The Incense Hunter

Photos used in reviews are taken by me, sometimes supported by promotional photos. Some illustrative images on general pages may be AI-generated or AI-assisted.
Showing posts sorted by date for query Golden Hit. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query Golden Hit. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Top Incense by Year

  


These are all the incenses I have scored 35 or higher in a given year.  I score out of 50 - which is like 5 stars, a common scoring method used by Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, AllMusic, etc. As with sites like Trustpilot, the score is broken down into decimals - though instead of 3.5, or 4.6, I will have 35 and 46. As the score is out of 50, the half way point is 25, and that would signify an average incense - neither great nor bad: a decent everyday incense. I group all scores from 20 to 29 as "Average". Scores under 20 are less than average, and would be incense just to burn to cover up nasty smells or get rid of flies. Scores 30 and above are above average - these are the incenses I consider decent. There are surprisingly quite a few incenses I consider as above average, so for this listing, I'm only using incenses I have score 35 or higher. 35 translates into 70% - which is generally accepted as a good pass mark for most exams. The score is the score that was given that year. The same incense may have scored less in subsequent years, and I may no longer regard that incense as good - but this is a record of how scored that incense at the time.  Multiple appearances means that the incense got reviewed again, and scored well again. It doesn't mean the incense rolled over its score from previous years. In a year when I reviewed few incenses (such as 2016, when I only reviewed 23 new incenses - plus re-reviewed a handful of others, such as Nandita Wood Spice), or a year when the incense I burned was generally not that good,  an incense could be my top reviewed incense that year on a low score. As the years go by, I am burning more and more incense each year, so the recent years tend to have a lot more high scoring incenses. 

As always I must stress that my scores are subjective and hedonistic. The scores reflect how much I enjoyed the incense, and so how likely I am to buy that incense again. But along with pleasure comes satisfaction and engagement and interest. So some incenses which are very pleasurable, and we are happy to burn casually everyday in the house, may also be quite fleeting and superficial. Some more challenging incenses may however be very rewarding and satisfying, such that I will score them higher than the light and pleasurable ones, even though I am likely only to burn them occasionally. As such the scores may not tell the full story - for that you would need to read the reviews. 

List of top scoring incense each year

2024: Malaan Gaudhoop Swarna Champa (D) Dec 2024 - Score: 50
2023: SamsaSpoon Homemade Swiss Stone Pine (D) Oct 2023 - Score: 50↑ 
2022: Happy Hari Kings of Incense Queen of Roses (M) Feb 2022 - Score: 46
2021: Koya's Nirvana Premium Incense Sticks (M) Nov 2021 - Score: 48
2020: Happy Hari Meena Supreme (M - Oct 2020): 44  
2019: (HMS) Gokula Gaura  Radharani / Pink Rose (M) Aug 2019 - Score: 46
2018: Nandita Wood Spice (M) Jul 2018 - Score: 45
2017: Nandita Wood Spice (M) Mar 2017 - Score: 49
2016: Nandita Wood Spice (M) Jan 2016 - Score: 49
2015: Satya Nag Champa (M - May 2015): 50
2014: Satya (Original - pre 2014) Harmony (M - Mar 2013): 36
2013: Nandita Wood Spice (M) May 2013 - Score: 47



Top Incense by Year


Top Incense of 2024

    
Top Incense of 2023






Top Incense of 2020


Happy Hari Meena Supreme (M - Oct 2020): 44  
Goloka Patchouli Dhoop Cones (D - Aug 2020): 40
Shroff Pearl (M - Jan 2020): 39 
Shroff Orange Blossom (M - Jan 2020): 39  
Veer Special Loban (P - March 2020): 39 
Satya (Mumbai) Sunrise (M - Jan 2020): 37↑ 


Top Incense of 2019


(HMS) Gokula Gaura 
Radharani / Pink Rose (M)
Aug 2019 - Score: 46


GR International Sandalo (P - Jun 2019): 40
Satya (BNG) Patchouli (M - Dec 2019): 40↑
Satya (Mumbai) Blessings (M - Nov 2019): 40= 
Satya (BNG) Frankincense (M - July 2019): 39 
Gokula Gauranga (M - Aug 2019): 39 
Vijayshree Golden Hit (PM - Sept 2019): 39  
Stamford Magic Angel (P - June 2019): 39 
Satya (Mumbai) Golden Era (M - Aug 2019): 36 
Moksh Swarna Champa (P - Feb 2019): 36  
HEM Good Fortune (P - Jan 2019): 36


