Why Colorado Tokers Love Layer Cake

British crime movies from the early 2000s are underrated. Guy Ritchie's heyday of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and RocknRolla, as well as other films like In Bruges, are extremely fun rewatchables. They all catch good actors (Jason Statham, Gerard Butler, Idris Elba, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson) on their come-ups or comebacks, and there's action and subtitle-required humor from start to end. Watching those movies before the actors became stars instills a sense of pride, just like finding a strain before the general public does. In fact, strain discoveries might be even better. I can't stream a bong hit into my lungs.

Layer Cake, a 2004 twist of cocaine and violence starring a pre-007 Daniel Craig and an even younger Tom Hardy, is another slept-on British crime flick, but I was late to that one. I was also the yuppie who never got the party invite for Layer Cake, a tasty weed hybrid from Swamp Boys Seeds. Somebody had better tell me about their next bake sale, or I'm officially a loser.

Layer Cake has been circulating around home grows and the occasional dispensary for several years, but it's  now gaining a foothold in Denver. With parents like Wedding Cake, GMO, Triangle Kush and Skunk #1, it's easy to see the strain's potential — and why Swamp Boys deemed it worthy of such a name. (If you like checking out weed porn on Instagram, Swamp Boys and its growers are worth the follow. Their experiments and flagship strains look alien compared to early chronic shots in High Times.)

Guy Ritchie went from making crime movies to Disney blockbusters. Consider Layer Cake the Lock, Stock of Swamp Boys' ascension in the cannabis world, because this strain and its breeders are likely moving on to much bigger things than my pipe. We've spotted it at 1136 Yuma, Frosted Leaf, the Green Solution, Higher Grade, KrystaLeaves, Peak MJ and Universal Herbs, but I'm willing to bet that far more shops are carrying Layer Cake.

Looks: Close-up photos of Layer Cake look like those of a hairy spider, with such thick, fuzzy trichomes on the fan leaves and certain buds that you can't even see the shades of lime green and light-purple calyxes vying for attention underneath.

Smell: Layer Cake hits a lot of the same notes as other popular Cake and Pie strains. Berry, sugar and yeast smells mix together with light rubbery fumes, reminiscent of dates, cardamom and Now and Laters candy with hints of spicy rubber and pine.

Flavor: Layer Cake's fruity berry flavors are noticeable up front, but there are starchy overtones and a funky finish, almost like a rice cake covered in blueberry yogurt. Those Triangle Kush and Skunk influences are not to be ignored, however, with hints of rubber and pine lingering around after hits.

Effects: Just like ogres and onions, this high is layered, beginning with an intense elation that quickly fades into a functional (albeit slightly slower-moving) body high that keeps me relatively free of pain and completely free of stress. Layer Cake's calming effects and consistent pain relief are both good reasons for me to return to it for future happy hour and evening grill sessions, keeping me high-flying and sociable.

Home grower's take: "I tried out Layer Cake more than two years ago after walking by a Swamp Boys booth at the Indo Expo; I think they've retired it since, though. I'm sure some people have cloned it enough to stick around a little, but I was too stupid to try. It's too bad, because the plants were really easy on me. Uniform tops across the board, and I took it down well inside two months. Anything that easy and bomb is sure to make an impression on my friends in the industry. Not surprised it has — that tingly body high and stress relief is real."

Is there a strain you'd like to see profiled? Email marijuana@westword.com.