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| Second review - scroll down for earlier review |
I had been somewhat dismissive of this incense when I reviewed it back in April. I casually burned a stick a few days ago and was really impressed. Did it again yesterday, and was again delighted. So here we are returning to Balaji's Chandan incense to give it a proper review.
The packet has a cool, classic design evoking old India with a gold print of a regal elephant and howdah on a background coloured to look like a strip of sandalwood. The sticks are 9 inches, with around 6 1/2 inches of very neatly hand-rolled firm but crumbly black paste on a plain machine cut bamboo splint with the ends dyed green. The sticks are so expertly rolled they give the appearance of being machine extruded. The sticks are finished with a meagre and variable amount of fine brown powder, which gives a scruffy and somewhat unpleasant appearance. There is a volatile aroma on the stick which is rich and warm and woody though not necessarily pleasant or unpleasant - it hovers on the borderline. It's mildly interesting and somewhat compelling, and I edge more toward liking it than disliking it, though I can see why I edged away from it in April. It's kind of dark and twisted and gives the impression more of a Satanic agarwood than that of a creamy sandalwood.
When lit the flame burns strongly, producing black smoke. When the flame is blown out a soft unfolding grey smoke rises alternating between dull grey and silver grey with touches of blue and brown. The scent is variable. Some sticks are profound, while others - such as the one I have burning right now - are hot, smoky and dull. Something I have noted with Balaji is that I have variable experiences within the same packet, indeed, sometimes within the same stick. I have lit a fresh stick, and I am having the same negative experience. I'm wondering now if I am too close to the stick, and am expecting it to work too quickly. The times when I have enjoyed this Chandan is when the sticks have been burned a little distance away, and I have not been paying attention, so it is the more established fumes that I pick up rather than the hot fresh ones. I have placed it a distance behind me, and will get on with other things to see what happens.
I have been curious about the emphasis that people sometimes put on sandalwood coming from Mysore. There appear to be a variety of reasons. The first is that Mysore was the first state in India to distil sandalwood oil, and the government owned and regulated production, so it was the first Indian sandalwood available and commercially distributed. The second is that the Mysore sandalwood tree is Santalum album, which has a high percentage of the alpha santalol compound which is the main active ingredient, and which research indicates has a calming influence. The album tree grows elsewhere in India and Southeast Asia, though production and distillation has been established for longer and greater in Mysore than elsewhere. The main competitor to sandalwood from the album tree, or Indian sandalwood, is Santalum spicatum or Australian sandalwood. Spicatum doesn't produce as much alpha santalol, though has extra scents, mostly earthy and spicy, which some people prefer, and the whole of the tree can be used in production of oil, while the sapwood of the Indian sandalwood tree cannot be used, and has to be laboriously removed.
Meanwhile Balaji Chandan Pure Mysore has been quietly burning away behind me, sometimes producing earthy, spicy, dark and mysterious sandalwood scents, and sometimes producing odd burning mushroom and nylon scents, and sometimes both at the same time. I don't know where I am right now, because I have burned this incense and found it delightful, I have burned it and found it unattractive, and have burned it and found it both delightful and unattractive. If nothing else, this incense is interesting.
The packet has a cool, classic design evoking old India with a gold print of a regal elephant and howdah on a background coloured to look like a strip of sandalwood. The sticks are 9 inches, with around 6 1/2 inches of very neatly hand-rolled firm but crumbly black paste on a plain machine cut bamboo splint with the ends dyed green. The sticks are so expertly rolled they give the appearance of being machine extruded. The sticks are finished with a meagre and variable amount of fine brown powder, which gives a scruffy and somewhat unpleasant appearance. There is a volatile aroma on the stick which is rich and warm and woody though not necessarily pleasant or unpleasant - it hovers on the borderline. It's mildly interesting and somewhat compelling, and I edge more toward liking it than disliking it, though I can see why I edged away from it in April. It's kind of dark and twisted and gives the impression more of a Satanic agarwood than that of a creamy sandalwood.
When lit the flame burns strongly, producing black smoke. When the flame is blown out a soft unfolding grey smoke rises alternating between dull grey and silver grey with touches of blue and brown. The scent is variable. Some sticks are profound, while others - such as the one I have burning right now - are hot, smoky and dull. Something I have noted with Balaji is that I have variable experiences within the same packet, indeed, sometimes within the same stick. I have lit a fresh stick, and I am having the same negative experience. I'm wondering now if I am too close to the stick, and am expecting it to work too quickly. The times when I have enjoyed this Chandan is when the sticks have been burned a little distance away, and I have not been paying attention, so it is the more established fumes that I pick up rather than the hot fresh ones. I have placed it a distance behind me, and will get on with other things to see what happens.
