Discontinued Happy Hari Incenses (Meena Supreme, King Sandal, King of Saffron)

August 8, 2021 at 8:41 am (Amber, Discontinued, Happy Hari, Incense, India, Mike, Saffron, Sandalwood)

Finally, as a bonus review and appendix to the reposted/redone Happy Hari series, I wanted to post all of the discontinued incenses from the Happy Hari line here for historical posterity. And I should say that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the incenses are discontinued at their original source, just that they are currently not imported to the West that I know of. For example, I believe Meena Supreme is still up and operating, but it’s not in the Happy Hari catalog at the present time. Also Indian sandalwood incenses like King Sandal change just as much from the differences in sandal oil quality over the years as well, although in this case the old version was a different incense stylistically as well. Also, Absolute Bliss has dozens of other incenses that come from the same Indian supplier, many of which we will be getting to as we move forward, but the discontinued incenses here were considered once part of the Happy Hari line. Keep in mind the historical reviews here were written probably somewhere from the late 00s to the early 10s and that I’ve possibly taken out some of the original context as orphan reviews. These are just here as a record.

[Original Meena Supreme review] But even if you can’t count on incense nirvana, usually something so prized is usually going to be quite good and for the most part Meena Supreme succeeds from just about every angle and if it may not be the best incense ever created, I’d definitely say it’s one of the more unique and desirable of Indian incenses and certainly one I’m going to add to our Hall of Fame. Meena Supreme is a fluxo incense which means it’s solidly in the genre inhabited by Sai Flora, Sai Deep, Sai Leela and the like, which also means it’s a big stick, highly aromatic and something of a major smoke producer. This is perfect for me, especially during the dawning of spring where various allergies often make smelling Japanese incense very difficult, but if Indian incense smoke is too much for you, Meena Supreme will likely be too. In fact during the first two sticks, I wasn’t even sure if I would end up liking it, but it was likely because it was just too much at the time.

Since my initial foray into Meena Supreme, I think I’ve burned three to four boxes of it if not more (the size box I got fit about 6-8 sticks I believe). It is a highly addictive scent once you get it as most signature scents are and is also very hard to describe. Meena Supreme starts with the same earthy, almost stable-like background tones of Sai Flora but that’s where the similarity between incenses ends. Where Sai Flora goes in a bright, heavily floral, brassy direction, Meena Supreme is much more sultry with a mix of woods, rose, cocoa, coffee (with milk) and most importantly a feeling that all the subscents have been blended and aged. Most importantly Meena Supreme had the ability to make me think about it a lot when I wasn’t burning it, which has let to a lot of impromptu reaches.

[Historical King Sandal review] Happy Hari’s King Sandal is a champa type scent that will be familiar to those who have tried incenses like Rare Essence’s Sandalwood Supreme and Precious Sandalwood. However, unlike those incenses Happy Hari’s Sandal has a nice and sweet sandalwood, honey and halmaddi mix that really lifts the whole scent so that you have a fine oil mix riding an excellent base. In Indian incense, these are the types of sandalwood sticks I tend to prefer as the oils smell very woody and not so much a buttery/vanilla thing like so many of the masalas have.

[Historical King Saffron review] The King of Saffron will be of no surprise to anyone having some experience with Indian incense, as this yellow dusted, thin masala is common in other lines as Saffron or Saffron Sandalwood. I would mention that there’s a slight freshness and clarity to this version that might make it the one to start with. In many ways it’s a “classic” Indian scent and one I might put in a starter set.

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Kunmeido / Kyara Tenchi, Tokusen Kyara Ten-Pyo (Discontinued)

July 6, 2021 at 6:49 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Discontinued, Japan, Kunmeido, Kyara, Mike)

These two kyara incenses are the upper echelon of the Kunmeido line. Kunmeido is a personal favorite company for me, largely based on the high quality and relative affordability of incenses like Asuka, Heian Koh, and Shin Tokusen Reiryo Koh. But these kyaras take that range and elevate a similar trend to really rarified heights. ORS has reviewed many of the previous scents in this line (including one of these), but for context, their basic scent, Reiryo Koh, is made from sandalwood, clove, foenun graecum, patchouli, tarmelic/turmetic, and borneol camphor. Very roughly speaking as the ingredients improve the incenses go from a kind of basic spicy blend into really green territories, with a greater sense of refinement. So you start with the basic Reiryo-Koh, then a couple of variations of it (the Shin Tokusen and Aloeswood versions), then Shoryu-Koh, then you hop to green with Heian-Koh. Greater aloeswood content moves towards the great Asuka (the more recent Fuiji aloeswood probably falls more in between these two), and then you’re in kyara range with these two.

