People who search for sandalwood incense sticks, royal sandalwood or golden sandalwood usually want one thing. A clear, warm, creamy wood smell, made with care. The names Royal and Golden are not flavours. They are grades. Our Golden Sandalwood Incense Sticks and Royal Sandalwood Incense Sticks come from the same Mysore workshop and the same species. This guide explains how they differ and how to choose.
What Royal and Golden mean
In the Mysore workshop's range, Royal is the highest grade. It is pure Santalum album heartwood, hand-rolled into sticks with no synthetic fragrance and no bamboo core.
Golden sits one step below. It is the same species and the same workshop, but a slightly different sub-grade of heartwood. It is the workshop's everyday Mysore sandalwood. One is not a copy of the other. They are two readings of the same wood.
A short history of sandalwood
Sandalwood is one of the most loved incense materials there is. The species behind Royal and Golden has scented Indian Ocean trade for two thousand years. Khaleeji perfumery is built around it.
That long record is why sandalwood feels familiar in the Gulf. It is a wood that travelled with merchants, and it stayed because people kept asking for it.
How the two sticks smell
Royal opens slowly. The first three minutes carry a creamy, woody note. Then the burn deepens into the resinous warmth of α-santalol, which is concentrated in older heartwood. The character is deep and creamy.
Golden opens with the same α-santalol register, but at a softer concentration. The opening is honeyed. The character is golden-warm rather than deep-creamy. It is a more sociable smell, suited to rooms that hold company across longer evenings.
- Royal: slow to open, creamy, deep, resinous.
- Golden: warmer, honeyed, softer in concentration.
How to burn sandalwood sticks
The method is simple. Light the tip and let it flame for a few seconds. Blow it out. The tip should glow and release a thin line of smoke.
- Set the stick in a holder with an ash catcher made of non-flammable material.
- Place it away from fabric, paper and draughts.
- Open a window a little so the room keeps fresh air.
- Never leave a burning stick unattended.
- Let the stick finish, or press the tip into the ash catcher to put it out.
Give the scent a few minutes. Sandalwood fills a room slowly, and it rewards patience.
Other ways to meet sandalwood
If you want sandalwood with a different setting, we have two other sticks. The Sandalwood Stupa Incense Sticks keep sandalwood at the centre and lift it with greater cardamom and holy basil from the Nepali hills. They are hand-mixed and hand-rolled in the Kathmandu Valley. The result is sandalwood with a little more air and light in it.
The Nag Champa Incense Sticks are built around the champa flower and rounded out with sandalwood for a creamy, woody base. Sweet and floral on top, woody underneath.
How to choose
Start with the room and the hour. Think about how long you want the scent to be present.
- Choose Royal if you want the highest grade and a deep, creamy, slow-opening wood.
- Choose Golden if you want an everyday Mysore sandalwood, warmer and honeyed, for longer evenings with company.
- Choose Sandalwood Stupa if you like sandalwood with a green, lightly spiced top.
- Choose Nag Champa if you want the sweet, floral side with sandalwood beneath.
Many homes keep two. One for quiet hours, one for guests. If you would like to smell them side by side, visit us at Warehouse 23, Alserkal Avenue. We also deliver across the UAE.
