The history of Gelato 45

Timeline

1. 2012Sunset Sherbert is made by Mr. Sherbinski when a young Pink Panties male accidentally pollinates a room of GSC, according to Leafly’s history of the Cookies family.¹
2. Jun 16, 2014A private, invite-only tasting at a Cuban restaurant ends the pheno-hunt of Jigga and Mr. Sherbinski’s Sunset Sherbet × GSC seeds; Gelato 45 is among the keepers named for the numbers on their pots.¹
3. 2014–2015Mr. Sherbinski gives away Gelato 33, the sister cut nicknamed Larry Bird, and it goes into wide production in 2015.¹
4. Dec 2018Leafly names Gelato its Strain of the Year and lists “Michael Jordan (Gelato #45)” among its phenotypes.²
5. Dec 2018Sherbinski tells High Times the Gelato seeds produced #25, #33, #41, #45, #47 and #49.⁵
6. Mar 2019The earliest dated Gelato 45 flower test in our lab dataset, from Washington.⁶
7. 2020–2022Michigan labs test Gelato 45 flower 35 times, most of our sample.⁶
8. Mar 2021A Leafly column lists Gelato #45 (Michael Jordan) among the numbered Gelato phenotypes.⁷
9. 2021Helvetic Seeds describes Gelato 45 as “already an absolute legend in 2021” and a clone-only strain, which it now offers as feminized seed.³
10. Sep 2023The latest Gelato 45 flower test in our lab dataset, from Nevada; 53 tests in all, from 4 states.⁶
11. May 2024GreenState lists six official, Sherbinski-approved Gelato cuts and reports that Gelato 45 is unrecognized by Guzman.⁴
12. Oct 2024Leafly’s guide to the best Gelato crosses reports that Compound Genetics gave the lineage of its Jet Fuel Gelato as Gelato 45 × (High Octane × Jet Fuel).⁸
13. Oct 4, 2026Weedmaps shows Gelato 45 flower at 41 store listings in 7 of 27 US markets, 20 of them near Oklahoma City.⁹

How it spread

Through its family’s fame and a nickname. Leafly’s history says the numbers on the pots of the 2014 picks became famous, and credits high-quality indoor production and influencer marketing with creating huge demand for the elite plant.¹ By 2018 Leafly was listing Gelato #45 by its nickname, Michael Jordan, alongside Larry Bird.²

Then through seed and breeding. Helvetic Seeds and Barney’s Farm turned the clone into feminized seed, and breeders used it as a parent: Compound Genetics for Jet Fuel Gelato, which Leafly says plays a big part in Compound’s newer Jokerz, Backpack Boyz for Bubblegum Gelato, and, for Italian Ice, a breeder Leafly does not name.^3,8,10,11,12 It never became a big seller under its own name: it is absent from the national and state rankings we checked, which all include Gelato.^13,14,15

The disputed parts of the story

• Recognition: Sherbinski listed #45 among Gelato’s phenotypes in 2018 and Leafly’s history names it among the 2014 keepers, but in 2024 GreenState reported it unrecognized by Guzman and left off his six official cuts (see genetics).^1,4,5
• Parents: Leafly and AllBud write Girl Scout Cookies × Sherbet; Weedmaps and both seed sellers write Sunset Sherbet × Thin Mint GSC; Leafly’s Gelato page says Gelato was used to make #45, as if it were a later cross.^{3,10,16,17,18,19}
• Jet Fuel Gelato: Compound Genetics gave Leafly a lineage that includes Gelato 45, but Leafly’s Jet Fuel Gelato page lists only High Octane × Jet Fuel.^8,20
• The nickname: Leafly calls #45 Michael Jordan, and GreenState’s rule for the nicknames, athletes whose jersey numbers matched the plant numbers, fits the No. 45 Jordan wore in 1995; no source we opened ties the two directly.^2,4,21