Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
Hello friends

we read it all the time. this oil is very incense. the drydown is all incense. what is the incensiest oil you have tried? what do we mean though? i have come to believe that we are not all on the same page. when i was starting out, for a while i thought i knew what it meant as the given oils that were described as such had a certain similarity to them, but then i started scratching my head when i would read oil xyz referred to as super incensy...

so lets take the guess work out and lets find out "exactly" what is meant by it. For the sake of everyone and educating the entire community, whoever is participating in this thread, i would appreciate if you can be as detailed as possible and give a list of oils that you find most incense, to least to non-existent.

is incense something picked up on the opening note? on drydown? all? does it tend to belong to a certain species, geographical area or method of distilling? grade of wood? lets learn!
 

Joe King

AttitOud
The use of the word incense is one that perplexes me the most in descriptions as I don't believe I have a correct reference.
My only previous experience of "incense" was cheap sandalwood type incense sticks used by "hippy" types:Whistling::Laugh:. (mostly to cover up the smell of prohibited drugs :oops::confused:).
 

Sproaty

Sproudy
Staff member
The use of the word incense is one that perplexes me the most in descriptions as I don't believe I have a correct reference.
My only previous experience of "incense" was cheap sandalwood type incense sticks used by "hippy" types:Whistling::Laugh:. (mostly to cover up the smell of prohibited drugs :oops::confused:).

You're thinking of Nag Champa?
I'm also unsure of what's meant by incense too, since it covers many different ranges, and you can get incenses in multitudes of different scents. Also whether it's lit or unlit?

Perhaps it's just when a scent is smokey? I think of oils such as Ensar's Oud Dhul Q as incensey perhaps - but surely just burning oud could be classed as incense? Hmm, good question - curious to see how others interprete it.
 

Edward Muller

True Ouddict
To me ”incense” profile has some sort of sharp piercing feel to it, but pleasant. Feel Oud’s Sumatrix and Kalimantonio are my examples I guess. Almost there from start to finish. Malay cola has a light incense to it in the dry down, and so does Sugar from HabzOud, and Khmer Special K from Taha.
That's just me though !
 

Rai Munir

Musk Man
If an oil is described as 'incense-y', it is like resin and spices being heated on coal, not on an electric heater. Resin emits some thick honey treacly notes and spices some bitter sweet. That oil is having an incense profile.

Resin includes gum as well. Frankincense gives different feel, and Mastic different, and so on. While resin gives some dark notes, but not excessively heavy. Kneaded balls for heating can lead one to this profile, but those balls must be kneaded in honey, not in some pulp. Last, coal is a must. But it doesn't mean smokey. Smoke is a foreign element to Oud oils. Electric heater gives clean aroma, but creates some hollowness as well. Linear projection.

As I started a thread about terminology, the only reason was describing such terms. Less posts you have observed. It means no clarity at all there in minds. If I have to reason out my foggiest understanding about terms, I always take refuge in the words'subjective' and 'it-varies-from-person-to-person'. Though I never feel anything is subjective.
 
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Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
is it just me or it seems to be a catch-all phrase? small sample base so far, but a read of the above are all pointing to different things.

-smoke
-resin
-oudy (that unique balsamic note? the green tinged cooling woody note yet sweet and bitter at same time?)
-sharp piercing note (likely referring to borneol/camphor terpenes present in agarwood)
...

i love to hear from our distillers and their understanding and meaning behind the usage. @Al Shareef Oudh @Abdullah @Faizal_p @Faheem @Alkhadra ....
 

Rai Munir

Musk Man
No, I don't think so that the posts are pointing different things. The title of the thread you chose is 'breaking down'; thus, it is break down. Second, incense is a comprehensive term that includes notes and nuances.

the green tinged cooling woody note yet sweet and bitter at same time?
If some green oud is listened with acute involvement, the fragrance will itself whisper it is 'sweet and bitter', though the expressions 'sweetly bitter' and 'bitterly sweet' are rather expressive. Empirical test is needed: Go to a jungle and fell down some branches. Sweetly bitter and bitterly sweet will be the fragrance. And that is always replete with 'cooling woody notes' as well.
 
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Rai Munir

Musk Man
But important thing is 'coal notes' that you never talked about:Roflmao:. I never said 'smoke' this time. Otherwise, smoke of Aroha flashes into the minds of the many.


EDIT:
A word deleted before Aroha as it was mentioned by respected member that denotes bashing.
 
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Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
No, I don't think so that the posts are pointing different things. The title of the thread you chose is 'breaking down'; thus, it is break down. Second, incense is a comprehensive term that includes notes and nuances.


