Bhagwan – Myrrh
I purchased this pack of incense sticks directly from Bhagwan Incense, in September 2023. The boxes of all varieties contain 15g, but since they come from different sources (currently five) and their styles are very different, the quantities contained vary greatly. Myrrh are rolled rather thinly, the 15g in my pack corresponded to 15 sticks. The current price is €4.95 – that’s €0.33 per stick. When I bought it, the price was €5.95.
Disclosure: Due to my history and friendly relationship with Eugene, the owner of Bhagwan Incense, I would like to point out that I cannot write reviews of this brand with complete impartiality. I write a lot of the Bhagwan reviews based on samples that were given to me – these are labelled accordingly.
All reviews are unpaid and reflect my honest opinion, but you are welcome to consider them as advertising.
As mentioned before, I’m not a fan of Myrrh resin. The scent tends to be bitter, but not entirely uninteresting; it can make an important contribution to a blend, but as a single note, I have so far avoided it.
However, well-made Myrrh incense sticks seem to be a true exception for me. I was already very impressed with Mother’s Myrrh, which, however, doesn’t smell very much like Myrrh. Happy Hari’s King of Myrrh, on the other hand, does and has made me curious to further explore this scent genre. Therefore, Bhagwan – Myrrh ended up in my shopping cart.
Myrrh is another fragrance out of the Bhagwan line-up that fits perfectly into the cold season. They are much sweeter than raw Myrrh would be, but in these incense sticks, mainly the essential oil seems to be used. This emphasizes the volatile scent components of this material, which make up only a small part of its mass. (Myrrh contains 3-10% essential oil and consists only of 20-40% resin; the rest is mucilage, pectins, and gum.1) Thus, the balsamic character of the Myrrh is clearly perceptible, bringing softness and an additional dimension of warmth into the composition.
Furthermore, my nose repeatedly catches a hint of vanilla, which fits in perfectly. It is the complex aroma of bourbon vanilla pods that I find in this scent. It only appears for a moment, brightens the room, and then lets the tart, spicy, and woody-earthy notes take over again.
Due to the similar incense stick style, I compared Bhagwan – Myrrh with the two Myrrh varieties out of Mother’s Regular and Golden lines:
Regular Myrrh has a noticeably fresher character in comparison, lively and almost a bit floral or green. Compared to Myrrh from Bhagwan, I can surprisingly recognize the Myrrh better than before, yet I perceive it as very hidden; it’s only a small part of this dense composition.
Golden Myrrh has a bit of a “bite”, a special spice or sharpness that I find very typical of Mother’s Dry Masalas. Compared to the Regular variant, Golden Myrrh has much more Myrrh character in the form of tartness; they appear more voluminous, but less fresh and lively.
I really like Regular Myrrh, but I wouldn’t call it an example of a good representation of Myrrh in incense sticks. Golden Myrrh, on the other hand, does a better job, but Bhagwan – Myrrh surpasses it by quite a length, and I find it more balanced and palatable.
Everything about Bhagwan – Myrrh is warm. When I used it for the first time, I wrote the following in my notes: “It feels like sticking your bare feet in sun-heated sand on a late evening, when the air has finally cooled down a bit. The sand is super smooth, but it also has some pointy rocks in it which tempt you to play with your toes.”
Today, the composition has a calm, orderly, and positive vibe to me. Like a Zen garden, illuminated by the warm colours of the autumn sun.
By the way, there is also Royal Myrrh in the Bhagwan catalogue, which comes from another manufacturer. These are thick, soft incense sticks that contain Myrrh resin and have an entirely different character.
- Christian Rätsch, Der Atem des Drachen, (German) edition #5 – P. 116 | ISBN 978-3-03800-302-1 ↩︎