Dimension 5 / Highland X D5 V. 3, V. 6, V. 7

March 21, 2024 at 4:27 pm (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Animal, Benzoin (Loban), Dimension 5, Highland, Hyraceum, Incense, Mike, Musk, Muskrat, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), United States)

One day in conversation within the last year I mentioned to Josh Matthews of Dimension 5 that I had some Tibetan incense powders including some older ones stored away. If I’m remembering this correctly, Josh expressed some curiosity over what he might be able to do with these powders and so I sent him samples of I think three or four of them, including the long-deleted Highland powder. Readers who have been around on ORS for a while remember that some of Essence of the Ages early finds from Tibet included both the Highland stick and powder. The stick was brilliant at first, mutated to something less brilliant (but still quite good) and then vanished. The powder was also brilliant and not only did I have most of a package of it but somewhere along the line Ross sent me his package as well. Ross had resealed his after maybe sampling it once or twice and I also never got around to heating/burning my own very often, but I did notice when I’d go back to sample that this powder aged incredibly slowly and was still quite viable even though I’d had it for 15 years or so. So I packaged a sample up with some others (I want to say Samye, Mindroling (both older batches), and Wara (bought from incense-traditions more recently) and sent them out to him.

After some time, the door creaked open, there was some rattling, clinking and then a billow of smoke, and Josh emerged none the worse for wear with four, I repeat, four incense stick variations he had worked on, combining the Highland incense powder with animalics, premium woods and other ingredients. As anyone who has experienced his incense knows, these were not haphazard formulas, they were carefully crafted to work with the notes of the Highland incense powder in all sorts of interesting, variant and ultimately incredible smelling ways. The results of getting samples of these meant that I soon sent him Ross’ much larger package, only holding back a bit of the pure powder, I think, from my original stash, mostly for reference. Amidst some of the recent marvels coming from his label, the new floral line and the kyaras, I then received a couple tubes of his experiments with the Wara powder which were also fabulous. Then, a bit later, the three Highland based blends that Josh wanted to offer to the public and that I’m going to review here, one of which is a slight revamp of the original V.3 I received, and the other two brand new. Think of these like Tibetan grades except there is no order in quality, absolutely all of them are truly brilliant. Anyway, hopefully you clicked on the above link to my original review of the Highland powder as a starter. I feel largely the same about the powder except to note that I doubt this would have stayed as viable if it did have a lot of extracts and oils, but for sure the creators blended it to last. I’ve often heard that some incenses are supposed to improve with aging and I’m thinking this could be one of them. Most sticks I’ve managed to try that have lasted that long have usually lost a great deal of their power, but I’ve never noticed much in the way of any difference in this powder over the span of time.

As a powder heavy in musk and spices, Josh used a number of different animal sourced musks to complement these. V. 3 takes the Highland incense powder, adds civet, muskrat, and hyraceum (these three animalics are in every incense in this review), as well as Vietnamese agarwood. All of the musks highlight those in the powder while the cherry-note fronted agarwood (and a fantastic one to boot) gives it all a really unique and lovely twist, creating a sort of sweetness and spice that expands the palate of the powder considerably, creating all sorts of new interactions. The animalics are particularly powerful in this one, giving their potent stamp on the nearby environment, heavy and memory impressive. In fact, after rotating this from V 7 during review, the potency of both the incense and the animalics themselves were particularly highlighted. The new ingredients bring the Highland powder up to a premium level, while the powder provides a plethora of notes for these ingredients to interact with. Of the original four I received, this is one of the incenses in Josh’s first test group, but I believe there were only slight refinements, as there wasn’t any need to make it much better than it already was. This Tibetan-Japanese hybrid, if you will, really charts out some interesting new territory in incense, a whole range of interactions and combinations not found commonly elsewhere. I’d even add that between its original and this version, I’ve sampled this over a half dozen times and it feels more impressive with each use. It’s almost like you wouldn’t necessarily think that the powder would match well with a sweeter aloeswood but then it does oh so well.