In fact in this case you might even describe Kyara Tenchi (I believe this was previously called Kyara Ten-Pyo and was previously reviewed by Ross in 2009) as a kyara-laced version of Asuka. While the stick is now a brown color, a lot of the green features from the Asuka scent still exist here. Kyara Tenchi is really an astonishingly complex incense. It takes that sweet green note from the Asuka and adds a sort of caramel-chocolate layer on top of it to make this an almost delectable sweet sort of kyara, certainly not too cloying, but definitely a bit in the candy-coated range. It’s probably a bit more cooling than the Asuka, maybe a bit of adjustment to match the borneol note more with the kyara in here. It really spirals out all sorts of complexities and sub notes from the level of woods and the match of ingredients, so it’s certainly one you want to get close to and feel out. Asuka on its own alright has a really surprisingly high resolution aloeswood back note to it, so it’s not a surprise this one does as well at a higher level. And honestly what is mostly incredible about it is its price, which Japan Incense has at $110 for a 70 stick roll. For my nose this is an uncommonly good incense for that low a range and while overall I think the level of real kyara in this is probably really small, the way the incense has been created magnifies the impact of it. Overall all of this is why it’s on my Mike’s picks list.

But the only reason the deluxe version isn’t on the Mike’s Picks list is because it was essentially discontinued due to the lack of kyara needed to make it. But every time I circle around to Japan Incense and see Tokusen Kyara Ten-Pyo still showing in stock, I’m almost shocked, because if you can afford high-end kyara range incenses then I would snap this up before it’s gone. If the regular is a 10 out of 10 then the Tokusen has to at least be an 11 or 12. I went on a bit as to how complex the regular version is but it really has nothing on this incredible marvel, it’s literally one of the greatest kyaras ever made that I could barely afford. This is definitely a variation on the regular Kyara Tenichi, but the wood is so high quality that the aroma takes a quantum jump up. It’s the literal, mind melting, 4K real deal. And it’s not just the woods here, it feels like a lot of the other ingredients that have followed this line up to this one are all at that kind of high-resolution brilliance and it means that a good listen will familiarize yourself with all of them independently while watching them interact all in the face of a world-class conductor. In particular it’s almost like it comes back to the Reiryo Koh scent as a climatic final chorus. The better wood also means it will likely be more to the taste of those who like their aloeswoods purer and maybe find the regular too sweet. Don’t miss this one because when it’s gone, it’s really gone. And if we’re seeing any real indications it’s that incenses like this are a vanishing breed.

12 Comments

Admin Notes

July 2, 2021 at 11:31 am (Administrative, Awaji Koh-Shi, Baieido, Baikundo, Discontinued, Incense News, Japan, Mike)

So now that I’ve got a bit of a writing cushion going, I’m turning some effort towards upkeep. As of today, all incense reviews for Awaji Koh-Shi, Baieido and (Awaji-)Baikundo have been:

  • Edited to direct all links for available incenses to the Japan Incense site. A lot of the links in these reviews previously went to stores who are no longer in business or don’t carry the incense anymore and Japan Incense is often the gateway for many of these companies into the US as well. This appears to be the most stable US resource for these scents.
  • Edited to tag and/or add notes to all discontinued incenses. These include:
    • Awaji-Kohshi (Shochikudo) – Orange Osmanthus
    • Awaji-Kohshi (Shorindo) – Scent of Forest
    • Baieido – 350th Anniversary box, all three scents (this was a limited edition).
    • Baieido – Izumi
    • Baieido – Byakudan Kokoh
    • Baieido – Kokonoe Floral
    • Baieido – Kokonoe (Koh Special) (this was a limited editon).
    • (Awaji-)Baikundo – Byakudan Amacha Kou
  • Edited to put caveats on certain incenses due to scent changes. There may be more coming but the current list is:
    • All five Baieido aloeswoods.
    • Baieido / Kai Un Koh
    • Baieido / Jinko Kokoh
  • Edited to update authorship and categories on a number of missing reviews.
  • Occasional clean up, especially when reviews reference obsolete websites etc.
  • [Edit 9/15/21: Noted on review that Koh/Sawayaka was renamed as Cinnamon in Baieido’s Imagine Series. Link also updated. See comments below.]

