PTS Solutions Bruce Banner Hash comes damned close to the Hashish we experienced in the old days. It’s got the taste, the scent and the buzz that nearly defined being high for a generation.
Back when I smoked hashish for the first time, sometime in the seventies, Led Zeppelin was a working band. Led Zep wasn’t shy about pot. References were dropped and we picked up on them. Page and Plant in particular were world travelers, going to exotic locations to explore the region, the music and the weed. Or even decamping to a cottage in Wales where rings of smoke floated through the trees.
I loved hashish from the first hit, the spicy aroma, the tart taste and the euphoric high. I didn’t mind it was hard to smoke. Bongs burned through it too quickly. Pipes were a bit better, and if you didn’t have one of those you could make one out of a beer can with a pocket knife. There was also putting it on a thumbtack, lighting it and covering it with a glass. You’d lift the edge of the glass off the table, press your lips to the opening and inhale. It was surprisingly effective, and trippy watching the glass fill with smoke. I even tried rolling hash with tobacco, the British “reefer.” Any method was fine for me.
Why is hashish scarce in southern Illinois?
It always seemed to be scarce in southern Illinois, and by the early eighties it might as well have been non existent. Aside from a few encounters in other countries, I’d not seen it since.
It’s not that hard to make, it just requires a lot of pot and patience. I never felt safe paying for an ounce of weed to try to make something and have it not work out.
In Europe it’s a great product because it’s easier to transport and smuggle than buds or flower. But here in the midwest, where illegal marijuana has been one of the largest cash crops for every state around us for decades, transportation isn’t an issue.
When Cannabis was legalized in Illinois I had a glimmer of hope that it might make a comeback. But over a year into it, I’d yet to hear of it being available. Even worse, any kind of concentrate was frequently being referred to as hash. I worried the original would get swallowed up by the trendy.
I lit it quickly, just enough for a wisp of smoke. It feels familiar rushing into my lungs, the scent wafting up into my eagerly anticipating, hairy little nostrils – the hairs come to attention – they remember this scent. My lips curl into a smile as the taste tickles my tongue. It is in fact, the real deal.
The traditional methods of manufacturing were done by hand, which makes it a premium product. Yet the THC levels, though higher than buds or flower, was noticeably less than most concentrates. So you pay more for a product that isn’t going to get you substantially higher.
Unless you count the variables which are impossible to measure. Which is, Hashish is fucking magical. It’s one of the big reasons Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings took off in the sixties and seventies. Hobbits and hashish blend perfectly.
And what band was most responsible for bringing Tolkien to the rock and roll audience? Led Zep of course.
A surprise on the menu
I didn’t actually need anything from the dispensary, but we needed cheese, which meant going to Harrisburg or Evansville. We didn’t feel like dealing with traffic, so we opted for Harrisburg. Since we were going to be there, I took a look at the menu.
It listed hash under concentrates and I assumed it was hash oil. I was well stocked with that and didn’t click it, but scrolled through the full listing. There at the bottom I saw it … PTS Solutions Bruce Banner Hash. Not hash oil. Hash.
I leapt from my chair, straight up, then came back down and reread it.
The first taste of PTS Bruce Banner Hash
A little over an hour later it’s in my hand, a little chunk broken off and being loaded into the hash pipe. It’s a new hash pipe, as the old one was polluted with various strains of weed. I wanted to find out if PTS Bruce Banner Hash indeed tasted and most important, smelled like the hashish I remembered.
I lit it quickly, just enough for a wisp of smoke. It feels familiar rushing into my lungs, the scent wafting up into my eagerly anticipating, hairy little nostrils – the hairs come to attention – they remember this scent. My lips curl into a smile as the taste tickles my tongue. It is in fact, the real deal.
Sitting in the garden took on a psychedelic tone pretty quickly … the trees came alive, the wind whispered through the leaves, the dappled sunlight danced across the grass. I expected Gandalf to come sauntering up with his staff at any time.
Mostly. The taste and scent isn’t as strong as others I’ve tasted over the years, which likely came from parts of the world where hash originated. But it’s close enough for someone starving for it.
The smile lasted all the way home, and soon I found myself in the garden, ready to put PTS Bruce Banner Hash to the test.
Bruce Banner isn’t a traditional hashish, but it works
Bruce Banner is a sativa strain, with some reporting hints of strawberry in the taste and scent. It’s a bit disappointing in that this isn’t a pure, middle eastern strain traditionally used in making hashish. It’s a modern hybrid, with roots in the Hindu Kush region at least. But for fuck’s sake, it’s named after The Incredible Hulk. You shouldn’t expect authenticity, and content yourself with the taste, the scent and the buzz.
The buzz is right on the money. There’s the burst of euphoria, even after the excitement of hashish wanes. It’s an energetic buzz, which reminds me that some of the most horrific manual labor jobs I ever did back in the day, were made bearable by chewing hash while I did them.
And on the other hand, it was the ideal buzz for sitting in the garden and greeting the hummingbirds which were just arriving after wintering down south.
I was a little disappointed in the taste and scent, as it wasn’t as pungent or identifiable as the authentic hash I’ve had in Europe. You have to pay attention to catch it but it’s there.
Most of all, the wife was happy about it, and even picked up a gram for me as a treat. She doesn’t smoke it, but likely figures it will improve my mood. She’s right, and I love her for that.
“Everything’s so fucking green!”
Sitting in the garden took on a psychedelic tone pretty quickly … the trees came alive, the wind whispered through the leaves, the dappled sunlight danced across the grass. I expected Gandalf to come sauntering up with his staff at any time. Instead, it was the wife bringing me tea, which brought forth another upwelling of love for her in my black heart.
The cat followed her outside and she joined me on the patio, providing comic relief. She’s not the bravest cat on the planet, very particular about her appearance. Till she feels the warm bricks of the patio and rolls till she’s coated in grass, dirt and whatever else is down there.
It wasn’t Led Zeppelin I reached for in the garden, but Rush, Fly By Night. The Tolkien estate owes a huge debt of gratitude to both bands, who infiltrated stoned teenaged minds with references to Tolkien’s books, and sent them scurrying to the school library.
By the time the medieval sounding guitar on Rivendell came in, I was caught up in memories. Hash is a great drug for that, for letting fantasies wash over you. It’s perfect for sitting in the garden, our own little Rivendell in our own back yard.
And that’s how I spent my day with PTS Bruce Banner Hash. Getting acquainted, finding pleasure in the little things, laughing at a cat. Seeing all these things I need to be doing in the garden, knowing I had time to do them, and declining because just sitting there, breathing, being alive felt too damned good to get up.
The Particulars
Brush Banner Hash by PTS
THC 40%
Progressive Treatment Solutions manufactures Bruce Banner Hash without solvents. The trichomes are frozen off the flower, using liquid nitrogen, which leaves a fine chief. It’s hand sifted and freeze dried, then hand pressed into bricks using low heat and a brick press.