Top Incense of 2018


Nandita Wood Spice (M)
Jul 2018 - Score: 45

Vijayshree "Golden Nag" Champa cones (P - April 2018): 41↑   
Bhagvati Ppure Nagchampa (M - Dec 2018): 41  
Satya (BNG - post 2018) White Sage (M - Jan 2020): 40 
GR International Jasmine (cones) (P - April 2018): 40↓
Hari Om Lavender (P - July 2018): 38= 
GR International Sandalo (P - April 2018): 38
A.S. Agarbathi Works Ayurvedic Agarwood (PM - Oct 2018): 37↑↓ 
Aasha Aromatics Rose Musk (P - Oct 2018): 36



Top Incense of 2017


Nandita Wood Spice (M)
Mar 2017 - Score: 49


Happy Hari Oudh Masala (M)
Aug 2017 - Score: 48

HMS Pure Incense Connoisseur
Nepal Musk (M)
July 2017 - Score: 46

Al Haramain Bukhoor
Al Watani (M)
March 2017 - Score: 45

Goloka Nature's Lavender (M)
Feb 2017 - Score: 45


Gokula Prabhupada Special (M - July 2017): 42 
Satya Natural (M - March 2017): 40 
HEM Frankincense-Myrrh (P - June 2017): 40
Radha Madhav Damodar (M - Aug 2017): 37 
Sital Ratnamala (P - March 2017): 37↑ 


Top Incense of 2016


Nandita Wood Spice (M)
Jan 2016 - Score: 49


March 2016 - Score: 48


Goloka Chandan Dhoop Cones (D - July 2016): 45↓ 
Goloka Krishna Priya Chandan (Jan 2016): 36↑


Top Incense of 2015


GR International Sandalo (P - Feb 2015): 42
Sage Spirit Blue Corn Flower (P - March 2015): 38  
Goloka Patchouli (Nov 2015): 36



Top Incense of 2014


Satya (Original - pre 2014) Harmony (M - Mar 2013): 36 



Top Incense of 2013


Nandita Wood Spice (M)
May 2013 - Score: 47


Goloka Chandan (M)
Apr 2013 - Score: 46

Gokula Gopala Parvati (M)
May 2013 - Score: 45

Gokula Gaura Aguru (M - May 2013): 44 
Satya Natural (M - Apr 2013): 42 
Gokula Gopala Darshan Flora (M - May 2013): 40 
HEM Frankincense-Myrrh (P - Mar 2013): 37




- No comments:

Friday, 17 January 2025

Vijayshree "Golden Nag" Darshan

 


My story with Vijayshree is that, starting back in 2017, I would occasionally review a pack and get seduced by the scent on the stick, and so would review on that initial enthusiasm of the scent on the "cool throw". I would rate quite high but hold back from the top scores. But still, I was very impressed. In 2023 I bought a selection of Vijayshree packs in order to explore further, but it's only recently that I have settled down to work my way through them. And, now that I am exploring more seriously, I'm finding that the bulk of the scent is on the wood powder applied on the outside of the charcoal paste. Indeed, if the wood powder is scraped off, and the paste alone is burned, there isn't much scent. So the scent, both cool throw and warm throw, mainly comes from the perfumes in the wood powder. I don't understand incense making enough to know the mechanics of this. What I have learned is that masala style incense enfolds the scent ingredients in the charcoal paste along with the fixatives (such as frankincense, vanilla, benzoin, and halmaddi), then covers the paste with a wood powder called melnoorva; while perfume-dipped incense applies the scent ingredients to the outside of the stick, usually by dipping the sticks in a fragrance solution along with agarbatti oil/DEP (diethyl phthalate). Modern masala sticks tend to perfume the melnoorva wood powder in addition to perfuming the paste so that there is a pleasant scent on the stick in addition to the fragrance aroma released during the burn. This aligns with the perfumed candle industry, who create a "cool throw" scent to give an immediate hit to attract the customer, and a "warm throw" scent to satisfy the customer when the candle is burned in order to attract repeat orders. However, I feel that some incense makers are putting most or all the scent into the melnoorva powder. Indeed, a common name these days for the melnoorva powder is "masala powder", or simply "masala". I think that is what is happening here. But what I don't know is if the finished stick is simply dipped into a scented agarbatti oil, or if the wood powder is treated with natural fixatives, such as halmaddi, frankincense, etc. Anyway, it sort of works. And that's the main thing. But it mainly works regarding the scent on the stick (the cool throw). It doesn't work as well on the scent on the burn (the hot throw). The scent on the burn is usually nice - fairly gentle, though a pleasant scent, quite clean, which tends to leave a mild sillage. But it doesn't quite have the richness, depth, and sheer gorgeousness of the scent on the stick. 

