Holy Smokes – Long Line – Halmaddi

This is another pack from Arkanum des Lichts, a low-priced online retailer that I unfortunately cannot recommend. In fact, these incense sticks are one of the main reasons for that.
Mr. Pohl has, in addition to his own webshop, a presence on eBay, and I originally intended to order through that. Then I noticed that these sticks were significantly cheaper in his own shop so I made up my mind to ask him about it. I was told that they were difficult to package and, if I preferred the other price, I should order from the other shop instead.
I found the response a bit snippy, but essentially, he was right, so I changed my plan and ordered through the other shop.
I put together my rather large order a second time and was pleased to be saving quite a bit overall, only to find that the shop owner had raised the price of the Long Line sticks while I had them in the cart already. Since I was still saving money, I went ahead and ordered anyway.
After receiving the order confirmation, nothing happened for days, so I tried to contact the shop via email, but got no reply. Then I wrote to Mr. Pohl again via eBay.
This message was responded to. There was talk of an annoying computer problem and that something from my order was missing. He said he would check the warehouse on Saturday to see if the package was still there (this was on a Thursday or Friday), and then he would send it out or get me the tracking number.
Another week went by, and I still hadn’t received my package, so I wrote again, stating that I was starting to suspect fraud. Shortly after, I received an automated shipping confirmation from the shop without any further comment.
The package did indeed have something missing, but the value was refunded to me (also without any comment).

This pack of Halmaddi cost €7.49 at Arkanum des Lichts (other shops sell it for between €11 and €14). Each pack contains 45g, or 10 sticks. They are 37cm long and burn for about 2.5 hours.

I bought Halmaddi because there is a lot of buzz in the incense scene about the ingredient Halmaddi, the resin of Ailanthus triphysa, with many misunderstandings and misinformation circulating about it. It’s also extremely rare to find incense sticks with this fragrance, not least because it appears to be more of a binding agent and fixative than an aromatic ingredient, even though the Wikipedia page states that it is burned as incense because of its aromatic nature.
I’ve been intending for a while to delve deeper into this ingredient and the surrounding controversy, which I will do in a separate article. The research is proving to be extremely difficult because it’s almost impossible to find truly reliable information, and almost everything is hearsay.

The info box on the packaging, which also names the botanical name (Ailanthus triphysa), describes the scent as ‘enticingly balsamic and soft.’

When lighting these massive dry masala sticks, at first, all I smell is a vague aromatic wood-smoke smell, which over time develops an earthy note. Sometimes I catch a hint of resin, but nothing I would call particularly balsamic.
The scent has a dry warmth and isn’t unpleasant, but that’s about all I get from it.
The longer the stick burns, the more I am reminded of Steve’s description of how he perceives Halmaddi in incense: ‘prickles of lamb’s wool‘. The scent does indeed remind me a little of the somewhat warm smell of sheepskin, though without me finding it scratchy or sharp. I’m not sure, though, if I had come to with that comparison without Steve’s recurring description.

I wonder if these Halmaddi sticks really smell enticing and balsamic to other people. Max perceived the scent much the same way I did; not unpleasant, but underwhelming.

I think Halmaddi could be interesting for people who like dry, earthy-woody smells. However, I find the format of these sticks less than ideal, and doubt that the scent justifies the somewhat high price; especially since, on top of the price of the sticks themselves, you might also face higher shipping costs than usual, due to the sticks being so long.

The Long Line consists of five other single-note fragrances (Benzoe [Benzoin], Styrax [Storax], Weihrauch [frankincense], Kampfer [camphor] and Dammar). I have no ambition to try more from this line.