First and foremost I want to give a huge thanks to Matt Lawson-Baker of Alternative Solutions for meeting with us and giving us a virtual tour of their absolutely phenomenal medical cultivation facility here in Washington D.C. Seeing their multiple grow rooms, all setup with the highest quality equipment controlling everything from airflow and humidity to nutrient absorption, was enough to make a long time small batch cultivator wide-eyed like a kid in a candy store - and this was over Zoom.
Just to put a point on something to the tokerverse out there, Alternative Solutions is a medical cannabis cultivator. That means you can only find their beautiful buds at medical dispensaries and you have to have a medical cannabis license to procure them. Have no fear, though, because we have a fun guide on how to get your medical cannabis license here in DC (coming very soon), and one coming in the near future on how you can get your medical cannabis license in Virginia. Note that the District now has full reciprocity for other states' medical cannabis programs, so you can grab your MD, VA, PA, CA, FL, etc. medical marijuana cards and stop in to a DC dispensary right away. If you need to get your card, know kind of how it works, and are looking for a way to get started, we recommend Veriheal. Their system is super straight forward and smooth from start to finish. You can have your medical marijuana card in no time!
Now, with all that said, when you get your medical marijuana license, and for those of you who already have it, I highly recommend that you check out the magnificence that is Alternative Solutions line of hand-finished flower. People often say, "you won't be disappointed". These guys and their bud aren't even in the same universe as disappointment - and that ladies and gentlemen is what people say about you when you are clearly and relentlessly striving for excellence.
When we were originally beginning to hunt for the best medical bud we could find in town, we went around to every dispensary in the District and we kept asking "hey, what's the best flower you've got in right now". Time and time again the answer would invariably include at least one, if not three, specimens from Alternative Solutions. We've already reviewed their Panama Red, which we found utterly fantastic and a delightful experience (can't wait for more), so now we bring to you their own mega exotic creation dubbed Tiger Rose.
A completely unique and exclusive cultivar, Tiger Rose is a cross of the most orange/citrus heavy aroma and flavor monster, Blood Orange, and Topanga Zkittles. Yes, if it seems like Alt. Sol. is throwing around some really exotic genetics it's because....THEY ARE. Matt told me they literally have a strain hunter traveling the world looking for the best and most exotic pheno's to breed with. They are cultivating their own strains and Tiger Rose is the pinnacle of these efforts so far.
Extremely colorful, overtly citrus in aroma and flavor, and splattercasted (I don't care if that's not a word) with heavy trichomes, this 50/50 hybrid is something to behold. My buddy after seeing and partaking in it said "it's kind of like comic book weed bro" and then went on an hours long walk outside. When he came back he said "what was that called again?" and went on and on about it's "gentle euphoria" and his "glowing frontal lobe". My point is that this guy is a long time connoisseur and he was absolutely raving about it.
As an enormous fan of Tangie and its many offshoots, the Blood Orange phenotype must be, as Matt says, the most like fresh oranges ever. It's influence on the aroma of the Tiger Rose alone is enough to make me an instant and lifelong fan. There's something deeper and more complex there, though, and it's quite apparent that it's the Topanga Zkittles shining through. Because of it, the powerful orange flavor is subsequently injected with a blast of sugary creaminess. At this point, I realized what I thought had been so citrusy sweet, was actually now more laden with a cake-like flavor...sort of like an orange Milano cookie. SO delicious!
Anyhow, we couldn't be more impressed with Tiger Rose, Panama Red, and all the great work Matt's doing over there at Alternative Solutions. Do yourself a favor and the next time you're in your local DC medical dispensary ask them if they have any Alt. Sol. in stock, then get prepared to be blown away if they do.