The Jonathan Adler Hashish candle was on my Best of 2009 list, but I’ve never gotten around to reviewing it. What better time than now, when the house or apartment needs some scenting before the onslaught of New Year’s Eve guests (and if you’re staying home alone, a good perfumed candle makes things cozy-contemplative and festive).
Hashish’s listed notes are black currant, green apple, wormwood, patchouli and moss. Hashish is a pungent, “manly” fragrance. As the Hashish candle burns, I smell fruity tobacco mixed with earthy patchouli and moss. The "ripe" fruit notes don’t smell like candy or fruit fresh off the bush or tree; these are intense, fruit-in-liqueur aromas. Weaving in and out of the Hashish composition is the spooky scent of wormwood — green, sweet and a tad medicinal. I also detect a slightly vanillic sweat-musk accord; sometimes this sensual aroma smells like cedar-cumin, other times like dark, boozy chocolate. All Hashish’s simmering fragrance notes produce a complex perfume that, every now and then, resembles the scent of burning marijuana.
I love the Hashish candle (it ties with Astier de Villatte Delhi as my favorite scented candle of the last couple years). Hashish will be burning at my house on New Year’s Eve, and anyone who comes over for a visit or a glass of champagne can wonder — has Kevin been: swilling Ayurvedic cough syrup? cooking Alice B. Toklas’ hashish fudge? burning weird incense? bathing in a tub of Nasomatto Black Afgano (similar to the Hashish fragrance but without its cassis and apple notes)?...or smoking…pot!? When I light the Hashish candle, its perfume makes me believe I’m indulging in something fun, exciting, risqué, “forbidden” — even if the only action taking place involves resting in bed, admiring my cat’s profile, and wondering — “What will happen in 2011?”
The Hashish candle is heavily scented and has great throw; thanks to its two wicks, it burns evenly. The candle comes in a lidded porcelain container embossed with images of cannabis leaves. The Jonathan Adler Hashish candle is 10.6 oz ($68); it’s available at the Jonathan Adler online boutique and at many other online candle shops.
Happy New Year to all Now Smell This readers and contributors!
Note: photo of cannabis leaf via Wikimedia Commons.
Sounds great, but I can’t seem to break the $30 barrier for a candle. One of the few items that I show any amount of restraint about purchasing.
For me candles are still classified as disposables so I also can’t spend that much on them. And perfume? Well, though I use it up each time I use it, I still kind a think of it as lasting forever! Nope, it makes no sense.
This one sounds fantastic, and I love the idea of bringing in the new year accompanied only by candles!
Merlin: I can see your point in a way…a few sprays of perfume can scent you for a day…while a candle burns away in 70-80 hours. But I love candles as much as perfume!
Bear: keep it that way! Once you cross the barrier…you’re lost!
Argh – I manage a building full of artists and such who smoke pot in the building constantly – which is illegal and makes the professional people in the building seriously pissed off, so a candle that occasionally smells like pot would NOT relax me right now – lol.
However, I love the part about resting in bed and admiring your cat’s profile. I have been having a staycation this week and doing as much of that as possible.
tama: yes, time to recuperate before January.
Sadly I get the same smell of burning marijuana from scents where vetiver is a major player.
Kevin – how do you feel about the cannabis leaves embossed on the jar? Do you find them funny or tacky?
Thanna: I’m sure Adler wants them to be funny AND a tad tacky. They are BOLDLY embossed and I love the feel of the rough porcelain.
Fun! If it smells anything like Black Afgano, I probably won’t like it then. On paper, the notes sound like they might make a nice perfume. Happy New Year bud!
C: Happy New Year…and I WOULD wear a perfume like this.
As embarrassing as it is to admit, I still don’t know what marijuana smells like.
No, seriously! I don’t. (My college was a drinkin’ school, not an inhalin’ school.)
And I always get a little cranky about these wonderful candle reviews, because I just can’t see shelling out the bucks for them… once I started, I don’t think I’d be able to stop. Much better for me to leave the pricey candles alone. Sigh.
Scratch your kitty’s ears for me, though, will you, Kevin?
Mals, had you spent your childhood in 1960’s Oregon (on college campuses, yet. Dad was a professor) or gone to a high school in Washington state in the mid-70s, you’d know the smell all too well. I can’t tolerate it (it smells sickly sweet to me) which is probably why I was on the straight and narrow during those years. Well, sort of. I love the smell (and taste!) of champagne. 😉 So no cannabis candle for me! Should I ever win the lotto, however, I plan on buying some of the Cire Trudon candles Kevin has reviewed. They sound heavenly.
Aparatchick: hope you win the LOTTO then!
Mals: cat ears are being massaged right this minute…
Mals- I am so sorry that I started to giggle when I read your post.
I guess I am so cynical that I thought everyone knew what marijuana smelt like. I could not stand the stink; always reminded me of a skunk.
Kevin- I like the container and the cover. If anyone sees this candle in my home and asks if that’s a marijuana plant on it, I’ll just say it’s it’s look-alike; a plant called a False Arelia.
Dolly: it DOES look similar…
I have been really dying to try this candle, and your review has cemented it for me, Kevin. My only problem is this: if I’m going to spend that much on a candle, I’d rather get a Diptyque (Galliano!) or DL&Co (Black Dahlia!) candle. I tend to be indecisive with candles, and in my indecision, I usually go with a brand I trust. Right there’s an automatic vote for Voluspa and their awesomely affordable, lovely candles. Candles made for burning, not staring.
sweetonpink: I’ve never had much luck with DL&Co candles…I like a strongly scented candle and their candles are often subtle (though I love the containers). And I’ll always accept a Galliano candle or room spray!
I have a sick DL&Co addiction. I love that the wax is so soft and can be used as perfume as well. Some scents are definitely stronger than others, but to my memory, I’ve never tried one that I felt was weak on scent concentration. The vessels, yes, they are divine! Especially the scalloped glass ones. I keep them all after the wax is gone.
I’ve not tried the Diptyque Galliano candle yet, but it’s at the top of my wishlist right now. Can you tell me a little about how you like it?
(btw- I used to be “sweetonpink”, I recently changed my username)
Cool! I love PG Coze, which is supposed to have a cannabis note, I think, and sounds a bit like this. I, too, am feeling a bit hesitant about candles, first, because one cannot order samples, second, I think it is a control thing. Nonetheless, I enjoy your candle reviews, Kevin – I’m bound to decide I need a candle sooner or later!
I happened upon this in a gift store in Rochester, NY over Christmas. It floored me. I’d never smelled a candle that reflected so perfectly such a goodly portion of the scent profiles I love in perfumery. I passed on the candle at the time, thinking I’d see if it nagged me or if I’d forget about it once I left the store. It nagged me. I couldn’t let it go, and when I read Kevin’s review it pushed me over the edge. I pulled the trigger on it and I’m so happy I did. It’s raw and beautiful, and mercifully free of ‘pretty’ ingredients like vanilla, the common and lazy reliance on which by perfumers infuriates me.