Naturally if you know that any of this information is incorrect any way you can post here or use the About page to contact me. Also, when I mean discontinued, I really mean discontinued in the US market, some of these scents still may be available in Japan. There are a few links I left to incenses not for sale anymore if there was still an active web page.

8 Comments

Mermade Magickal Arts / Sanctuary, Pan’s Earth (2021) + Esprit de la Nature / Lavender Kyphi (via Mermade) (Discontinued)

June 30, 2021 at 6:13 am (Amber, Ambergris, Balsam, Benzoin (Loban), Breu Claro, Canada, Copal, Costus, Discontinued, Esprit de la Nature, Fir, Frankincense, Honey, Kyphi, Labdanum, Lavender, Mermade Magickal Arts, Mike, Myrrh, Palo Santo, Patchouli, Raisin, Sage, Sandalwood, Spikenard / Jatamansi, United States, Vetivert / Khus, Violet)

Here’s another handful of Mermade offerings including one direct from Esprit de la Nature. One I almost missed and the other two newly arrived…

I bought Sanctuary a little while back so I’m not sure if what I’m reviewing here was the first or second batch as mentioned on the page. Katlyn lists the ingredients for this blend of sacred space as Copal Blanco, Copal Negro, Maydi and Sacra Frankincense, Breu Claro, Greek Sage, Palo Santo, Peru Balsam and Fir Balsam. So I think the one thing that this instantly brings to mind is the idea that this is something of a South American blend with a touch of the outside. Space clearing incenses often to tend to be resin heavy, so this checks the box, plus this has that sort of uplifting feel that copals frequently bring to incense especially when they’re high quality. Sanctuary is also a bit of gentle blend, much more so than resin mixes that are frankincense heavy, in fact the frankincenses here seem to have not so noticeable an impact on the overall bouquet. The Palo Santo is fairly obvious as it always is in a mix, and I very much like the way the balsams weave in here as well. Once again Katlyn’s skill at blending multiple ingredients and getting them all to face out in a noticeable way is quite apparent.

Be en Foret’s Lavender Kyphi (picture is just a sample container but cool enough to include – check out the final artwork at the link) is another one of her intriguing variations on the old Egyptian formula. Check out this amazing ingredient line up: “From the Garden: Salted lavender buds and Dominican Sage leaves from my garden, Spikenard root from the Himalayas, Violet leaf extract from France. Resins: Dark Frankincense, Tolu Balsam, Dark Benzoin, Labdanum, Kua Myrrh, Liquidambar, Peru Balsam. A dash of aged Ambergris in Sandalwood oil ● Bound with organic honey and raisins ● Rolled in Agarwood and Sandalwood powder.”

Gulp. That’s a whole lotta goodness there, as is common with labyrinthine Kyphi preparations. Be sets this at a very low temperature kind of melt so you really gotta get in there to experience how complex this is, but of course the lavender is in front just like the name implies. One thing I love about kyphis is there are multiple ingredients, multiple recipes, everyone does them differently, they’re aged and tend to have vintages even among single “authors” and so vary all over the place while still hitting these notes that remind me of the finest of wines or even ales. The second thing I notice off this incense is the honey and balsam scent, a lovely mix that also tends to highlight the spikenard which is a favorite of mine. I do tend to like my lavender as close to the plant as possible, so I appreciate that it’s the kyphi that tends to be sweet here, which is a really nice contrast. And yes this does have that almost thick, wonderful base of a kyphi, more noticeable as the heat progresses, which I always contribute to the raisins and the way they kind of infuse a bit of wine-like goodness to the mix. Anyway I hope you’re convinced on this one, Be has the kyphi juju down!

