Blue Moonshine

Lineage & Genetics

Cross: Blue family (Highland Thai / Purple Thai x Afghani)

What follows is family context, not a breeder-confirmed parent list for this specific cross; DJ Short has never published the exact parents of Blue Moonshine. The Blue Family foundation itself is verified and breeder-sourced: all of his Blue lines come from three P1 groups, a Highland 'Juicy Fruit' Thai, an Oregon 'Purple Thai' (Highland Oaxaca Gold x Chocolate Thai), and an Afghani indica that supplied the male. Afghani (indica P1, male side) is the dominant contributor to Blue Moonshine's character, and DJ Short describes it as short with large wide leaves, stout and thick-stemmed, early to very early maturing, producing large dense buds that smell earthen to skunk with a generally sedative smoke; he says it reached him through the Northern California and Southern Oregon growing community around 1979, and that he selected the male for stout full structure and a strong musky skunkish odor. Highland 'Juicy Fruit' Thai (sativa P1, female side) is described by the breeder as a maze of many branches in a full bushy tangle, late-blooming at 10 to 16 weeks indoors, with at least minimal hermaphroditism. Purple Thai (Highland Oaxaca Gold x Chocolate Thai, female side) is described as symmetrically branching, tall, and late to bloom. Blueberry appears here only as a relative: SeedFinder lists it as Blue Moonshine's immediate ancestor, and Dutch Passion describes Blueberry as about 80% indica and 20% sativa, mainly Afghani indica with Thai and minor Oaxacan sativa. Temple Flo (Purple Thai x Afghani) and HTAF (Thailand x Afghani) are database ancestors per SeedFinder and GrowDiaries, with no independent breeder confirmation of their role in Blue Moonshine specifically.

Terpene Profile

Aroma: Berry and blueberry lead, and that much is verified: DJ Short calls it a blueberry indica, AllBud lists blueberry, earthy, floral and sweet aromas, and Leafly lists plum, blueberry and berry among the top notes. Over the top of the fruit sits the fermented, sharp note that reportedly gave the strain its name, described by Leafly as a sharp and fruity smell that brings to mind fermentation and by AllBud as notes of fermentation. An ICMag grower who ran the original stock reported an actual moonshine whiskey smell alongside a hashy earthiness and a sweet pot character. Hashy and earthy notes fit the breeder's 'true hash plant' framing. Consumer reviewers on Leafly, working from dispensary product of uncertain provenance, go further with grape and blueberry syrup kool aid stench and blueberries warm from the summer sun. Nose intensity is unknown from breeder or distributor sources; Leafly calls the smell sharp and one reviewer calls it a stench, which is why it is rated moderate and flagged unverified here.

Flavor: Sweet blueberry and berry fruit over a hashy, earthy base. AllBud lists berry, blueberry, citrus, pine and sweet; Leafly's top flavors are plum, blueberry and berry. The ICMag grower who compared original Blue Moonshine to Blueberry found it much more hashy in taste, hashy and earthy, with the whiskey-like fermented note and a sweet character; one Leafly reviewer describes the smoke as cotton candy. The fermented or whiskey-like fruit note is a reported observation from two consumer sites and one grower, not a breeder claim.

Effects & Experience

Onset: Unknown. Neither the breeder nor Dutch Passion documents how quickly the effect arrives, and no grower report found gives an onset time.

Narcotic and body-heavy, and this is one of the few points where the breeder and the distributor agree outright. DJ Short's description says it produces a very narcotic experience and a body high, and Dutch Passion sold it as a long lasting, very narcotic experience. The Overgrow strain guide grower report rates the effect couchlock and body stone with potency at 8 out of 10, and SeedFinder's Dutch Passion data rates potency middle-high to high with slightly below average tolerance buildup. Consumer reports are softer and come from dispensary product of uncertain provenance: Leafly readers across 101 ratings list aroused, sleepy and relaxed as the top effects with dry eyes, dry mouth and dizziness as the common negatives, while AllBud reviewers list creative, euphoric, happy and relaxing.

Duration: Long lasting, per Dutch Passion's own description. No source gives an hour count, so the actual duration is unknown.

Grower's Notes

History & Origin

DJ Short, a Detroit native working out of Oregon who has bred cannabis since 1978, built the Blue Family gene pool through the late 1970s and 1980s from Thai, Oaxacan and Afghani P1 stock. The exact year Blue Moonshine was first selected is unknown. In the mid-1990s he supplied genetics to Sagarmatha, the source of Blueberry, Flo and Blue Velvet, then partnered with Dutch Passion; Overgrow records that in that period he also created several new lines including Blue Heaven, Blue Moonshine and Purple Passion. Dutch Passion states that Blueberry was introduced to the Dutch market in 1998 together with Blue Velvet, Blue Moonshine, Flo and Blue Heaven, and PhenoDB says it was introduced to Dutch Passion in the 1990s; the 1998 date is verified only as Dutch Passion's own claim, and the year DJ Short actually bred the plant is unknown. Dutch Passion later sold a feminized version DJ Short never made, noted as newly available by a SeedFinder user in December 2008. A Dutch Passion customer asked in 2015 why Blue Moonshine was no longer produced after the remaining stock sold out around the end of 2014, the company's Blue Moonshine product URL now redirects to a general catalog page, and ICMag posters describe the seed line as extinct or discontinued. DJ Short's later related releases are Old Time Moonshine, which one ICMag poster claims is a later generation of the same line, and Velvet Krush, which another poster calls a reworked Blue Moonshine; both claims are unverified. Seeds Here Now lists Old Time Moonshine as a DJ Short heirloom known for fruity flavor and potent indica effects. DJ Short has publicly asserted sole ownership of the names and parental stock of Original Blue Moonshine and Old Time Moonshine. His current seed brand is Old World Genetics.

Notable Crosses

Strains bred using Blue Moonshine as a parent:

Frequently Asked Questions