That's a long waffle. I'm still trying to establish how I feel about these Vijayshree incenses, so I'm fine turning my feelings and thoughts as I review each one. Anyway - the name of this scent, Darshan, is the auspicious glimpse of a sacred god or holy person.  Not sure how that relates to the scent on the stick. But many incenses have names which are not related to the scent, but which may attract a buyer's interest. I kinda like some of the fun names that Balarama Enterprises of Thailand use - like Wet Dream, Pink Pussy, Paris Hilton, Is Anybody Up?, Get Your Freak It's On, Final Fantasy, etc. Anyway. This scent is called Darshan. Ho hum. 

I've been sniffing and burning these Darshan sticks for a few day now, and I'm still not sure how I feel about them. Which is probably adding to the waffle - I'm kinda avoiding tackling the issue. The scent on the stick is perfumed - floral, some fruit, some fresh green, cucumber, mild sandalwood at the finish. It presents as an everyday body mist scent - kinda warm and musky, slightly sexual, but a mild, daytime sexuality. The florals and fruit prevent it from becoming too erotic. It's nice, but just a little too perfumed, a little too much like a casual, cheap, body spray. It attracts attention, for sure. But very briefly. It's just a little too familiar. A little too superficial. A little too obvious. 

This Darshan follows a slightly different path to the other Vijayshree. The others had very bold cold throws and weak hot throws. This has the opposite. The scent on the burn is not heady or aggressive, but it does make itself known. However, rather similar to the others, the scent, while very present and noticeable, is not easy to pin down. There's woods, there's perfume, there's spice. And it's OK. There's a generic "masala incense" scent. Slightly resinous. It's the sort of scent that perfumers would call "incense". Kinda exotic and Asian, with a bit of sweat thrown in. It's an OK scent. And it grows on me each time I burn it. But it doesn't really do much for me, and it never lifts me. It's OK. It'll do. There's a scent in this Darshan that I know, but it keeps escaping me. It's a spice. I'll hopefully pin it down next time I review this. But, for now, I must move on....

- No comments:

Monday, 2 December 2024

101 Incenses You Must Try Before You Die

 



Note: This is a work in progress



I've been hunting down incense for over ten years now, and I have found and burned well over 1,100 different incenses. The good, the bad, and the indifferent. Along the way I've come upon great incenses,  interesting incenses, beautiful incenses, historic incenses, fun incenses, and weird incenses (Dhenum Cow Dung Cakes for example). I've burned resins, and dhoops, and ropes, and Bakhoor, and sticks from India, Tibet, Japan, Egypt, Germany, the UK, Peru, Brazil, USA, Indonesia, etc. Perfume-dipped incense, traditional masala incense, and modern perfumed-masala incense. I've burned incense from incense families that have been making incense for over 100 years, including one in Chicago, USA.  And I've burned incense from emerging companies, some of whom have not survived. Along the way I'm come upon particularly noteworthy incenses, such as Sri Sai Flora Fluxo - a hugely influential incense which has been much copied, sometimes blatantly. So I have thought it would be interesting to keep a list of such incenses. This is my first attempt at such a list. At first I thought I might do 20, then 50. At the time of writing this note, I have quickly gone through my reviews and put in a selection of what I feel are interesting, and it comes to 125. I guess I might even add to that as I work on the list. I think 125 is too much, so I have decided on a figure of 101. So I will start to whittle down the weak entries until I have 101, and then keep to that. If I want to put a new incense in the list, I will have to drop one out. 

