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Categories  Recipes Combustible Incense Recipe: Myrrh with Sandalwood
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I had to go back to the drawing board for this one more than once. I have had the myrrh resin for more years than I can remember, mostly because charcoal takes fussing that I generally don't want to deal with. On the few occasions I did put a bit on a hot coal, I was sparing due to it's potency.

Since I do like the dark, rich, and sensual leather and wood aroma this classic resin makes, I decided to use the very neutral base of bamboo to really let the resin dominate. When I made the first mix, it wouldn't stay lit, so I tried replacing some bamboo with the highly flammable sassafras root. It still smelled great for the five seconds it burned, and dried faster.

After a check on my recipes I decided I needed a full tablespoon of wood, so I re-wet the whole batch to test it. Finally, I got the stick to stay lit all the way down, though the scent softened slightly for the change from 2 teaspoons to a full tablespoon. Even with the ½ teaspoon of sassafras in the mix, the drying was notably faster, so I plan to repeat that trick in other blends.

Given my cinnamon with resin uses an identical ratio, and I found the ratio worked with copal and sassafras root too, there is room in the blend for other bases. I have yet to get my hands on sandalwood powder so I can't promise it will work in place of the bamboo, but would love to hear from someone who can test it.

I'm using a sandalwood fragrance due to cost and availability. That means a different company may not have the same potency or quality. Any number of essential oils, candy flavoring oils or fragrance oils can be substituted, but I recommend adding one drop at a time and testing a small bit of mix on a tooth pick with a lighter if you don't want to order the same fragrance from Aurora's Apothecary on Etsy.

Recipe:

¼ teaspoon myrrh resin

5 drops sandalwood fragrance oil*

1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum or other binder

2 ½ teaspoons bamboo and ½ teaspoon sassafras root

OR

1 tablespoon wood powder of choice.

And mine got 9 drops black food coloring to make it easy to tell from the rest of my collection.

Now the mix may seem rather lumpy when you finish grinding and start adding water. Resist the urge to add extra water, and just let it sit for a while so the moisture can balance out, kneading periodically to check.

Once the mix feels smooth and even, water can be added to keep the mix at you're perfect shaping texture, slightly softer for extruding, slightly stiffer for hand rolling. Finished sticks will be ready to burn in about 2-4 hours with sassafras, overnight without.

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