Connoisseur Cup
A Colorado cannabis competition whose origins are still a mystery, but whose 2021 and 2022 editions left a clear trail in the press.
- 435results on record
- 2016–2026years in our data
- 11editions
- 199matched to strains
- Dave’s House in Denver, Coloradolatest location
01Beginnings
Every competition has an origin story, and this one's is currently a blank page. The sources gathered for the Connoisseur Cup, sometimes written Connoisseurs Cup, do not say who founded it, who organises it, when it began or why. The earliest dated evidence is its 2021 edition, so anything earlier is simply not documented here1.
Where it happens is clearer. A 2021 Leafly roundup places the Connoisseur Cup in Colorado and describes its April event as steering locals toward good products that year1. That phrasing hints at a mainly local audience, though the sources do not describe attendance, venues or how entries were gathered.
02The story so far
The 2021 edition had a two-stage shape. According to Leafly, seven qualifying rounds fed into a final held in April 20211. That is the fullest description of the format in the sources. How judges were chosen, how entries were scored and where the final took place are not documented. The same roundup singled out one Colorado brand, Natty Rems, as the one to watch after its wins at the event, which included a live resin cart, a live diamonds entry and a live batter entry1.
Leafly's 2022 roundup confirms a second edition, listing the 2022 Colorado Connoisseur Cup winners in its winners circle2. The sources do not give the date of the 2022 final. The results span several categories. DENREC's Purple Monkey Face Slap took best flower overall and its Zkittlez Kush Mints took best sativa, a Runtz from Lit Dispensary won the hybrid category, and Merakicanna's Dry Ice was named the indica winner2. In rosin concentrates, Harmony Extracts' Original Glue came out ahead of Runtz2.
03Culture and community
The 2021 roundup lists several Colorado brands under the Connoisseur Cup heading: Natty Rems, Billo Premium Cannabis, The Greenery Hash Factory, Evergreen Extracts and High Level Health1. The mix of names suggests the event was not only about flower, with concentrates and hash in the picture too. The sources say little about the people, parties or traditions around it, so the community side of the story remains to be filled in.
The cup also sits in a crowded field. Leafly counted 16 US cannabis contests in a 12-month span for 20211, and its 2022 roundup speaks of dozens of competitions that year, naming events such as the Cowboy Cup and the High Times People's Choice Cups2. A same-name caution applies as well. Colorado has a separate Colorado Cannabis Cup, and the 2022 roundup reports its winners on their own. Those are not Connoisseur Cup results2.
04Where it stands now
The most recent word in the sources is Leafly's 2022 roundup, which was last updated on 30 December 2022 and covers that year's winners2. Nothing in the gathered material describes a later edition, and nothing says whether the cup is running today. With no official-site text to check, its current status is not documented. The 2022 edition is the latest confirmed chapter.
05What comes next
No announced plans or outlook for the Connoisseur Cup were found. The sources include no official-site text and no statement about future editions, dates or format changes1. For now, the next chapter is an open question rather than a forecast.
The results, in our data
CannaLib holds 435 results from this cup across 11 years (2016 to 2026), 199 of them matched to a strain in the catalogue.
Recent first-place strains
| Year | Strain | Category | Entrant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Papaya | Overall Grand Champion Rosin | |
| 2024 | Quicksand | Industry Indica Flower | |
| 2024 | Chemmy Jones | Industry Sativa Flower | |
| 2024 | Peanut Butter Runtz | Industry Hybrid Flower | |
| 2024 | Summertime Zhootout | Non-Industry Indica Flower | |
| 2023 | Coffee Cake | Best Sun Grown Cannabis | @JasonCollins350 |
| 2023 | Super Lemon Haze | Industry Flower (Overall Grand Champion Flower) | @SuperFarm |
| 2023 | Gelato | Indica Dominant | @BioMeds719 |
| 2023 | Animal Face Mints | Sativa Dominant | @DenRec |
| 2023 | Top Fuel Cherries | Hybrid | @LoudCraftCannabis |
| 2023 | Juggernaut | Non-Industry Rosin | @Madd_Dabs (Overall Grand Champion Concentrate) |
| 2023 | The Blend | Shatter | @twitchextracts2.0 by G |
| 2023 | Lemonhead Delight | Best Sugar | @GlacierConcentratesCO |
| 2023 | Mac N Cheese | Best Wax | @HashTagHash |
Editions on record
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020 · Denver, Colorado
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023 · Dave’s House in Denver, Colorado
- 2024 · Dave’s House in Denver, Colorado
Sources
- Cannabis Cup winners of 2021 and where to buy them | Leafly
- All of 2022's Cannabis Cup winners and where to buy them | Leafly
Written from the sources above and checked on 2026-10-29. Spot an error? Tell us on the contact page.