The Return of Mysore Sandalwood

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Santalum Album is Mysore Sandalwood Photo: J.M. Garb

Santalum album is Mysore Sandalwood, now growing sustainably in Australia
Photo: J.M. Garb

It’s all Good News here on The Fragrant Man; an antidote to the nightly news, an Oasis of Peace, Love and Perfume.

The demise of Mysore Sandalwood from India is well documented. The root stock of the Mysore variety, Santalum album was planted in Australian plantations sometime ago and is now being sustainably harvested.

Australia does have an native sandalwood, Santalum spicatum, with an interesting scent profile but it is not as creamy or luscious as the Mysore variety. Now Australia has Mysore Sandalwood plantations.

I know Kafka will be thrilled and I suspect Bertand Duchaufour, the man who ate niche, has left India and is in Australia right now checking quality and shipping. Suzanne R. Banks will be glowing with happiness. I also predict a sighting of Neela Vermeire in Australia soon.

So how does Mysore Sandalwood grown in Austalia smell? And can you buy it? How does 1 gram for 55€ sound?

Let’s travel now to Italy to see what Perfumer Adbes Salaam Attar has to say about this development. Click the following link for the Perfumer’s Perspective on The Return of Mysore Sandalwood.

The largest grower in Australia, Tropical Forestry Services has a purpose built nursery with the capacity to produce over 500,000 Mysore stock seedlings per planting season. They have an astonishing 7,600 hectares of trees planted in the tropical north of Australia.

Note: Australian album is the name used for the Mysore stock grown in Australia to differentiate the terroir from India.

Available from Profumo.

Further Reading
Brie’s historic encounter with Mysore Sandalwood
Suzanne on Australian Perfume Junkies
Amer on Sandalwood
Perfume Shrine – see comments section
The End of Oud – a similar situation to Mysore Sandalwood
Ecological Conscience – Ensar Oud on sustainability at Australian Perfume Junkies

13 responses to “The Return of Mysore Sandalwood”

  1. I hate to think of a world that lacks the fragrance of Sandalwood. I’m delighted to hear these transplanted Mysore Sandalwood trees from India trees are thriving in Australia now. But I do hope the locals recognize the value of biodiversity and make sure their native Sandalwoods also survive and thrive.

    • A warm welcome to you Time Thief. I love your work with the writing community. Yes, Australia has a strong ecological conscience and would not forget their natives. In fact often Australians take great care to only plant natives especially in places like The Blue Mountains. These mountains have a blue sheen at certain times of the year due to the eucalyptus tree’s terpenoids hovering in the air; a sort of ultra-violet glow that creates a blue hue.
      Sandalwood Dreams to you.

  4. Wonderful to hear! I wonder if the same could be done for Honduran mahogany? Not from a fragrance perspective, but from the idea of bringing back something unique we humans have once obliterated. Who knows… maybe someone saved some seeds…?

    • Ha, don’t get me started on seeds! The IFRA regulation of perfume ingredients has parallels with the the non-germinating seeds from Monsanto. If these things interest you then there is an informative article by the perfumer Adbes Salaam Attar called Philosophy of Perfume.

      • Here is a quote from the link in the comment above:

        Instead of studying the toxicity of its toy molecules, the industry is rather banning progressively (but rapidly) all natural ingredients through its “self-regulating” arm, the IFRA.

        Life for the six big corporations will be much easier when it is clear to all that natural perfumes are dangerous and chemical ones are safe.

        – Abdes Salaam Attar

      • Ugh… Mr. Attar is right; a revolution is needed! Pesticides, food production, perfume, building materials, whatever… It doesn’t really seem to make a difference which field we’re in – it’s a battle on all fronts. Where do we start? How do we best push back?

  5. Glad some of us Ozzies are helping keep Sandalwood alive. But it makes you wonder where all these industrial chemical moneymaking companies will stop and why the common person can’t see the dangers to our health, life and planet. What is wrong with natural and nature? I’m all for progress but not at the destruction of beauty and health.

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