NYC Diesel is a sativa-leaning hybrid cannabis strain bred by Soma Seeds in Amsterdam and named as a tribute to the fuel-scented cannabis of 1990s New York. It is not the same plant as Sour Diesel. On Oct 8, 2026 it was on 2 of the 32 licensed New York City dispensary menus we read, at $49 per eighth.
NYC Diesel at a glance
| Type | Sativa-leaning hybrid; labeled sativa on NYC menus |
|---|---|
| Breeder | Soma Seeds, Amsterdam |
| Lineage | Reported as a diesel-leaning female crossed with an Afghani male |
| THC | High teens to low twenties in most profiles; 32% on the NYC labels we saw |
| Terpenes | Myrcene, caryophyllene and limonene (reported) |
| Aroma and flavor | Grapefruit, lime and red berries over a fuel note |
| Not the same as | Sour Diesel |
| On NYC menus | 4 of 32 on Oct 19, 2026 (2 on Oct 8) |
| NYC menu price | $49 per eighth |
NYC figures come from our read of 32 licensed dispensary flower menus on Oct 8, 2026. See how we built the dataset. Page updated Oct 19, 2026.
Update, Oct 19, 2026: our full recount of all 32 menus found NYC Diesel on 4 of them, against 23 for Sour Diesel. The shop list further down is from the Oct 8 read; the current shop list is in our database.
NYC Diesel is the strain that wears the city on its label, which is exactly why people mix it up with Sour Diesel. They are different plants from different places, and only one of them was born in New York.
A Dutch strain named after a New York smell
NYC Diesel is a bred cultivar with a known breeder, which already separates it from most of the diesel family. It is credited to Soma Seeds, the Amsterdam seed house founded by the American grower known as Soma, and it was developed in the Netherlands.
The name is a tribute to the city. By the time Soma released it, the diesel smell was already shorthand for East Coast cannabis, and the strain was named for the association. Seed catalogues commonly describe the cross as a diesel-leaning female paired with an Afghani male, with some accounts adding a Mexican or South American sativa in the background. As with most 1990s genetics, the parents come from the breeder’s account, and nobody has documented them.
So if someone tells you NYC Diesel is the original New York strain, they have it backwards. Sour Diesel is the one with the East Coast origin claim. NYC Diesel is the Dutch answer to it.
Aroma and flavor
This is the sweet end of the diesel family. The fuel note is there, but it sits under grapefruit, lime and something close to red berries, which is unusual in a diesel-named plant and is the main reason growers kept it around. People who find Sour Diesel harsh often prefer this one.
Reported terpene profiles lean on myrcene, caryophyllene and limonene, with the citrus character coming through strongest in well-grown cuts.
THC and what to expect
NYC Diesel generally tests in the high teens to low twenties for THC, a little gentler than a modern Sour Diesel cut, with negligible CBD. Modern cuts can run well above that: the two NYC menus that carried it on Oct 8, 2026 both listed it at 32%. It has a long-standing reputation as a sativa-leaning, talkative, daytime strain, though it is a hybrid and plenty of people find it more relaxing than advertised.
Those are consumer impressions, and yours may differ. Effects depend on dose, tolerance, the specific cut and what else you have taken. Use our THC calculator if you want the milligram figure behind the percentage on the label.
Where to buy NYC Diesel in New York
NYC Diesel is far less common on licensed New York menus than Sour Diesel. On Oct 8, 2026 it was on 2 of the 32 NYC dispensary menus we read, against 15 for Sour Diesel: Lenox Hill Cannabis Co. in Manhattan and Two Buds Dispensary in the Bronx, with flower from the growers Dank By Definition and Smoakland, at $49 per eighth and labeled 32% THC. The live entry is under NYC Diesel in our NYC weed strains database. Names in this family also get used loosely. Products sold as NY Diesel, NYC Sour Diesel or New York Diesel are not reliably the Soma cultivar; some are Sour Diesel crosses and some are new genetics wearing an old name. If the exact cultivar matters to you, ask the shop who grew it and read the certificate of analysis. The jar label alone will not tell you.
Buy only from a licensed shop. Our license checker looks up any store by name, street or ZIP against the state list, the Office of Cannabis Management has its own verification page, and our NYC dispensary directory lists every licensed shop by borough.
NYC Diesel FAQ
Is NYC Diesel the same as Sour Diesel?
No. NYC Diesel is a bred cultivar from Soma Seeds in Amsterdam. Sour Diesel is an older East Coast strain with an undocumented origin. They share a fuel smell and little else.
Who bred NYC Diesel?
Soma Seeds, the Amsterdam seed house founded by the American grower known as Soma. It was developed in the Netherlands and named as a tribute to New York.
Is NYC Diesel indica or sativa?
It is a sativa-leaning hybrid. NYC dispensary menus label it sativa.
What does NYC Diesel taste like?
It is the sweet end of the diesel family: grapefruit, lime and red berries over a fuel note.
Can you buy NYC Diesel in NYC?
Yes, but it is uncommon. On Oct 8, 2026 it was on 2 of the 32 licensed NYC menus we read, at Lenox Hill Cannabis Co. in Manhattan and Two Buds Dispensary in the Bronx, at $49 per eighth.
More New York strains
- Sour Diesel: the city signature, and the most argued-over origin story in cannabis.
- Piff: the uptown haze that was a smell and a reputation before it was a strain name.
- Strawberry Cough: the sweetest of the East Coast classics.
- The most popular weed strains in NYC dispensaries: the 21 most stocked names, counted menu by menu.
- Chemdawg: the 1991 seed find behind Sour Diesel, New York’s original diesel strain.
- Strawberry Diesel: NYC Diesel crossed with Strawberry Cough, per Leafly and AllBud.
Sources
- NY Office of Cannabis Management, dispensary location verification
- GrowDiaries, NYC Diesel grower reports
- Just Weed Strains, NYC weed strains database (32 licensed dispensary menus, read Oct 8, 2026)
For adults 21 and over. Nothing on this page is medical advice. Our New York cannabis guide covers the current rules.
The Just Weed Strains editorial team writes our strain profiles and consumer guides. Strain profiles summarize publicly available information, including breeder and dispensary descriptions. Effects vary from person to person, and nothing on this site is medical advice.