hawk_757

Barn Bro
For the connoisseur’s of sandalwood incense sticks, in your opinion, who makes the best you’ve tried?


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A used to think of sandalwood in terms of which is best, so I went on a journey, now I see that it is as varied as oud. Therefore, to me, there are just differences.... not any best in particular.

For sticks, as a general rule, a stick which has minimal binder will yield the best aroma, but more importantly is that the sandalwood used is of a high aromatic quality. As some postings can attest, there are some sandalwood pieces out there that absolutely Rock!
 

Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
i personally remain int he opposite camp. i do NOT like sandalwood burns on high heat and to date have not found any naked (straight forward sandal dominant) stick to wow me. they all end up having a touch of that acrid and burnt butter note to them. perhaps the best for my taste is the high beta santalol content mysore one KZ did 1.5-2 years ago. if i burn up right (lowest tempreture) and smell from afar it is pleasent. but on angle or upsdie down, it is acrid and harsh.
 

Andrew Salkin

it's aboud time!
Staff member
i personally remain int he opposite camp. i do NOT like sandalwood burns on high heat and to date have not found any naked (straight forward sandal dominant) stick to wow me. they all end up having a touch of that acrid and burnt butter note to them. perhaps the best for my taste is the high beta santalol content mysore one KZ did 1.5-2 years ago. if i burn up right (lowest tempreture) and smell from afar it is pleasent. but on angle or upsdie down, it is acrid and harsh.

You try JKs?
 

Andrew Salkin

it's aboud time!
Staff member
i have not. to be clear there are many fantastic sandal dominant incense sticks from japanese houses. i am talking specifically about sticks made with only makko and sandalwood. no other ingredients or at least if anything else is added it is absolutely minimal.

Right on. Yeah - not to clog up the boards with the same posts, but I think JKs sticks get around that burned smell bc they are thinner than most. I burn them laying down in a box with that fireproof material - and it's the best burned sandalwood experience I've found. Better than anything I've tried from Dr. Incense....
 

hawk_757

Barn Bro
Thank you everyone for your posts. I was just trying to get a consensus as to everyone's favorites to narrow down my shopping. Your responses have been very helpful :)
 

AbasFrag

Oud Burner
Best I have tried is without doubt the ones @hedycent makes. I am still asking myself: how can the sticks be better than the raw material it was made of? And the wood itself was amazing to burn, yet the stick is on another level. So creamy that it almost feels like whipped cream in my nose and lungs
 

sugandhaa

Oud Beginner
I've tried a few from KZ, Rising Phoenix, feel Oud, ensar and lots of indian ones. The one I like the best is from ensar. Very subtle, but the fragrance trail leftover from the smoke of burning the incense is the closest I found to smelling pure Mysore sandalwood.

https://www.zazahaus.com/product/tan-xiang-supreme/

As it is with oud and other aromatics, the variety of sandalwood is another point that makes this a very subjective opinion. Not to mention the variance in olfactory reception from person to person.

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Parth

Oud Beginner
Can someone provide some links to sites that sells great quality sandalwood incense? Looking for something that is totally natural, long lasting. Thanks.
 

hawk_757

Barn Bro
I have been impressed with JK's Hainan and Vietnamese incense sticks, so I am sure his sandal sticks are equally great
 

Grega

True Ouddict
I can't find the post butI think it was @Mr.P who said that he made sandal sticks but they burned too hot and emitted some nasty burnt odour that lingered in the room. Happened to me as well. Making the sticks as thin as possible also didn't help so I ground them againand made tiny bars out of them to use on charcoal or heater (but still one should be careful they don't get too hot). This worked!
 
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