Highland X D5 V. 6 is quite a bit different and to use a Baieido comparison, it’s sort of like the Hakusui to the V 3’s Ogurayama (wood or stick). The ingredients listed include the Highland powder, along with both Kalimantan and Papua agarwood, which are then matched with cinnamon, clove and benzoin, and the three animalics. I noticed with this one that I was constantly reminded of other Japanese incenses, for sure it has the same sort of spice and wood mix to something like Tennendo’s Kuukai, but then in a different setting, it reminded me of the leather, male cologne, and stubble mix of Baieido’s Kai Un Koh. The difference is that the aloeswoods are excellent in this one, and so the mix frequently gives you some wonderful, charry, black resin notes that almost mutate due to the presence and power of the animalics. The panoply of combinates that arise from all these interactions is quite impressive, I was getting desert notes, wheat, fire, liquor, saltiness and a really great sort of mix with the turpentine/lacquer notes you get from the woods. It’s a very heady incense, maybe even subtly erotic due to the way the masculine notes meet the musks. The Highland powder plays all over as well subtly mixing with all of the added notes to either bring out aspects of the powder or match them with something complementary. Of the three incenses here this is the most complex and perhaps the wildest.

V. 7 takes the Highland powder and the same animalics as in the previous two Vs, but combines these with Mysore sandalwood and benzoin, which definitely changes the whole base compared to the previous incenses. The effect of using sandalwood rather than agarwood is that the latter sort of creates an edifice to build on while using fine Mysore powder strengthens the Highland powder’s foundation, as if it dares you to imagine a finer grade of sandalwood was used to create it originally. The difference in woods also makes you pay attention to the relationship these ingredients have with the three animalics. They’re not quite as sharply used on this one, more delicately placed, which feels appropriate without having the agarwood resins to highlight. Josh uses these animalics pretty liberally in these incenses. I don’t think any of them are overdone, but V. 7 may have been my favorite placement of them, as like the Mysore powder, they kind of easily substitute for the Highland Powder’s own muskier elements. So in a way this might actually be the closest one of these sticks gets to making an actual high-end Highland incense. I often get this sort of desert-like impression with sandalwood incenses as the good stuff can have some drier elements (especially when you think sandalwood still largely ages in its trees rather than buried underground) which sort of relate differently to the spices. So of all the versions I’ve tried, this one actually feels the closest to the powder itself in match, but don’t discount what even these quality ingredients can do to transform this. It was towards the very end of my appraisal that I started to notice how the benzoin sweetens this and at the same time I would get notes like dried peaches which added a real subtlety to the mix.

I do really want to stress that this sort of Japan meets Tibet style of hybridization is quite rare indeed. With all the descriptions given, I still can’t underline enough how fun and clever this project is and it may be just the start. There’s something really special about a lot of real Tibetan incenses, in terms of how wild and original they are, so creating a sort of partnership with the high-end world really brings a lot of amazing new smells and energies. If interested in purchasing, contact Josh at dimension5incense@gmail.com for pricing and information. Josh also talks about his incenses at www.instagram.com/dimension_5_incense.

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Highland/Samye Monastery

July 3, 2011 at 12:22 pm (Highland, Incense, Incense News, Mike, Samye Monastery, Tibet Autonomous Region)

Incenses are back in stock at Essence of the Ages. These are among the best in Tibetan incenses.

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The Olfactory Rescue Service Top 25 (Mike and Ross)

December 17, 2009 at 9:02 am (Baieido, Daihatsu, Dzogchen Monastery, Gyokushodo, Highland, Incense, Incense Top 10 Lists, India, Japan, Kunmeido, Kyukyodo, Mermade Magickal Arts, Minorien, Mother's India Fragrances, Pure-Incense, Purelands, Seijudo, Shoyeido, Shroff Channabasappa, Shunkohdo, Tennendo, Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibetan Medicine Company of Traditional Tibet College (Tibetan Medical College), United States)

Today we introduce to you the Olfactory Rescue Service Top 25. However, unlike our usual top 10s and last year’s combined top 20, we thought we’d do something a little bit different and a little bit tricky. This year’s top 25 is something of a meta-list, in a way we want to capture the best of incense by looking at things from a larger perspective. So instead of having one incense per entry, we’re just going for broke: full companies, sublines, incenses, incense materials, incense supplementals – everything we could think of that would lead to a top tier incense experience. In fact we started at a top 20, expanded it to a 25 to make sure we got everything and ended up with a pretty good group.

