Gonesh Extra Rich Amber Air Freshener Sticks

 

Here's a curious one. A perfumed incense made in America by a family of  Lithuanian immigrants who in 1923 took over an existing American incense company called The Hindu Incense Company. They have thrived, and are now one of the most popular incense brands in America. They are starting to expand into other countries, and Gonesh incense can be bought in the UK, such as this variety pack offer of six packs with two ash catchers for £20 on Amazon. Mine came from America via the very decent ExoticIncense shop. I have other American incense which I will be reviewing over the coming weeks. 

Gonesh is a variant spelling of Ganesha, the popular Hindu elephant head god, who is revered as the bringer of luck and intelligence, and the remover of obstacles.  

These are perfumed sticks, and the company make much of the quality of their charcoal, which they have registered under the name HighCharcoal; they claim that they have "the highest charcoal content of any brand currently on the market". Ambiguous wording which could be read as they have more charcoal on the stick than any other brand, which given it is smeared on quite thinly is obviously not true, but would presumably and sensibly mean they have the purest charcoal. The best charcoal is that which has heated the source material (usually wood, but could be other sources such as coconut) to very high temperatures, and so burn off any impurities. The best quality charcoal has no scent of its own, and is able to absorb and hold scents very well. The purest charcoal is used for medical purposes because it has no toxins itself, but can absorb toxins. The best charcoal can be detected by rubbing some ash on the back of your hand - the smoother it is the finer it is (I did the test, and this is a fine charcoal). All incense sticks (joss sticks) contain some form of combustible material, and, if there are oils or perfumes, some form of absorbable material. Charcoal is widely considered to be the best combustible, and the best absorbable material, and the better incense companies will strive to secure the best charcoal. So, it is promising that this American company seems to be aware of this. 

The scent on the stick is good quality. Often with perfumed incense there are sharp notes which can make my eyes water, but - even though fairly strongly perfumed, the scent on the stick is restrained and balanced, with good depth and range. Indications that they take their perfume making seriously. This may not be the House of Chanel, but it's not some bargain basement workshop either - they have made this perfume with some skill and care. Again, this is not something I expected to find in an incense company outside of  Asia. This is not Juicy Jay's or Wild Berry; to be fair, this is a company who appear committed to not producing a cheap incense with a gimmicky smell, but to producing quality scents. There is amber on the stick, along with higher floral notes and deeper musky notes. It is playful, evocative, seductive, joyful, indulgent, sweet, and fairly clean. I'm not getting any solvent notes. This is nice stuff. Promising so far. 

The sticks are thin, and a little longer than average, with just the merest smearing of charcoal and perfume. But, despite the thin coating, and the claims of  the purity of the charcoal, when first lit it is the charcoal that makes the first impression. No, that's not the charcoal, that's the amber perfume - woody, removed of some of the sweet top notes, but perfume none the less. Not as attractive as I hoped, but settling into the amber range. Although it is not as pleasant on the burn as on the stick, to be fair, that is quite common; however, after the promise of the stick and what appeared to be an attempt by the company to produce a quality product from a perfumed incense, the burn has let me down. It's not bad. It is better than toilet cleaner, but comes in at the bottom end of Everyday Incense. I did note that when burned upright it had harsher notes than when burned at an incline on an ash catcher, and that I assume is because the higher fragrance notes get burned too quickly when the stick is upright. It is cleaner and purer, with more playfulness when burned on an ash catcher. But still, at the end of the day, not quite the incense it was promising to be, and which I was convincing myself it was going to be. The scent does linger pleasantly in the room, so plus points for that, but overall just an everyday incense. 

Date: Nov 2021   Score: 23 

Incense by Country

Amber