And if kyphis are a tradition going back to Egyptian times, Katlyn has made something of a vintage out of Pan’s Earth herself. This is one of Mermade’s perennial classics, an almost definitive pagan earth incense, a mix of divine resins with all sorts of herbal notes that furrow their roots deep into the soil. And like kyphi, repeated vintages of Pan’s Earth always seem to improve and get more deep and impressive, and honestly, this one’s even a bit of a quantum jump in how good it is, easily my favorite of all of the good scents under this name. So what’s in the 2021 version? Black frankincense; breu claro; copal negro; vetiver root; aged patchouli; agarwood chips, powder, and oud; Pan’s Earth Special Blend Oil; Arbor Vitae cedar tips; jatamansi; costus root; kua; and Yemeni myrrh. The first thing that always strikes me about Pan’s Earth, despite all of the high end ingredients is that patchouli and vetiver mix. That green, soil-rich earthiness is just right up my alley and has always been the feature that would draw out this god of satyrs (and to be fair jatamansi and spikenard also have a little of it). If you’re gonna talk about Pan you need something feral and dark, something that makes civilization vanish. However to my nose this is actually a bit more resinous than I remember previous vintages, and it almost feels like the aged depth of it actually highlights and provides a well-roundedness to the incense that reminds you that the mystery of Pan still remains and that matched with all that earth is the sense of the universal as well. Perhaps 100s of years from now, some future archaeologists and anthropologists will be trying to make sense of the complexity of Pan’s Earth. Because this great incense is now becoming a tradition like kyphi, where there’s so much to experience, a review may not be able to do it full justice. One subnote melts into another into another. Definitely don’t miss this!

2 Comments

Admin Notes

June 27, 2021 at 10:50 am (Administrative, Discontinued, Incense News, Mike)

So just a quick note to mention that I’ve added some more group incense photos to the Reviews indexes, all Japanese companies. More will be coming from Tibetan and Indian lines eventually.

Also I noticed at Japan Incense they have a discontinued note next to Baieido’s Byakudan Kokoh. So a quick salut to that lost scent, which was a very wonderful deluxe sandalwood. I have personally noticed that the Jinko Kokoh really took a major hit on my last purchase, definitely not as great as it once was. However, Kyara Kokoh, maybe because it is priced at where stock moves a lot slower is still one of the titans of incense. Due to the natural ingredients I think Baieido’s scent profile may change more than any other. Kai Un Koh definitely is not what it once was; however, the Syukohokokus still seem pretty stable. I’m assuming the more affordable line is probably doing OK too, although I haven’t revisited these in a while.

There are a ton of reviews coming up. Somehow, from previously undiscovered reserves of energy, I’ve managed to get on a really productive roll and reviews are about 3 weeks deep at this point and I may have time to push that a bit deeper the week of the 4th. Some of these include the restoration to ORS pages of a well-known Indian incense company as well as the beginning of a deep dive into the utterly fantastic Temple of Incense line, both in July. Japanese incense reviews from Kunmeido, Shunkohdo, Keigado, Seikado and Baikundo (and eventually more from Yamadamatsu, Kunjudo and others) are coming. A range of Tibetan incenses from various monasteries. More in the Soul Sticks line. Another Mermade (and Esprit de la Nature) drop this Wednesday. If you’re from a new incense company and would like to be evaluated here please check out the About page and drop me a line as I can’t promise how long the energy will last, but for me it’s easier to keep this up when everything is rolling like this.

Have a great rest of your weekend all!

2 Comments

Ganesha Incense/Nag Champa, Jagannath, Agarwood (Discontinued)

January 21, 2016 at 10:11 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Champa / Durbar, Discontinued, Ganesha Incense, Incense, Mike)

[Per Wizardland’s comment below, Ganesha Incense appear to have been affected by pandemic-related issues and are attempting to recover. – Mike 7/15/21]

Ganesha Incense is a new company creating traditional Indian incense and based on my review package, ships from Thailand all over the world. Their incenses come in 100g containers, large tubes with easily removable lids that are really nice, you can actually set them on their base and they stay upright and are very easily accessible. There is no inner packaging (they’re essentially cardboard), so I’m not quite sure if the incense is protected over time, but based on what I sampled, I’m not sure it’s necessary as the lids fit snug and everything smelled nice and fresh.

It’s never stated on the packaging but I wouldn’t be surprised, based on some of the offered incenses and the base of the incenses if these were sourced in the Madhavdas family, the same venerable incense creators behind the Primo, Pure Incense and other lines. If not, there still seems to be a similar base at work, a mix of vanilla, sandalwood and charcoal. But like most of the incenses sourced through Madhavdas, Ganesha incenses do differ in overall scent and aren’t just the same incenses being sold under different names. As we have found out, this base can be solid for connoisseur and high quality incenses.

