German cones are fun. There's no artifice about them, they are what they are - familiar fun scents, usually with a Christmas theme. Carl Jagar is no different in that respect, and this Weihnachts-Duft is their "Christmas Scent", and the five cones come in a waxed paper envelope decorated with a cute child-like Christmas illustration of three children dressed as the three wise men.
It is the story of the Three Wise Men that started the tradition of making incense cones in Germany. The three wise men brought gifts of frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. In the German mining community, according to the Carl Jager website, the 11th and 12th century workers would anoint themselves with the smoke from home made frankincense cones to spiritually protect themselves from harm when working in the mine. I love these cultural traditions which continue in echoes to the present day. Like the bonfires at Halloween are an echo of the ritual bonfires that occurred during the Celtic festival of Samhain, held on the same date in the calendar.
The cones are small and dark, and very firm, with a pleasant sweet, almost candy scent, touched with dark berry fruits. There are gold flakes in the cone - which is likely to be a reference to the gold that the three wise men brought. The scent on the burn is delightful. A little spicy in a resinous way with warm fir, and then the musky, earthy sweetness of woods and resins comes forward. There's frankincense and possibly myrrh; and some coal fire smoke. The spicy fir top notes are now gone, and the dark woody resins and coal dust grows stronger. There is a moment in the scent journey with these Carl Jager cones where the top notes are beautifully balanced with the base notes, but then the base notes start to dominate, the balance is gone, and the experience becomes more ordinary until, near the end, it becomes a little scorched and muddled.
On the whole I like these little cones. I pretty much almost love them. And I like the rich history and tradition associated with them. Sometimes a good deal of the pleasure in burning an incense is in being aware of the history, culture, and tradition associated with it.
It is the story of the Three Wise Men that started the tradition of making incense cones in Germany. The three wise men brought gifts of frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. In the German mining community, according to the Carl Jager website, the 11th and 12th century workers would anoint themselves with the smoke from home made frankincense cones to spiritually protect themselves from harm when working in the mine. I love these cultural traditions which continue in echoes to the present day. Like the bonfires at Halloween are an echo of the ritual bonfires that occurred during the Celtic festival of Samhain, held on the same date in the calendar.
The cones are small and dark, and very firm, with a pleasant sweet, almost candy scent, touched with dark berry fruits. There are gold flakes in the cone - which is likely to be a reference to the gold that the three wise men brought. The scent on the burn is delightful. A little spicy in a resinous way with warm fir, and then the musky, earthy sweetness of woods and resins comes forward. There's frankincense and possibly myrrh; and some coal fire smoke. The spicy fir top notes are now gone, and the dark woody resins and coal dust grows stronger. There is a moment in the scent journey with these Carl Jager cones where the top notes are beautifully balanced with the base notes, but then the base notes start to dominate, the balance is gone, and the experience becomes more ordinary until, near the end, it becomes a little scorched and muddled.
On the whole I like these little cones. I pretty much almost love them. And I like the rich history and tradition associated with them. Sometimes a good deal of the pleasure in burning an incense is in being aware of the history, culture, and tradition associated with it.
Available direct from Carl Jager for 1.70 Euros. Outside of Europe contact the company on mail@jaegers-raeucherkerzen.de to arrange shipping costs.
Date: Nov 2025 Score: 35
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