Please keep in mind as always that our best of lists are something of a lark. For one thing I think both Ross and I probably find it somewhat difficult to truly tier these in order and so while maybe we like the stuff at the top a little more than at the bottom, maybe, there’s no particular rhyme or reasoning to the ordering and we consider everything on here to be superlative work, perhaps with a few individual idiosyncracies we won’t mention. As a whole though, I think this is a good look at what we consider the best incense related stuff on the US market today and we’ve pared it down only to include what is available here. As each entry often includes several incenses, we’ve left off links to reviews and sites, but just about everything on here has been reviewed previously and links to them can be found in our Reviews Index. So, after the cut, the ORS Top 25. Read the rest of this entry »

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Highland Incense Powder (Discontinued)

November 13, 2008 at 11:18 am (Discontinued, Highland, Incense, Powder, Tibet Autonomous Region)

[NOTE 9/28/21: Highland Incense Powder has been discontinued and is no longer imported to North America.] Highland incense sticks were one of my most exciting incense discoveries this year, so trying out their powder was virtually an imperative. The sticks are among the muskiest, richest and most powerful of the Tibetan sticks, almost a given due to the creator’s Tibetan Medical College training. And unsurprisingly, the powder disappoints not a bit, a creation that while not quite as musky as the stick, makes up for it with an amazing complexity that differs both by using heater or charcoal.

I got the impression after several uses that this incense might have real ambergris in it, as there’s a salty but very rich presence to this incense I’ve never noticed anywhere else, one with the same sort of power and energy as natural musk or pangolin scales but also reminiscent of the natural amber resins prevalent all over the incense world. The center of the powder contains a lot of woods and is similar to sticks like the Medicine Kings by having some similarities to corn or other grains. The spice goes very deep, extremely rich and pleasant, mixed with all sorts of earthy smells like leather, manure, the barnyard-ish tinge from musk and even cigar tobacco. Heating the incense helps to not volatize the oils and musk in the incense quite as fast as it does on charcoal, but at the same time the charcoal burn gives it a unique smokiness that brings out the middle anymore. So like most incenses, the two different methods provide different faces.

For such a complex incense, it’s really that unusual spice/musk mix that makes it work. It gives the powder a more lively feel to it than the stick, whose musky presence is bolstered more by an herbal richness than the cinnamon and clove scent here. Like most incenses that originated from Tibetan Medical College training, there appear to be a lot of powerful and very attractive extracts or oils in the mix. There’s also a slight agarwood bite to it in the background and the saffron works very nicely as well, just a touch to add to the intricacy of the scent. Overall it’s well worth the purchase and up to the usual standards of the high end of Tibetan incense, one that could easily fall into the overall top 10 of incenses from the region.

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Best Incense – September 2008

September 30, 2008 at 10:34 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Amber, Baieido, Benzoin (Loban), Camphor, Borneol, Direct Help Foundation, Highland, Incense, Incense Top 10 Lists, Kyara, Lilac, Lung Ta (Brazil), Mike, Musk, Pangolin Scales / Nagi, Resins, Saffron, Sandalwood, Shoyeido, Shunkohdo, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Spikenard / Jatamansi, Tibetan Medicine Company of Traditional Tibet College (Tibetan Medical College), Woods)

[For previous Top 10 lists, please click on the Incense Review Index tab above or the Top Ten Lists category on the left.]

