One of the packs in a cardboard box I brought down from the attic while I was up there ghost hunting. There are several cardboard boxes up there in storage - random packets that were shoved into boxes in order to clear space in our middle room which serves both as my office, and as the dining room when we have friends round for dinner.
This pack of Gokula's Classic range was opened, so I had burned some, but it seems I never got around to reviewing it. The Classic range replaces the old Gopala range. There are essentially now two Gokula incense ranges - the Classic range, which sells at £3.95 for 20gms (a reasonable price for a Western trader - though Sai Handicrafts, also a UK trader, sell at half the price), and the Connoisseur range which sells at £4.95 (or higher) for 20gms. Connoisseur is the same range as Primo - same price, same incense, just a different name as historically Primo was sold in the US, and Gokula in the UK. Gokula has now taken over the Primo name, and some American customers who are familiar with the Primo range would prefer to still buy their incense under that name. I have checked, and this Tube Rose is no longer sold by Gokula. Gokula, same as Sai Handicrafts, do seem to source from the same place(s) as the sellers in Pushkar and Vrindavan. The source may be one or other of the incense houses in Pune (and Mukunda / Mark, the owner of Gokula, has told me that one of his sources is HMS in Pune). Anyway, this Tube Rose bears more than a passing resemblance to Pushkar Tube Rose, including spelling tuberose as two names.
This pack of Gokula's Classic range was opened, so I had burned some, but it seems I never got around to reviewing it. The Classic range replaces the old Gopala range. There are essentially now two Gokula incense ranges - the Classic range, which sells at £3.95 for 20gms (a reasonable price for a Western trader - though Sai Handicrafts, also a UK trader, sell at half the price), and the Connoisseur range which sells at £4.95 (or higher) for 20gms. Connoisseur is the same range as Primo - same price, same incense, just a different name as historically Primo was sold in the US, and Gokula in the UK. Gokula has now taken over the Primo name, and some American customers who are familiar with the Primo range would prefer to still buy their incense under that name. I have checked, and this Tube Rose is no longer sold by Gokula. Gokula, same as Sai Handicrafts, do seem to source from the same place(s) as the sellers in Pushkar and Vrindavan. The source may be one or other of the incense houses in Pune (and Mukunda / Mark, the owner of Gokula, has told me that one of his sources is HMS in Pune). Anyway, this Tube Rose bears more than a passing resemblance to Pushkar Tube Rose, including spelling tuberose as two names.
There is a curious scent on the stick - slightly acidic and slightly milky, which puts me in mind of baby vomit, though there is also an awareness of pineapple, of sandalwood, and of coconut. I find it more interesting than attractive.
The scent on the burn is fairly laid back or meagre. I wouldn't call it mild, because it does make itself known, and it's not a gentle scent - it's a little dry and rough around the edges, leaning on old wood and dirty resin like sambrani. Initially in the burn I don't get much in the way of floral, but it does gradually build - it's a little soapy and artificial, but it is present. It does remind me of the Pushkar incense, and could very well be the same sticks, though I am enjoying this a little more than I did the Pushkar. That could very well be because I wasn't as a whole impressed with the Pushkar range of incenses, and was feeling a little negative toward them at the time I reviewed that Tube Rose. But it could also be that this is a different batch (older, certainly), or that the similarity is just a coincidence.
See also:
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| Pushkar Tube Rose (PM) Jan 2025 - Score: 21 |
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