Gonesh Extra Rich Cedarwood

 

Gonesh is a mainstream everyday perfumed-charcoal incense brand made in Chicago USA.  I'm interested in them because they are a main brand, and because they are made in America. As an incense hunter these things attract me: the cultural interest in exploring a region's main brand, and learning about incense made in different countries. Gonesh Sticks come in packs of 20, and are available from ExoticIncense for $2.50 plus shipping (ExoticIncense ship internationally). I've seen them available in Europe and other countries via eBay and Amazon, though ExoticIncense offers the best deal.  The company behind the brand are the Radkins family, third generation Lithuanian immigrants, who have formed Genieco Inc. as the holding company.  There is a video which shows the incense sticks being hand-dipped in their factory in Chicago, but it is not clear if they make the charcoal blanks themselves. 

The sticks have 8 inches of charcoal paste hand-rolled onto a plain 10 inch bamboo splint. The paste is rolled very thin. The claim by Gonesh is that they use HighCharcoal - their own  trademarked name; so their sticks "have the highest charcoal content of any brand currently on the market". The terminology is rather vague, though I assume they mean that the charcoal is pure (made only from hardwood trees such as fruit or nut trees or oak) and so has a high carbon content. The higher the carbon content the better the burn - less smoke and off notes. Good quality charcoal can be judged by rubbing some on the back of your hand - the softer and smoother it is the better. This Gonesh charcoal simply blends into the skin like cream. Yes, it is fine charcoal. 

There is a gentle warm woody scent on the stick. Mild volatility. Some relaxed sweetness. it's quite laid back with interesting notes: chocolate, cream. herby, floral. Some patchouli. Yeah, I like it. The scent on the burn is also gentle - expansive, but gentle. The upside down holder in my photo was sent to me by Adai of IncenseBurnerHolder.com to promote their site. After experimenting with burning incense upside down and upright, I found I preferred incense burned at a slight angle, then upright, and last, upside down. So I only use that upside down holder for photos. After taking the photos, I burned all the incense for this and the other Gonesh reviews in a standard angled burner. 

I like this incense, and my understanding is that most American incense connoisseurs find Gonesh to be an acceptable perfume-dipped incense, even though they would generally spit on the idea of burning perfume-dipped. There are no off-notes on the burn because the charcoal is so fine. The oils used are good quality. This is a very attractive room freshener with warm and sensual woody notes. It is perhaps a little one-dimensional, and there's nothing here to really delight or get excited about. But it is a solid and decent room freshener with an appealing fragrance. 

Date: Nov 2024    Score: 35

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Gonesh

A cedarwood sampling