In India, Mysore is a traditional source for sandalwood. Outside India, most perfumeries tend to go to Australia or use synthetics, but Indians regard Mysore sandalwood as the most attractive. So a statement that an incense house has used Mysore sandalwood would be looked upon favourably.
The scent on the stick reminds me of the Mysore Musk I've recently reviewed. I have some left, so I pull out the Musk stick to compare. Well, they are actually very different - it's my mind playing tricks as I'd remembered that I felt the Mysore Musk to be centered on sandalwood. But when comparing them, I note now how much musk quality there is in the Musk, and how much richer and complex it is compared to the Mysore Sandalwood. Hmm. It'll be interesting to return to these dry masala Shroffs in a month or so to see how I regard them then. Ah, but... I've just had a sniff of the second Mysore Sandalwood stick (these two sticks are from a sample pack sold by Padma - as of July 2024 sold out), and that is closer in scent profile to the Musk than it is to the other Sandalwood. The Sandalwood has a green tip, while the Musk has a red tip, so they can't be confused. There is a difference also in size - the Sandalwood which has a similar profile to the Musk is thicker than the other Sandalwood - indeed, is closer in size to the Musk. Same with the colour - The thicker Mysore Sandal stick is slightly darker in appearance - closer in hue to the Mysore Musk.
So, the scent on the thinner stick is quite light and flowery - suggestions of jasmine, while the scent on the thicker stick is gently musky, an amber musk. It has a darker, deeper, sexier scent than the thinner stick.
I will burn both sticks and compare them. I'm now using my upright holders. I have three upright holders - two standard wooden ones, which are commonly available on Amazon - such as this and this, and a useful stainless steel one. The wooden ones are more attractive than the stainless steel one, but don't have good air flow, so sometimes the stick goes out, and there is no place to gather the ash, so when I take the top off, the ash can spill. The stainless steel one has a more efficient air flow, and a small space to catch the ash. My quibble is that I have sometimes got sticks stuck in the holder slots and snapped them off, so they are then hard to remove. But that's probably more me than the holder. I've somehow lost the top so it doesn't look at attractive, so I'm buying a new metal upright. I've just ordered this one from Amazon.
Anyway, the thin stick is light and attractive, quite soft, with the flowery tones from the stick still present in the burn (as has been my experience when burning upright rather than upside down or at an angle). I find it very clean and attractive with modest sandalwood notes, though a general lack of impact. I wouldn't burn just one of these in an average sized room - I'd need two or three.
The thicker stick has, as expected, a more noticeable impact, and a genuine woody warmth accented by iris, musky amber, violets, and a satisfying depth and resonance. It is, for me, a significantly more pleasant and rewarding experience than the thinner stick. Neither stick, though, has an appreciably sandalwood impact. Woody, yes, but it's mostly floral and/or musky tones that dominate - notes that I do commonly find in sandalwood, but also in other scents, so they are not defining here. My general impression is not - "Ooh, that's sandalwood", but more - "Ooh, that's woody and musky and floral", without pining the accord down to any particular source. I like both sticks, though the thicker one more than the thinner one. My score is a balance between the two sticks.
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| Photo of the three sticks in question - improved quality photo thanks to Irene of Rauchfahne |
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| Two different batches of the Sandal sent by Irene of Rauchfahne - the bottom is an older batch |
So, the scent on the thinner stick is quite light and flowery - suggestions of jasmine, while the scent on the thicker stick is gently musky, an amber musk. It has a darker, deeper, sexier scent than the thinner stick.
I will burn both sticks and compare them. I'm now using my upright holders. I have three upright holders - two standard wooden ones, which are commonly available on Amazon - such as this and this, and a useful stainless steel one. The wooden ones are more attractive than the stainless steel one, but don't have good air flow, so sometimes the stick goes out, and there is no place to gather the ash, so when I take the top off, the ash can spill. The stainless steel one has a more efficient air flow, and a small space to catch the ash. My quibble is that I have sometimes got sticks stuck in the holder slots and snapped them off, so they are then hard to remove. But that's probably more me than the holder. I've somehow lost the top so it doesn't look at attractive, so I'm buying a new metal upright. I've just ordered this one from Amazon.
Anyway, the thin stick is light and attractive, quite soft, with the flowery tones from the stick still present in the burn (as has been my experience when burning upright rather than upside down or at an angle). I find it very clean and attractive with modest sandalwood notes, though a general lack of impact. I wouldn't burn just one of these in an average sized room - I'd need two or three.
The thicker stick has, as expected, a more noticeable impact, and a genuine woody warmth accented by iris, musky amber, violets, and a satisfying depth and resonance. It is, for me, a significantly more pleasant and rewarding experience than the thinner stick. Neither stick, though, has an appreciably sandalwood impact. Woody, yes, but it's mostly floral and/or musky tones that dominate - notes that I do commonly find in sandalwood, but also in other scents, so they are not defining here. My general impression is not - "Ooh, that's sandalwood", but more - "Ooh, that's woody and musky and floral", without pining the accord down to any particular source. I like both sticks, though the thicker one more than the thinner one. My score is a balance between the two sticks.
It's really odd that you had such different smelling sticks in one sample. Max and I are both about halfway through our 25g rolls and I can't remember running in a single one that was off.
ReplyDeleteComparing the old and the new batch I have (which might be what Padma Store is selling right now), the new ones are actually in a lighter hue, similar to your picture...
Burning them in separate rooms makes me recognize a difference, but I still find it not so drastic, it still smells like the same incense to me. The darker ones feel like they smell slightly heavier.
I'll send you a picture.
I have often encountered variations in the same pack in sticks from HMS/Pure. I have sometimes encountered variations from other houses as well. Particularly in hand-rolled incense. The thickness is going to make a difference, and we've all had hand-rolled sticks of varying thickness within the same pack, but probably not paid attention to the differences when burning. Often the differences are subtle, and likely not noticed on casual burns, possibly a day or two apart, especially when subtle differences can be put down to environmental changes and/or human mood changes.
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