Based on the three incenses in the package, Ganesha seem like they’re off to a very good start. But first of all, a bit of a preamble as I haven’t reviewed a Nag Champa in a while and there is some history behind the style. Nag Champa incenses today are generally better than they were ten years ago, but if you go ten years earlier you go back to a time where they were much more impressive. One of the things I remember about the older Nag Champa is that the sticks were very gooey, it wasn’t uncommon to find smashed sticks where the consistency of the material was still quite wet. This has been attributed, sometimes from myself, to the use of halmaddi in the stick, a material that keeps an incense in a sort of state between wet and dry. However, I haven’t seen a single new Nag Champa incense since Olfactory Rescue Service has been active whose consistency matches the “historical” Nag Champa (not even Dhuni’s) and so I’ve come to the impression over the last few years that something in the mix has been lost since Satya Sai Baba changed hands and that it could be something more than just halmaddi. Halmaddi was (or may still be) on the CITES endangered species list and for a while it was very rare, and the Nag Champas during this period were very dry and mostly downright unpleasant. Fortunately incenses have been popping up since this dry period that clearly contain it and thus we’ve had a bit of a renaissance with the blend such as with the Mother’s wide range of champas. Halmaddi tends to give champas a uniquely balsamic middle which tends to balance nicely with the oils being used.

There is one important difference in the newer blends, however, and that is most of these are quite a bit skinnier than the “historical” champas and so the actual materials being used often don’t overpower the scent of the bamboo stick in the middle and this tends to cut through sometimes. I wanted to mention this as it’s not specific to Ganesha’s Nag Champa, all the new ones have it. But I also wanted to mention it because Ganesha’s version is very very good and I know the owner has made a strong effort to release a really authentic scent and even with the history given above, I’d easily think about this as the market’s go-to Nag Champa. It has a nice halmaddi base, a good balance between the sweet and dry and a touch of depth that all the good incenses in this style have. And unlike some other types of Nag Champa, I actually found myself enjoying this MORE with every stick, rather than less, which is not often the case. Overall I do wonder what a thicker stick with similar materials would be like, other than obviously more expensive. And I have been informed that as the company goes forward there will be more attempts at connoisseur level scents, which of course we look forward to with great anticipation.

Ganesha’s Jagannath is a Nag Champa variant and it’s a sweeter mix of spices and ingredients that is vaguely reminiscent of styles like Vanilla and Honey Dust as well as Maharaja, but unlike either lineage Jagannath is not a clone. This one has been exciting to try as where Nag Champa is an old familiar, Jagannath has just that right amount of newness to keep me pulling for it and learning more about the scent. Like the Nag Champa, there’s something stately and restrained about Jagannath, and my experience with it was that after a few sticks I started to notice a bit of depth to it, something that a lot of sweeter incenses can easily overwhelm. Ganesha’s incenses are true Indian style but don’t seem primed to overwhelm you with perfume like a lot of Indian incenses, their claim to natural scents really seems to bear out. Even last night I pulled out another stick and was even more impressed, like all good incenses you notice more with increased use and this one really does have a lot of subtlety to it.

Nag Champa and Jagannath are two of Ganesha’s Silver incenses so it’s perhaps impressive at this point to note that they also have a Gold line as well (4 different incenses so far). The Gold incense I was sent was the Agarwood. As noted before when reviewing Indian agarwoods, they are very different from the Japanese scents. And there aren’t really that many of them, only Pure Incense’s blends come to mind at the moment. But I am really impressed with this one, it has a really astounding depth to it and seems quite superb especially for its price range. Given how expensive Agarwood is, to keep it at the 100g/$19.99 price there has to be some clever trickery involved in the makeup, and I was quite impressed by not only some of the spicy oud-like characteristics here but the authentically woody scent that pops up, some of which I would expect to be from the sandalwood in the mix as well. The combination of the base and all of these elements adds up to a very complex incense with some of those dark fruity notes you find in some ouds. It’s also very different from any of the Pure Incense Agarwoods. Like the Nag Champa and Jagannath, the more I sample the Agarwood, the more I like it.

Overall I’d say Ganesha Incense is off to a very good start and I’m certainly looking forward to trying any of their other incenses in the future (these were only 3 types out of approximately 15-20). The scents, presentation and solid price range have obviously had a lot of thought put into them. I’m not sure if the company plans on releasing smaller packets in the future or samplers, which I would think would be key to success and longevity, but I can also imagine that most Indian incense fans sampling these would wish they had 100g if they didn’t. We have a new winner on the market here.

31 Comments

Yamadamatsu / Shoyo, Shigei (Discontinued)

April 19, 2014 at 7:46 pm (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Discontinued, Incense, Woods, Yamadamatsu)
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Yamadamatsu’s Shoyo is quite enlightening, hence the name as it is written here means “Shining Light”. This coil has a strong initial top note of both vanilla and a resinous labdanum scent, combined with at first a woody, salty aloes wood that eventually fades to a mid/base note of cedar. There’s not much else to say other than this is a wonderful scent well worth the price.

