Gangotrri The Great Indian Amber review

This one is expensive A.F.!! The M.R.P. on the box is Rs. 1100 for 20 sticks – so each stick is worth Rs. 55. I got it from Acharya Products for Rs. 760 so I got a little more than 30% discount on the M.R.P.

The packaging box is extremely fancy but unnecessarily so. It has a magnetic flap and a shiny red fabric covering the outsides. The product details are printed on a raised piece of (what I assume is) plastic with a silvery top, giving it the look of steel. Inside, the box is covered with a shiny dull gold paper. The fact that the top of the box mentions not only the MRP but also the price per stick suggests that this product is made for gifting. Unfortunately, not many people would be able to discern the value of premium incense just from the fragrance so Gangotrri has made sure the packaging is screaming ‘fancy’ in every way possible.

There’s a sealed plastic silver packet inside the box and through this packet, the smell of the incense is dispiriting. It smells like a regular bitter-sweet oudh incense.

The sticks inside are charcoal based and extruded but quite thick. There’s no powdered coating on them but I won’t say they’re dipped or perfumed because I don’t get the smell of any chemical solvents on the stick. I also can’t say they’re natural when Gangotrri themselves refrain from doing so (at least on the box).

At first, the lit stick smells like the standard bitter-sweet incense that I don’t usually like. Then the sweetness develops into a honey-like characteristic – still sweet but not saccharine. The bitterness is inconspicuous but there’s a very strong smokey note that is redolent not of cheap cigarettes but something more luxurious like cigars. Even though I don’t usually like tobacco the smell of tobacco, I am glad it is present in this incense. It gives the incense more body although it’s still not enough to justify the price tag. I would repurchase at half the price I paid but without the superfluous packaging.

My rating for Gangotrri The Great Indian Amber incense is:

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.