  1. Shoyeido / Premium / Ga-Ho – The price on Shoyeido premiums necessitates some discipline in terms of frequency of burning, but despite all attempts at restraint, I’m closing in on the halfway point of my “silk box” and eyeing the bigger roll and wondering how I can afford one in this sinking economy. I just can’t get enough of what may be my very favorite incense. This one’s dry, unlike any other incense, heavy with high quality aloeswood, and the oil/perfume is stupendous. Just can’t get enough of this one. Extremely exotic and not nearly as immediate as the rest of the line.
  2. Shoyeido / Premium / Nan-Kun – And almost for a different reason, Nan-Kun is nearly as addictive. I think my appreciation for musk is higher of late due to all the Tibetans and while Nan-Kun gets its muskiness likely from the very high quality and heavy use of spikenard, it still itches that same spot while hitting the aloeswood and spice buttons at the same time. This one is very animal and rich, with an almost poignant sweetness to it. Possibly the best buy for money in the Shoyeido Premium line. To my nose, I enjoy Ga-Ho and Nan-Kun as much as the expensive kyaras in the line.
  3. Shunkohdo / Kyara Seikan – Seikan sticks are thin enough to look like they’d break in a strong wind, but their aromatic power for such a size is always startling, even if one does have to quiet down to “hear” it. In many ways this is the kyara incense that really focuses on the wood and while there are obvious ingredients that bolster the aroma, the sweet, sultry smell of the wood is central. A superlatively brilliant incense that I can barely get enough of.
  4. Tibetan Medical College / Holy Land – Down to about 15 sticks left in my box and I practically need disciplined meditation to stay away from it given the wait for a restock (when I go nuts). The very apex of Tibetan incense, a stick that rivals any country’s best work.
  5. Highland Incense – Highland’s the trusty #2 Tibetan brand for me as I wait for more Holy Land, a combination of animal (musk, civet?) and herbal spice that is incredibly comforting and relaxing right before sleep (I often burn about 2 inches of a stick as I drift off). Becoming a standard around here, don’t let this one go out of stock before you try it!
  6. Baieido / Kunsho – My recent musing is wondering whether Kunsho, the third most premium of five in Baieido’s Pawlonia box line, might be equal or better than the fourth, Koh En. As I get to know Baieido incense, more and more do I think you’re getting your best value for money from their products. I could see Kunsho at almost twice the price and still be worth it. Slightly cherry-esque with a very balanced and noble wood to it, this is truly impressive incense.
  7. Shoyeido / Premium / Myo-Ho – Definitely my favorite among the supernal trio heading Shoyeido’s premium line. It still strikes me like an electric muscat, deep, aromatic and sweet with an aloeswood strength that constantly reminds you of the incense’s depth. Another scent that’s painful to watch as your supply dwindles.
  8. Lung Ta / Drib Poi – I am returning to this Tibetan stick fairly often even though in doing so I keep sampling the rest of the line and wonder why I like this one so much more. I think it must be the curry-ish spice to it which seems missing in the others, a green-ish , exotic tinge that brings out the ingredient complexity.
  9. Minorien / Aloeswood – As I cycle through various incenses I often come across this one and am impressed all over again, particularly surprising as the two above it in the Minorien line are more refined and impressive. But there’s something so ancient and hoary about this aloeswood that it tends to scratch that itch I have with aloeswoods that aren’t too sweet. Like Baieido, Minorien’s products have a way of continuing to impress long after one’s initial purchase.
  10. The Direct Help Foundation / The Druid – I’m not sure this incense is still available, it was originally part of the Magic Tantra set and maybe one other, but perhaps it will show up again in the future. It’s actually somewhat similar in its salty herbalness to the Tibetan Medical College incenses, although not at all musky or dense like those. I’m not sure what the active ingredients is here, the mosses or something else, but the results are a very pleasant blend I hope comes back in the future. Because when TDHF get it right like they do here, they’re among the best.

