Yet another vintage Aargee packet turns up in my collection that I haven't reviewed - and boy, it's a beauty! Aargee's Imperial range was proper old school incense, making good use of halmaddi, the tree resin gum that is still used by more traditional incense houses. I've marked this as a vintage incense as Aargee no longer exist - the company was split into two, with the incense commissioning and distribution being continued by Stamford London; however, some stock can still be found on various sites - such as Ephra-World in Germany. When those stocks are gone, they are gone. But, one hope is that as Aargee commissioned these sticks from an Indian incense house, that they may be available from that house under a different brand name. If anyone knows who made these sticks....
Sticks are 8 inches with 6 inches of dry crumbly black paste hand rolled onto a pink-dyed hand-cut bamboo splint. The scent on the stick is very creamy and sweet and woody and floral. It's a real old school scent tingly with halmaddi. Musky and sexy and naughty. There's the smell of marihuana and patchouli and denim and tie-died cotton. Touches of fresh sweat and sexual desire. It creates a picture in my mind this scent - but that is a personal picture created by the memories and associations I derive from the scent. I love it! I could sit and sniff this stick all day long and be happy.
The burn is steady, uplifting, fulfilling, hugely engaging and pleasant. The scent unfolds around the room and gently but firmly engages and seduces. The fragrance floats around, very present all around, but never rude - a bit naughty and playful perhaps, but never aggressive or unwelcome. Most of the scents on the stick are present in the burn, even though this packet of incense is several years old. Proper job masala incense remains active for longer than perfumed. And it's possible, if it is a genuine masala, not one that predominantly relies on a liquid fragrance, that the fragrance may even develop, change, and improve in the way that some cheeses, wines, and beers will. The burn is slow and steady, lasting around an hour, releasing the fragrance in a controlled manner so all the scents are in harmony, and are presented as they should be. This is a properly made and utterly gorgeous incense. These Imperial range incenses are really top quality, and this patchouli is possibly the best in the range. Fucking awesome!
Date: Dec 2023 Score: 47
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| Vintage Incense (Incense no longer available) |
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| Halmaddi |
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| Patchouli |
Ha, I'm not surprised how much you like them, they are really something special!
ReplyDeleteIt would be good to know who makes them. Aargee worked with a number of decent incense houses, including Satya and Goloka.
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