I've been a little harsh on this incense over the years. It's a standard masala incense: 6 inches of hand-rolled masala paste on an 8 inch bamboo splint. The paste, around four years old, is rock hard, and when fresh was covered with a thin layer of brown melnoorva with a light dusting of gold sprinkles (a subtle glitter now and again). Scent on the stick is fresh and agreeable, though a little volatile - it's a green scent, slightly damp and earthy, with aspect of Earl Grey tea. The scent on the burn is attractive and warm and woody; and, though a little dryer and peppery than I like, is a decent companion in the house.
Date: Feb 2024 Score: 32
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| Second review |
Hah! For the past few days I've been burning some masala incenses which appear to be perfume dipped. To get a contrast I burned a Moksh perfumed incense, and then to get away from all that I thought I'd burn a proper masala and quickly grabbed this Gokula as I know that Gokula are reliably proper masala, only to be somewhat stunned that what I was experiencing appeared to be perfumed dipped, so I started doubting my sense of smell. Glad to check my initial review to note that I felt it was perfume dipped incense. I have no patience with this at the moment. I don't think I am properly in the mood for a perfume dipped incense, this doesn't smell any better than the Moksh I just had (to be fair, Moksh are a decent perfume dipped company), and while, yes, I can detect the ghosts of agarwood, the main thread here is sharp solvent. Sigh. Not what I wanted at all. I'll be classing this as a perfumed masala.
Date: Jan 2022 Score: 26
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| First review |
Neatly made incense stick from one of my favourite suppliers, Gokula Incense, based in Worcestershire. There is a volatile quality to the scent on the stick which indicates that the bulk of fragrance is carried by a perfume or essential oil. What's the difference between a perfume-dipped incense and an essential-oil dipped incense? Well, while perfumes can and sometimes are made from essential oils, what is normally referred to as perfume in the essence trade is a synthetic scent. That is, a scent created mostly out of chemicals than out of natural ingredients. Can you tell the difference when burning? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. Poorly made incense will smell bad. Quality incense will smell good. And you can get poor quality incense made from rough essential oil, and good quality incense made from refined perfume.
This is a decent enough incense which doesn't smell great on the stick (too much like solvent) but has an OK scent when burned which approximates but doesn't exactly match the scent of agarwood. There isn't much of the musk. It comes over more as a perfume-dipped incense than a natural incense, so that's how I will classify it.
It's OK, top end of decent, everyday incense. It's warm, slightly seductive, and with that exotic Persian feel that comes from oil soaked agarwood or bakhoor. Not one I'd buy again, but one I'm enjoying burning, and I will enjoy burning the rest of the pack.
Date: Dec 2020 Score: 29
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I think this one deserves a higher rating, Steve, but we all perceive things in our own way. Gokula changed the name from Agarwood Supreme to Agarwood and Musk and is in their Connoisseur line. If it were up to me, I would place it in their Classic line. A handmade dusted stick that has a two-fold fragrance of wood and musk. The aroma is more on the gentle side, not very aggressive, but present. It is also not an exotic scent but an alluring one that makes you take notice. I don’t think this is a Madhavdas stick and I’m not getting any halmaddi feel from it. The musk is not cloying and allows the wood to be always there sharing the space. I like it. Not a knockout but very good.
ReplyDeleteI'll visit it again to see if I was a bit mean, but probably not for a while as I need to clear some of my backlog first!
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