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Best Incense – August 2008

August 26, 2008 at 9:55 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Amber, Baieido, Camphor, Borneol, Crocus, Encens du Monde (Florisens), Highland, Incense, Incense Top 10 Lists, Kyara, Lilac, Mike, Musk, Pangolin Scales / Nagi, Red Sandalwood, Saffron, Samye Monastery, Sandalwood, Shoyeido, Shunkohdo, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Spikenard / Jatamansi, Tennendo, Tibetan Medicine Company of Traditional Tibet College (Tibetan Medical College), Woods)

[For previous Top 10 lists, please click on the Incense Review Index tab above or the Top Ten Lists category on the left.]

  1. Tibetan Medical College / Holy Land – The question du jour: When is Essence going to restock this? Yes, I know I haven’t come close to finishing up the box yet. Yes, it’s probably a waste to burn 50 sticks of this at once, but I won’t know for sure until I try. Anyway, while the answer is certainly ASAP, I hope my (mild) anxiety over this reflects just how totally and completely crushed over Holy Land I am. It’s quite likely to be my favorite incense for quite a while as only…
  2. Highland Incense – …is anywhere close to how I feel about it. In fact Highland here comes pretty darn close as a #2 and as the product of a retired Tibetan Medical College doctor, it’s not difficult to think about these two in the same breath. But where Holy Land gets the step due to its unbelieavable floral middle, which comes out the most when you’re not looking for it, Highland has such a balanced muskiness with a nice sweetness that it also constantly compels me to return to the box.
  3. Baieido / Jinko Kokoh – Every premium series seems to have its own character and style and the kokohs aren’t any different. In fact the defining aspect, at least of the Byukaden and Jinko Kokohs, is more so the ingredients other than the woods. Particularly the borneol and spices which seem to be at about the highest, natural level available in these incenses. They help to make these among the most penetrating incenses available. Would love to see these in long stick form.
  4. Baieido / Kunsho – I think it dawns on anyone using any one of the five Baieido aloeswoods (in Pawlonia boxes) that the series is strong from top to bottom, but it really takes a good half a box to realize just how great they really are. I’d been a little late grabbing a Kunsho box, but so glad I did as every stick is an exercise in reflection. Sweet, deep, classy, refined, this one may be just as good as the next step up Koh En. Or at least I think so this week.
  5. Shunkodo / Kyara Aioi no Matsu – I’m so enamored with Kyara Seikan that it occludes my view on the Aioi no Matsu. The other issue is the AnM suffers pretty hard with aromatic fatigue, given that so much of its majesty is in the very top spice notes. But when you get everything, it’s truly extraordinary with a dozen or so different aspects going on. A tremendously complicated blend.
  6. Samye Monastery / Samathabadra – This would have been a little higher earlier in the month when I was finding it difficult not to burn it a bunch. It’s an unusual incense, more consonant when you’re not paying too much attention but extremely diverse when you are, as you notice all the aspects to it. And there’s really no other incense quite like it, dark, rich, mysterious and ambrosial.
  7. Shoyeido / Premium / Ga-Ho – I just can never get enough of this one, an easy all-time top 5 pick and my favorite Shoyeido premium. It’s dry and spicy/heavily resinated wood one-two attack gets me every time. The day I buy 135 sticks is the day it becomes a #1 pick for a few months.
  8. Encens du Monde / Meditation / Guiding Light – Probably because it’s fairly essential oil heavy, this incense does a fantastic job scenting a larger area over time. I really adore the smell of this one, especially after about half a long stick has burned. Even with all the oils this is at essence a very complex, very woody incense. Just one or two sticks a month tends to push it into my monthly best.
  9. Tennendo / Karafune Kahin-Gold – It took me a while to come around to this series, in fact had I written the review today I’d have compared them to the above-mentioned Baieido aloeswood series as they’re really that difficult to parse. Over time I’ve been noticing just how quality the aloeswood is in this and (in lesser quantity) the Silver. But now these are starting to really grow on me and I’m starting to notice more of the woody qualities. Sleeper hits for sure.
  10. Tibetan Medical College / Nectar – This one has fallen due to the Holy Land, which seems in comparison to be more of a B grade, but this is a B grade better than most A grades. The intensity of the spices isn’t as high and I suspect that’s due to juniper berry. But it’s still one of those incenses you can smell the musk straight off the stick and it only suffers in comparison to Holy Land