If some green oud is listened with acute involvement, the fragrance will itself whisper it is 'sweet and bitter', though the expression 'sweetly bitter' and 'bitterly sweet' are rather expressive. Empirical test is needed: Go to a jungle and fell down some branches. Sweetly bitter and bitterly sweet will be the fragrance. And that is always replete with 'cooling woody notes' as well.
aha. so like barn, people are using "incense" as a general note that can and does consist of many different notes with a loose grouping. i on the other hand was under the impression that when people use the word incense, they mean more or less ONE specific note/quality. like when we say this oil has tobacco note, or hay, or ...
 

Edward Muller

True Ouddict
aha. so like barn, people are using "incense" as a general note that can and does consist of many different notes with a loose grouping. i on the other hand was under the impression that when people use the word incense, they mean more or less ONE specific note/quality. like when we say this oil has tobacco note, or hay, or ...

I THINK so - as incense (actual ones, not the note in question) has such a wide variety. If one is used to the scent of heated resins in an incense, it’s natural to associate that scent with the term? More like a general feel of something being heated I suppose? Like barn... there’s horse poop, donkey poop, wet animal smell, etc - most of them get generalized into one big category - though incense does deserve some sort of subcategory...
 

Rai Munir

Musk Man
I THINK so - as incense (actual ones, not the note in question) has such a wide variety. If one is used to the scent of heated resins in an incense, it’s natural to associate that scent with the term? More like a general feel of something being heated I suppose? Like barn... there’s horse poop, donkey poop, wet animal smell, etc - most of them get generalized into one big category - though incense does deserve some sort of subcategory...
Exactly.

'Incense' is an umbrella term, and the notes are sub-terms/ sub-categories. Incense making includes so many ingredients, and the collective aroma is incense, and if 'incense' is broken down, there will be a list of sub-categories.

But barn is not an umbrella term, in my opinion, nor 'poop' is equivalent to or synonymous with barn.
 

Ashfaque

Jonoon al Oud
By incensy/incensy, I understand the following: smell or note of any resin, most woods and some spices (typically in combination with something else) whilst burning. I also associate smokiness with incense - birch tar, cade, etc. One of the strangest incense smells I have ever experienced is jade wood e/o.
 

Woodland Note

True Ouddict
By incensy/incensy, I understand the following: smell or note of any resin, most woods and some spices (typically in combination with something else) whilst burning. I also associate smokiness with incense - birch tar, cade, etc. One of the strangest incense smells I have ever experienced is jade wood e/o.

What is "jade wood"? I've never heard of that incense.
 

Ashfaque

Jonoon al Oud
What is "jade wood"? I've never heard of that incense.
The scientific name is Callitris glaucophylla. It initially smells like cockroach droppings. Then starts giving off an intensely powerful smokiness - as if something is burning something in front of you. I tried it neat on my hand (don't do it). It is one of the few things that made my olfactive numb towards many things including oud for few hours. Even after 4-5 soap washes I could still smell it and was giving me headache!
However, it can amplify any incense blend as it has a super strong smell of wood burning. Consequently, I used it sparingly in my experimental attar. :)
 

PersonelHigh

True Ouddict
Is incense almost mentholated? Or maybe it’s minty smoke just shy of smoke and mint. Incense is the kaleidoscope. I don’t know I like this discussion and need to thinking about my electric burner now. Will I ever smell incense again? HECK no I don’t agree with that. But I am missing something for sure -hollowness -is good word. My lungs are appreciative regardless. Wait no subjectivity?

Smoke is a foreign element to Oud oils. Electric heater gives clean aroma, but creates some hollowness as well. Linear projection.

As I started a thread about terminology, the only reason was describing such terms. Less posts you have observed. It means no clarity at all there in minds. If I have to reason out my foggiest understanding about terms, I always take refuge in the words'subjective' and 'it-varies-from-person-to-person'. Though I never feel anything is subjective.
 

PersonelHigh

True Ouddict
The scientific name is Callitris glaucophylla. It initially smells like cockroach droppings. Then starts giving off an intensely powerful smokiness - as if something is burning something in front of you. I tried it neat on my hand (don't do it). It is one of the few things that made my olfactive numb towards many things including oud for few hours. Even after 4-5 soap washes I could still smell it and was giving me headache!
However, it can amplify any incense blend as it has a super strong smell of wood burning. Consequently, I used it sparingly in my experimental attar. :)

How do you know what cockroach dropping smell like they are so tiny? Are they actually used in perfumery?
 

Ashfaque

Jonoon al Oud
@PersonelHigh Unfortunately I had those with some biscuits. Some crooked bakers used those mixed with black seeds. They look very similar. It was long time ago, but I'm not likely to forget that smell! :Sick:
 

alcolado glacial

True Ouddict
@PersonelHigh Unfortunately I had those with some biscuits. Some crooked bakers used those mixed with black seeds. They look very similar. It was long time ago, but I'm not likely to forget that smell! :Sick:
when flour goes bad it can smell strongely like roaches. i was gifted a very expensive black cake once but i had to throw it away, all i could smell and taste was roaches!
 
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