These are not necessarily the "best" incenses (however you view what you think a "best" incense is), nor necessarily my favourites (though some are my favourites and some are what I think are "the best"). The criteria is that these are incenses I feel I would like to have been directed to when I started out hunting. Perhaps because they are culturally or aesthetically or historically significant, perhaps because  they are popular, perhaps because they are well known, perhaps because some people acclaim them, perhaps because some people pick them out to hate, perhaps because they are trendy or trending - such as the Kuumba branded incense sticks, or perhaps simply because they are cute (matchbox incense) or have caught my attention for some reason. 

Any such list is going to be subjective, and also limited to the experience or knowledge of the compiler. Over the past few years I have gathered a fair bit of knowledge of Indian incense - rather less so on incense from other parts of the world. I have decent knowledge of incense sticks (joss sticks, agarbathi, etc) - rather less so on resins and cottage industry blends (such as  Underworld Apothecary Djinn Incense). So my list is going to be limited, Please feel free to point me in the direction of interesting or worthy incenses I have missed.

The list is given in no particular order. At the moment it is fairly random - and there are loads of names fairly quickly selected from my Top of The Dhoops! and other lists, and I'll be sorting it out as I go along - adding some and removing some. I'm publishing it in unfinished form as it'll never be finished anyway, but more importantly I think this will take some time, and if I leave it in draft form it'll never get published! 


The list

First on my list is Satya Nag Champa as this was my gateway incense. I'd been casually burning some cheap everyday perfumed incense for years. I was quite happy with it. Then my local incense shop were out of stock of what we usually bought, and suggested Satya Nag Champa instead. What a revelation! I soon learned that this has been a gateway incense for many people, and is possibly the most well known and revered incense. Though, curiously,  increasingly these days, also sneered at - mainly because it is a gateway incense, and some people have moved on to "better" incense, and claim it's not as good as it was in their day.  Subjective opinions based on memory are difficult to assess. I have found I am less impressed with Satya Nag Champa these days, though I don't think that's because the recipe has changed or been dumbed down - indeed I will sometimes burn old stock, and find that my appreciation of the old stock is pretty much on a par with the new stock. I suspect it is partly to do with the Satya company splitting up, and the incense sold by one brother was - initially - rather poor. Incense from both brothers is OK these days. There's also been a general trend in all incense making, particularly Indian masala incense, to use less expensive ingredients, so all incenses, not just Satya Nag Champa, will have altered their recipes. 
Why should you try Satya Nag Champa? Because it is possibly the most famous incense in the world, and because from my researches it appears to be the original Nag Champa scent - which is a blend of magnolia champaca and sandalwood. And Nah Champa is possibly the most revered incense stick scent. 



Frankincense 

Frankincense is an obvious choice. It is one of the oldest and most celebrated fragrances is the history of humankind, and is possibly the original incense. Indeed, the word incense comes from  frankincense. There are a number of frankincense fragranced incense sticks and cones - it is a popular scent, and frankincense is also used in masala incense as a fixative to hold and project the scent in the masala paste.  However, I feel to really experience this incense it should be a resin, as that is how it has been enjoyed for thousands of years. I fully intend to really explore resins, but at the moment I've only had a few. The sweet, flowery, lightly citric Frankincense Resin from Dutch distributors Pheonic Import is currently my highest rated pure frankincense resin. 



Bukhoor / Oud





Balaji are a well established Indian incense company. They make a full range of incenses from perfumed to masala. All their incenses are heady, and very Indian. I find their masala incenses to be among the most divine in India. Their new Dharma range, created by Ashish Shah, takes the traditional masala incense into the modern world with bright, joyful scents. And I shall put a Dharma incense on this list. But here I will list Balaji Red, as this is the incense that made their reputation - it is their signature scent, and justifiably so. Their Chandan is very popular, but I feel there are better and more interesting sandalwood incenses I can put on the list. Balaji Red is a sensual combination of deep red florals (Damask rose) and sultry, musky woods. 



Meena Perfumery Meena Supreme 

This is the incense that Paul Eagle sold as Happy Hari's Meena Supreme - and it took on a legendary status. 

   
Modern Egyptian Incense




Aravinda Sugandha Shringar

Sugandha Shringar by the Aravinda Parimala Works of Mysore, has a claim to being the first blended (as opposed to single scent) incense stick in India. H.S.Rao created Sugandha Shringar ("cosmetic fragrance" or "makeup fragrance") in 1963 - blending floral scents with woody scents - which became the basis for the heart and soul of much incense in India, and would likely be the inspiration for Nag Champa.  The incense is a modest perfume-dipped everyday room freshener, but its influence and importance is huge. 