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Highland Incense (Discontinued)

August 19, 2008 at 9:10 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Discontinued, Highland, Incense, Mike, Pangolin Scales / Nagi, Saffron, Sandalwood, Tibet Autonomous Region)

[NOTE 9/29/21: All versions of Highland Incense are discontinued and are no longer imported to North America. This stick is different than the Feng Ma Bao Pharmaceutical Highland Incense.] Incense enthusiasts will undoubtedly have come across Tibetan Musk incenses, however if you’re like me most of them don’t really come up to snuff, particularly given how variant musk can be. With today’s ecological concerns, most musky incenses are created by the use of plants or even synthetic materials, and they vary widely in scent, but one aspect they don’t vary all that widely on is depth. And that’s really the major aspect of real musk that can not be imitated, an organic scent that is much a stamp on the nearby environment as it is an aroma. Moving from incenses with herbal musk to those with the real thing means you really don’t even need an ingredient list to tell. That is, when it comes to the description, you’re rarely if ever going to be told your incense has animal-derived musk, but an incense like Highland, even without the word musk brought up, will make the issue really clear.

Ecological issues aside, musk is the dominant aroma of Highland incense stick and it’s an astonishing musk, with the staying power of a skunk spray but with the aroma of paradise. From the ingredients list you also get white sandalwood, purple sandalwood, agarwood, saffron and pangolin scales along with 20 other medicinal ingredients. All of these ingredients are among the most pricy in incense and they make Highland one of the most richest, indulgent incense experiences available. Fragments of sticks will not only scent your living space but your memory as well, and I’ve carried this deep, musky, aroma in my mind to places far away from an incense burner.

As much as I can talk about this being a prime example of a great Tibetan musk incense, part of the reason is the richness of materials being used, a spicy and multi-faceted base that plays behind the initial aromatic impact and adds character and definition. It’s a great incense from top to bottom, the musk hitting you first, the spices through much of the middle (the musk lingering along; possibly some benzoin or amber) and then slight woody hints that lift it even more. Like the Tibetan Medical College scents (apparently Highland is created by a retired doctor from this college) and Samye Monastery Samathabadra, Highland sits in the very top echelon of world incenses. If you ever wondered why companys go to such ends to imitate this sort of musk, this is the incense to try. I can’t say if it will eliminate bacteria or cure the flu, but based on my mood after a burn, there probably won’t be any evil spirits left when you’re done.

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Best Incense – July 2008

July 29, 2008 at 8:49 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Asafoetida, Baieido, Benzoin (Loban), Camphor, Borneol, Crocus, Dzongsar Monastery, Highland, Incense, Incense Top 10 Lists, Kyara, Lung Ta (Brazil), Mike, Musk, Pangolin Scales / Nagi, Patchouli, Resins, Saffron, Samye Monastery, Sandalwood, Shoyeido, Shunkohdo, Spikenard / Jatamansi, Tennendo, Tibetan Medicine Company of Traditional Tibet College (Tibetan Medical College), Woods)

[For previous Top 10 lists, please click on the Incense Review Index tab above or the Top Ten Lists category on the left.]

