and development of hybrids, you can choose among many strains with pleasant and favored exhale. The smell often indicates the origin of the strain, perhaps its parentage or region. More important, a pleasing aroma complements and completes the experience.

Terpenes and cannabis strains 

The cannabis smell originates in the plant’s terpenes. Botanists have identified over 20,000 terpenes among organic plants, flowers, and trees. These essential oils develop through evolution. Some attract pollinators; some repel pests.

Terpenes are very pronounced in herbs and spices. They identify parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. In the cannabis world, breeders have focused on empowering terpenes for several reasons:

  1. Attractive smells lure customers.

  2. Aromas differentiate and increase the market inventory.

  3. Research into hybrid creation can increase the farming potential or customize the outcomes.

Cannabis customers now have several great-smelling cannabis strains to try and can look forward to more. 

8 best smelling cannabis strains:

  1. Cherry Pie

Strain: Indica-dominant Hybrid (80% Indica / 20% Sativa) with 16% to 24% THC and 1% CBD

Genetics: Grand Daddy Purple X Durban Poison

Reputation: Cherry Pie offers the comforting smell of cherry pie baking in the oven. This strain delivers an elevating euphoria improving your mood and creative focus. Some find it sedating, but most feel a brain and body relaxation. Many try Chery Pie for its medical benefits that relieve signs of anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and other stressors.

  1. Blueberry

Strain: Indica-dominant Hybrid (80% Indica / 20% Sativa) with 16% to 24% THC and 1% CBN

Genetics: Proprietary hybrid, possible Purple Thai X Afghan landrace

Reputation: Blueberry is an award-winning and hugely popular strain. As you exhale the sweet blueberry and vanilla smoke, you wait for the slow euphoric creep. It will leave you slightly hazy but calm and at peace. Users select the Blueberry strain for its spicey floral taste and aroma to treat chronic anxiety, depression, fatigue, and migraines.

  1. Mango Kush

Strain: Indica-dominant Hybrid (65% Indica / 35% Sativa) with 11% to 20% THC

Genetics: Mango X Hindu Kush

Reputation: Mango taste and aroma complements many dishes. It also provides a background or accent to other sensations. In Mango Kush, you find smells of ripe mangoes and bananas with hints of woodsy pine. The moderate THC levels and negligible CBD traces produce an intense euphoria leading to general sedation. Users find themselves chatting and giggling, and many try it to treat appetite and sleeping disorders.

  1. Strawberry

Strain: A balanced strain (50% Indica / 50% Sativa) with 15% to 18% THC

Genetics: Proprietary origin

Reputation: Breeders have used Strawberry to design and inform several hybrids. You will smell the strawberry properties as the plant grows and smoke heightens it. It carries that earthy underlayer you notice while picking fresh berries. The balanced composition and moderate THC provide a mild uplift and euphoria to relieve chronic fatigue and stress.

  1. Pineapple Haze

Strain: Sativa-dominant Hybrid (70% Sativa / 30% Indica) with 19% THC

Genetics: Pineapple X Haze

Reputation: Take a good whiff of a pineapple, and you will smell the soil from its plantation. Cut the pineapple, and you will enjoy the rich, sugary taste and aroma. The THC provides a cerebral euphoria with creative energy that will drive an active day. Users testify to its therapeutic effects on chronic pain, fatigue, and PTSD.

  1. Sugar Candy

Strain: Sativa-dominant Hybrid (60% Sativa / 40% Indica) with 22% to 25% THC

Genetics: Sugar Black Rose X Caramelo

Reputation: Sugary candy is complex with flavors of mango and licorice and smells of mint and lavender. The potent THC level creates a heady euphoria and hazy stone. It will leave you couch-locked and treats inflammation-related pain, chronic stress and depression, and muscle cramps and spasticity.

  1. Do-Si-Dos

Strain: Indica-dominant Hybrid (70% Indica / 30% Sativa) with 28% to 30% THC

Genetics: Girl Scout Cookies X Face Off OG

Reputation: This super potent strain tastes like Girl Scout mint thins. Its aroma mixes mint with fresh-squeezed lime and forest pine. A warm sedating couch-lock will follow a short-lived euphoric buzz. People smoke it late in the evening to manage sleeping disorders, depression, and chronic pain.

  1. Super Lemon Haze

Strain: Sativa-dominant Hybrid (80% Sativa / 20% Indica) with 25% THC, 1% CBD, and 2% CBN

Genetics: Lemon Skunk X Super Silver Haze

Reputation: Super Lemon Haze smells of sour lemon drops with a taste to match. This award-winning strain out of Washington will hit your head fast and hard. It boosts your mood and energy, leaving you happy and creative. The CBD tops off that euphoria, but this is not a strain for first-time users. Some users say it eases anxiety, depression, and stress, but others report feeling paranoia.

Smells of fruits, tropics, and flowers –

There are more strains with pleasant aromas, of course. But you may want to avoid those smelling of gas, diesel, or dank forest. They are the giveaways.

This short list shows no connection or correlation between aroma and Indica, Sativa, or THC percentage. You can start your selection by asking the dispensary budtender and by smelling the nugs presented. Most cannabis flowers give off the fragrance the smoke will release. Take time and do some research. Try a variety before settling on the taste and smell you enjoy best.