Elbenzauber – Weiße Reihe Sortiment

Safran (Saffron)

‘The earthy spicy aroma of Safran has an invigorating and energising effect; it clarifies the mind and atmosphere, stimulates the senses and opens the heart to the joys of existence.’

For Safran incense sticks, these are very mild.
Above all, I smell soft, milky-sweet sandalwood and a hint of freshness, but very little of the often unusual spiciness of saffron one needs to acquire a taste for.

It’s a very pleasant, accessible smell of moderate to low intensity. I only have one window cracked open and run my mini-fan, and the strength is very pleasant.
It’s the sweet sandalwood smell that takes centre stage, rather than the spice that gives the variety its name.
Yummy they are, nonetheless.

I’m fairly certain that this is Kesar Chandan by Vinasons.

Sandelholz deluxe (Sandalwood deluxe)

‘The balsamic fine aroma of genuine sandalwood has a calming and uplifting effect. It’s of deep sensuousness and at the same time promotes clarity and meditation in a special way.’

Sandelholz deluxe have a rather dry wood smell with distinct sandalwood sweetness.
The sandalwood fragrance seems quite natural, but I don’t find it ‘deluxe’.
When I once lit a stick shortly after Safran, I noticed an ashy note in the smell of Sandelholz deluxe that I hadn’t noticed before.

Like Saffron, they’re not particularly strong, but still fill the room after a while if it’s only moderately ventilated.

Sandalwood Deluxe could be Special Sandalwood by Vinasons, but I’m far from certain about that.
At the very least, I think it’s very likely that Vinasons is the manufacturer.

Adlerholz, hell (Agarwood, light)

‘Finely spiced, noble, clear and light…’

The smell of these sticks is quite mild as well. It’s a faintly sweet, rather dry wood smell with an aromatic note. Certainly pleasant, but for the price a little disappointing.

As with the other varieties before, I’m fairly confident that Vinasons is the manufacturer.
In direct comparison with Vinasons – Agarwood, slight differences become apparent: Adlerholz, hell are somewhat sweeter than these, at the same time I find them a bit less spicy and the note faintly reminiscent of men’s fragrances is even more subtle. But this is easily within a range that can be explained by batch variations. The two are very similar.

Adlerholz, dunkel (Agarwood, dark)

‘Sensuous, vanilla-like, uplifting and encompassing…’

Adlerholz, dunkel stand out from the others. They’re a bit more potent and don’t have the dry woodiness of the rest.
The smell is sweet in a vanilla-like way, but also dark with woody depth. A soft, balsamic fragrance that feels almost earthy.
Round and pleasant, especially if you prefer it a little sweeter.

I’ve found similarly vanilla forward sticks in the Vinasons range, but the style reminds me more of Pure Incense, or rather their manufacturer HMS.
I believe the German company BERK (Holy Smokes) has their Blue Line produced by HMS; this also includes an agarwood variety called Agarholz that should be quite similar.