I have been curious about the emphasis that people sometimes put on sandalwood coming from Mysore. There appear to be a variety of reasons. The first is that Mysore was the first state in India to distil sandalwood oil, and the government owned and regulated production, so it was the first Indian sandalwood available and commercially distributed. The second is that the Mysore sandalwood tree is Santalum album, which has a high percentage of the alpha santalol compound which is the main active ingredient, and which research indicates has a calming influence. The album tree grows elsewhere in India and Southeast Asia, though production and distillation has been established for longer and greater in Mysore than elsewhere. The main competitor to sandalwood from the album tree, or Indian sandalwood, is Santalum spicatum or Australian sandalwood. Spicatum doesn't produce as much alpha santalol, though has extra scents, mostly earthy and spicy, which some people prefer, and the whole of the tree can be used in production of oil, while the sapwood of the Indian sandalwood tree cannot be used, and has to be laboriously removed.
Meanwhile Balaji Chandan Pure Mysore has been quietly burning away behind me, sometimes producing earthy, spicy, dark and mysterious sandalwood scents, and sometimes producing odd burning mushroom and nylon scents, and sometimes both at the same time. I don't know where I am right now, because I have burned this incense and found it delightful, I have burned it and found it unattractive, and have burned it and found it both delightful and unattractive. If nothing else, this incense is interesting.
Date: Oct 2023 Score: 31
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| First review |
A hard, brittle charcoal paste with binders and fragrant ingredients expertly hand rolled onto a plain machine-cut bamboo splint which has been tipped in a green dye for in-house identification. There is a modest amount of tree bark powder applied to help prevent the sticks gluing together as they dry. There is an unclear scent of liquid fragrance on the stick - it's not a hugely attractive scent, hovering around pine disinfectant, wood polish, and old spices.
The burn is steady, though I'm not finding the scent attractive. There's an aroma of burning, some vague warmth, wood, dry spices. It's lacking the heady richness I like about Balaji. I've checked, and I got this pack in August 2021, so it's not fresh, fresh; even so, I would have expected it to stand up better than this. Ho hum. I'm somewhat disappointed as I like sandalwood, and was hoping for something better from a packet which says: "Pure Mysore Sandal Sticks", and "The Fragrance gives the Feel of Sandal Oil". I suspect that these sticks relied on a liquid fragrance which has dried out. The paste is quite hard. Shame.
Oh, you don't like Balaji Chandan! It's one of my favorites! I bought mine around Jan. 2022.
ReplyDeleteYou sent me 2 of yours - I will compare them to mine and let you know if I find them any different.
I so expected to like it, and was surprised when I didn't. But then, looking at my Balaji reviews, I do find them rather variable to my taste. I don't really like dry incense - I stay away from Tibetan for that reason, and am doubtful about Japanese. Though I did like some Japanese stuff you sent me.
DeleteYes, have a go at the Balaji Chandan (so that's why the pack was open!). I'm wondering if it somehow dried out, or is intended to be dry like that.
I like Balaji's richer, more indulgent incense.
I actually find them very ritch and they do have this hight pitched sandalwood sweetness to me that I find very intoxicating. But I found they need a ton of air to open up.
DeleteOn the other hand, I'm not a huge fan of Balaji Red, I didn't along wiht their Tree of Life and Mystic Moon is also not to my taste. So maybe it's just a matter of differing taste in case of Chandan.
I'll let you know what I find, once I compared them.
Hey Steve,
ReplyDeleteI finally had time to compare my Candan Sticks with the Sample you sent me of yours. They actually smell different. It's not a dramatic difference and I think mine didn't age that well but it is nevertheless very notable. Yours are less sweet and have less of the ritchness I can still find in mine and there is this scent that reminds me of cosmetics, I think you would call it solventy. I also noticed that the ashes look different so there must be a difference in formulation. I really hope this is just a bad batch or something and not a actual decline in quality because I really like them.
I would still rate them higher than you but I'm way less surprised about your rating now.
What I did notice with Balaji Chandan from the beginning, is how much room and air they need to really open up.
I burn them in my livingroom in the middle floor an let the smoke/scent travel through the whole house and where I like it the best is in the floor above and below.
Yeah, I find scents have different movements and life spans. I have noticed that lighter, sweeter, more flowery scents are more likely to be found upstairs, while the darker, more woody scents will remain more grounded. I've also found that during a burn, that more off scents, like tar and smoke, will be present, which are not there after the burn. And that the after scents of masala and perfumed incense are different. The after scents of masala are often quite profound, while the after scents of perfumed may be ashy and dead. Of course, none of this is entirely consistent, as some perfumed scents will have a delightful after scent. But it is something that I find occurs often enough to be a casual generalisation.
DeleteThat's an interesting observation about the movements.
DeleteWhat I meant was the airflow in our house. The scent moves downstairs too but it tends to go up with the warm air, especially if I open the windows at the attic, it's pretty much a chimney effect. This is very intuitive but a lot of times it also isn't and it's quite fun to find out which combination of incense placement and set of open windows makes the scent move wherer I want it.
I love your observations. I've had various thoughts over the years about live scent compared to after scent, and the way some scents are heavier than others, like sound, and move differently. But since talking to you I've been focusing a bit more, and learning a bit more.
Delete:D
Delete