Rasasi – Raqiya Ambroxan

Like the other bakhoors, this sample comes from my friend Povilas, who sent me a generous selection of samples out of his collection.

Raqiya Ambroxan is a dukhoon bakhoor which is pressed into tabs, weighing about 6g each. The crumbs on the plate correspond to a bit more than half a tab.

Rasasi give the following fragrance notes:

Ambroxan is the name of a scent molecule through which ambergris (also falsely called ‘amber’) gets its typical fragrance. It’s been synthesised since the ’50s. In this ingredients list, it probably appears as ‘grey amber’.

As usual, I’m using this bakhoor on a tea-light incense warmer.

The raw scent of Raqiya Ambroxan smells fresh, slightly tart and perfumed.

On the warmer, surprisingly little of the top notes are noticeable. The fragrance still feels very fresh, which I attribute to the ‘tea’ note. In contrast to that stands a combination of warm and enveloping notes of amber and musk. The amber fragrance has a fruity side, blending with a fine, tart tone, in which I think I recognise grapefruit. The combination works remarkably well.

For me, the smell has a certain kinship to that of Raqiya Cashmeran, though Ambroxan doesn’t has its spiciness. It’s the enveloping, cosy character the two have in common.

In Raqiya Ambroxan, I don’t find anything that would make me immediately think of agarwood.
At the end of its lifespan on the warmer, though, Raqiya Ambroxan starts to give off a faint smell like damp earth. At this point, the vetiver mentioned as a heart note seems to shows itself.

Although Raqiya Ambroxan has a perfume-like smell, I find the fragrance very appealing. It is (even more than Raqiya Cashmeran) one of the few bakhoors that so far have ignited genuine enthusiasm in me.