  1. Baieido / 350th Anniversary Sandalwood – This is arguably not even the best of the three incenses in this magnificent (and now deleted) anniversary set, but it was the most revelationary one to my nose, in that this is possibly the best sandalwood I’ve ever tried, with a quality of wood so high it’s like it becomes something else. It’s as if the aromatics and/or wood resins are so fine that they’re like an aged liquor. Given the incenses similarities to Baieido’s Kokoh series (at least the Jinko anyway), I wanted the Byukaden Koko right away. Without this entry I might have given the slot (if a bit lower on the list) to Kyukyodo Yumemachi, not quite as deluxe but still an amazing sandalwood.
  2. Baieido / Koh En – An incense I’ve returned to over and over in the last couple months, there’s something just at the edge of comprehension on this one. For one thing I believe this uses the Hakusui Vietnamese incense, a really gentle yet startling aloeswood, but the spices that accentuate the wood really bring it out. It’s like orbiting a new planet, no matter what spot you’re over there’s something new to look at. This line of aloeswoods might be the most sublime out there.
  3. Highland Incense – I’m over the moon with some of the higher end Tibetan sticks these days, and you really have to credit Essence of the Ages whose archaeological skills are unparalleled at bringing us these really legitimate and otherwordly monastery incenses. Highland’s one of the muskiest, most ever-present incenses you can imagine and will set off subconscious impressions for ages even based on the burn of an inch of stick. It’s about as deep and intense as a Japanese incense even if the aloeswood content is mostly a side note. But the musk here will redefine your experience. I hope they were gentle.
  4. Tibetan Medical College / Nectar (TPN) – If Highland really hit me the most the second or third time around, this Nectar hit between the eyes right in the middle of the third one. It’s an electric, intuition-triggering polyherbal blend like you wouldn’t believe. It reminds me a little of the Tashi Lhunpo Shing Kham Kun Khyab with a massive helping of lama juju. It’s clear, red and has a weird kind of kundalini playfulness to it. It made me want to order the entire college’s catalog.
  5. Shoyeido / Premium / Nan-Kun – A three-way hit of animal depth, spikenard sweetness and aloeswood infinity, it’s the most inexpensive of the Premiums to have this much higher mind impact. Everything above this level refines this sort of sweet musk, but here it’s wild and uninhibited. Starting to become an all-time favorite.
  6. Samye Monastery / Samanthabadra – Soon to be corrected, this is the only high end Tibetan incense I have in stock right now, so the samples of the other high enders have had me returning to this all month. It was my first incense of this level, and found the depth of scent and purity of ingredients to be startling and over time almost addictive. I’m not even sure I could describe this one, except that it’s highly likely the pangolin scales have a real distinct and dimension-adding effect to the overall aroma. Definitely 5x the aroma of most lowest end Tibetans, humming with the essence of the inner planes.
  7. Dzongsar Incense – You get the impression with most Tibetan incense sticks are mostly wood, at least in base and while that’s still true for Dzongsar it’s such a thick and heavy stick one wonders if it’s not made from clay. Aromatically it has similarities to a lot of Tibetan incenses that have difficult (for the Westerner anyway) ingredients (think White Pigeon, the side notes to Mandala Trading Tibetan Monastery, Essence’s Ayurvedic ropes), but in this case they’re refined to the point that it’s a lot easier to see their brilliance. Tangy, rich and definitely multi-dimensional, I think I’ve only barely begun seeing how good this one is.
  8. Shunkohdo / Kyara Seikan – I would feel weird leaving Shunkohdo off of a top 10 list given how much I use their products, many of them are virtual regulars around my place (Yae No Hana in particular nearly makes every monthly list). This kyara blend is always amazing to me due to how penetrating, sharp and sweet the aroma is. Like Baieido, no matter what Shunkohdo do, they never drown out the central wood notes. And I’m finding this one is complex enough to notice different things about it than I did when I first got a box.
  9. Tennendo / Enkuu – If newness wasn’t such a variable factor for these top 10 lists, Enkuu would likely make it every month, it’s quite simply one of my favorite incenses. I’m finding with some of the intense high enders like this that a little goes a very long way and have been finding myself taking out a stick and putting it in a burner and then burning it by thirds. Usually a third of the way down it’s scented the room like most incenses after a full stick. Shoyeido Sho-kaku is also perfect for this and could have interchanged with this selection easily. No doubt that one will be on next month’s again just based on one stick over the last few days.
  10. Lung Ta / Drib Poi – Ever proving the same rule that any incense this complex isn’t revealed in full until at least the fourth stick, I wanted to slip this fantastic, affordable Tibetan (or maybe Brazilian-Tibetan) in here due to its ever-revealing complexity. And it’s the most simple in the line!

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