Shroff – Mysore Sandal
The purchase of these incense sticks was based on a bit of a mix-up – a happy accident as it turned out…
I apologize for the bad photo; I forgot to make a better one before I tore the packaging.
Bought at Padma Store, as a 25g roll (22 sticks) for €3.95, which is around 18ct per stick. Back then, in March 2022, I snagged the last 2 rolls. They are now back in stock, but only in 50g packs for €7.95.
The mix-up: At the very beginning of 2022 I had my very first incense exchange and in the process I received a few sticks of “Mysore Sandal” that had no brand name on them. We had previously discussed what we would like, and both Shroff and Pure Incense were in discussion. At some point along the way, my brain made the wrong connection, and I was absolutely convinced that these Mysore Sandal were Shroff.
Shortly afterwards, I ordered 2 rolls of the Mysore Sandal from Padma – one for Max, my admin here and one for me – because we were both so excited.
Well. Initially, the disappointment was huge because Shroff – Mysore Sandal (which is Dry Masala) is thoroughly different from Pure Incense.
I found it to be super smoky in aroma, and dry, downright harsh. 🙁 I had already given my role to Max because he thought the scent was okay. However, I had two sticks of Mysore Sandal included in the Shroff Dry Masala sampler set that I had also purchased.
We burned them more often at his place and after the fourth or fifth time, they suddenly started to smell entirely different. At first, I thought it might be another one of those cases where in his flat, a scent smells entirely different from how it does in mine. I wondered if it could be the weather. Or do the samples smell different from the ones out of the rolls? – When the second roll went back to my place, I finally realized that it was my perception that had thoroughly changed.
I had heard and experienced to a lesser extent that incense can have a “learning curve”, but this was the first time the change was so drastic. Since then, every time I burn them, I find them a little better! I now count them as one of my favourite sandalwood incense sticks, and they are definitely the best sandalwood Dry Masala I have had so far.
Shroff – Mysore Sandal have a full-bodied, but natural, not overpowering sandalwood scent that is sweet, woody-soft, very round and “enveloping”. I no longer find the smell to be scratchy in any way, although of course it is still a somewhat smokey smell.
It’s perhaps a bit like having to get used to new glasses or something similar: at first, it’s strange and disturbing, you constantly pay attention to it because you’re (still) consciously aware of it, and it feels different from what you’re used to, but after a while it is simply rendered out of consciousness.
Rating: 4.3
A quick note about the samples vs. the rolls: Yes, they smell slightly different, there are definitely batch differences, but I had to compare them directly to be sure.
I consider this to be a sign that it is a natural product because the raw materials are subject to natural fluctuations and are not a quality defect.
I’ve just reviewed the Mysore Sandalwood from two sample sticks from Padma. I found the sticks VERY different.
I have found that some of the old, small, traditional incense houses are hugely inconsistent. I’m not sure why that is. They seem more casual about the way they make their sticks, and are not applying modern scientific thinking in using exact measurements before, after, and during production. There is something attractively romantic and beautiful about this old fashioned haphazard approach, and one can certainly say it’s more artisan than Satya or HEM’s more precise and controlled production methods, but the end result is that it is difficult for us reviewers to pin down exactly what it is we are burning. I’ve just looked at Mike’s ORS review, and he also is unable to pin this incense down. So three of us have burned Shroff’s Mysore Sandal, and have differing experiences, except for the commonality that this is an unusual sandalwood incense.
Funny enough, Mysore Sandal appears to be one of the most constant to me. I now had the samples, the sticks from the rolls and additionally, Silver sent me a bunch early this year. So now I have smelled three different batches and while there seem to be minor fluctuations, this smells all like the same incense to me. Curiously, the ones Silver sent me are short of an inch longer.
However, I bought Pavitram and it is an entirely different incense to me. If you gave me a stick of those without context, I might even doubt it is Shroff tbh.