Happy Hari's Nag Champa Gold



 

The original Flora / Fluxo incense. This has been hugely influential. Much copied - sometimes quite blatantly as with Hari Om's Fluxo. 



Cottage Industries


I want to again point out that I'm not listing these in any order of importance - I am putting these up as they occur to me from the selection I made below. The numbers are to help me keep track of how many there are. I may remove the numbers later, though they kinda look good with numbers.  My intention is to post this list before it's complete, otherwise it will simply get forgotten among my drafts, as are a number of other abandoned projects - some dating back years....

 Cottage Industries Heritage No. 16 Amber 



    
Lovely Incense, Kathmandu










A number of things struck me about this incense which uses cow dung as biochar fuel, combines traditional dhoop with modern perfumed masala, and brings a new twist to the classic Champa or Nag Champa scent. Biochar is already used in incense by companies such as Goloka - but they are using coconut biochar, not cow dung. And cows are sacred in India. And the cows on the Malaan farm are rare. So bringing together the conservation of rare, sacred cows, utilising cow dung as a fuel, and then going one step further and turning that fuel into biochar, so it saves the planet, and provides a perfect fuel source for the incense, is by itself a land mark element. I'd like to see more incense companies using cow dung biochar instead of wood charcoal. Alok Pandey's incense, I feel, is a watershed moment in the history of Indian incense - as important as Sugandha Shringar - the first perfumed incense stick to blend perfumes rather than have single scent; as important as Sri Sai Flora Fluxo - with the heavy use of fragrant oils; as important as Satya Nag Champa with the development of that key masala blend of sandalwood and champaca.





Mainichikoh (or Mainichi Koh or Mainichi-koh) is the oldest, most popular, and most famous Japanese incense. The name means "everyday incense", and introduced the notion to the Japanese public of an incense that could be enjoyed for itself, rather than as part of an elite game of the rich (the "way of fragrance" or kodo). It was developed by Kito Tenkundo in 1909, and was immediately successful. The rights to the brand were bought by the Tokyo branch of the Osaka incense company Kokando in 1945. With the financial success of Mainichikoh, the Tokyo branch bought their independence from Kokando company in 1964, becoming Nippon Kodo. 

Mainichikoh is important because it changed the way that incense was made and sold in Japan. It made incense more accessible and popular. It influenced other Japanese incense houses to make their own "everyday incense". As a scent, it is somewhat unremarkable. It is its history, popularity, and status that makes it stand out as an incense to try. 




Nandita is a domestically and globally respected brand created by K.Y. Acharya of Acharya Products in 1959. Indians queue outside their stores in Mumbai for their incense. And the Japanese regard Nandita as a brand for connoisseurs of Indian incense. Black Gold is one of the leading incenses by Nandita, along with Wood Spice.  Try this Black Gold as an example of one of the leading incenses by a respected mainstream Indian incense house. 




Possibles



Fair Trade Om Nagchampa  - As an example of a modern incense house who make incense on commission for others

Monastery Mount Athos Frankincense Holy Great Monastery Vatopedi Aroma Amber  - As an example of legendary Mount Athos resin 

HEM - "Notorious" maker of perfumed incense: HEM Frankincense-Myrrh  / HEM Church Incense (masala)  /  HEM Baby Powder  

Sai Handicrafts UK Gold Sandal - UK based home-made incense

Kuumba Carhartt  - Very trendy and expensive perfumed incense /  Balarama Zam Zam The Lick 
 - same maker - very popular and reasonably-priced foil-wrapped incense in the UK

Moksh Swarna Divya Sugandh  - Modern commercial maker of Indian perfumed incense. Very popular. Decent quality. 

Match Incense: Daisy, Kiwi, & Pineapple  - Dreadful incense, but cute, collectable boxes. 

Knox Weihrauch-Myrrhe Räucherkerzen - Run of the mill perfumed cones - listed for the German tradition of burning cones in cute, collectable wooden smokers. 

Raj Guru Vandana Sambrani Cup - New form of incense. Very popular in India and among the Indian diaspora 





















































Dhenum Cow Dung Cakes (July 2024): 2 




- No comments:
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)