Shigei on the other hand is all about the wood. Unlike its predecessors, this coil forgoes any blend and instead contains a straight blend of Vietnamese aloes wood, with a top note of buttery, salty aloes wood to its scent. With a price of 10$ per coil, it is definitely a incense you will want to sit down with and study.

2 Comments

Nippon Kodo / Kurobo Nerikoh (Discontinued)

April 15, 2013 at 10:29 pm (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Discontinued, Incense, Japan, Kneaded Incense (Nerikoh), Nippon Kodo, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.))
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Today I decided to open up my container of Nippon Kodo‘s “Kurobo” Nerikoh and give it a review. Upon first impressions I am confronted with a sweet, woody and spicy mix of scents, straight from the package. It is slated as having aloes wood and sandalwood, while its name is a phrase meaning “Black Priest” in Japanese. I was initially confronted with a base note of a salty/bitter aloes wood scent, alongside cassia and clove and a sweet floral smell I was unable to identify. I also noticed a slight undertone of a soapy smell (barely noticeable, similar to bar soap). After the initial burn in on charcoal in a traditional koro, (and slight heat increase), the overtones faded to a more woody, bitter aloes wood, and the sweetness tapered off. In my personal opinion, I liked this blend a tad more than the previously reviewed Hatsune, And believe that it will appeal to almost anyone, especially those who love sweet woods.

-John

2 Comments

Nippon Kodo / Hatsune Nerikoh (Discontinued)

March 24, 2013 at 11:12 pm (Discontinued, Incense, Japan, John, Kneaded Incense (Nerikoh), Nippon Kodo)
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Howdy!
Today I will be reviewing Nippon Kodo’s “Hatsune” Nerikoh. This kneaded blend tends to be a strong, syrupy sweet mix. I ordered a ceramic container of this, and was pleasantly surprised when I received it. It is slated as having aloeswood and sandalwood, while its name is a phrase meaning “the first bird warbles of spring” in japanese. Although slated as having aloeswood in the ingredients, I was initially confronted with overtones/base note of sweet apricot, with a background note of talcum powder and sandalwood. After the initial burn in on charcoal in a traditional koro, (and slight heat increase), the overtones faded to a more woody, sweet and bitter sandalwood, and the apricot faded into the background. Overall I believe this to be a very approachable nerikoh that will definitely appeal to those who love sweet incense.

2 Comments

Aluwwahs Last Breath-And Then Some :-)

November 7, 2012 at 9:41 pm (Discontinued)
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I got quite a shock a month ago when touching base with my friend Simon at Alluwah, creator of such fine Bakhoors as Hajar and Ramlah, and more recently the much appreciated farm related Sheep and Lambs Breath. It seems that he has decided to take up farming fulltime for now, and was in the process of clearing his shelves. He did go out on a high note, after creating a creature that in name sounds as if it might devour those poor sheep and lambs, but whose nature is quite the opposite. The Black Pine Dragon arrived with a spicy smell exuding through several layers of packaging, making me fear it. However, upon heating, it became a beast more mellow than the sheep and lambs that preceded it. The spiciness from the Dragons Blood quickly mellowed into a dreamlike cloud of Black Pine, Red Cedar, Sandalwood, Indian Agarwood, and Jawee, accented by touches of Vanilla, Somali Frankincense, and Ambergris. After floating upon this mellow dragons back for what seems like a most incredible time, he belches out a super smooth, spicy sweet and lingering puff of Galbanum infused with Dragons Blood fire. While Al Misky considered this to be an extension of his Lamb/Sheep line, minus the honey, I would tend to think this would tend to have taken him in a new, and even more creative area. Also in my parcel was the last in his line of bakhoors, the bakhoor Majlis B. Much more than the traditional “splash and dash” Omani style bakhoor, this Omani styled bakhoor featured a typical base of an AB grade Indian Agarwood, soaked in a luscious mixture of Chocolate, Patchouli, and Labdanum oils. I also detected trace amounts of frankincense and Indian amber in this one, all of which serve to make it a hefty mix. This was quite nice as is, although I might have added a touch of Taif to put it over the top. All in all, two very fine creations, and hopefully Simon will tire of retirement soon.

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