Kilian - The Cellars - Sacred Wood

Getting closer to the divine: a portrait of Mysore sandalwood

Sandalwood is an Indian cultural asset with a long history. The sandalwood tradition in India goes back more than two millennia. In several religions and cultures in the region, the fragrant wood plays a special spiritual role - for example in Jainism, Buddhism and also in various other Far Eastern cults. But above all in Hinduism and Ayurveda, the noble scented wood is considered sacred and to bring people closer to the divine.

In the former princely state of Mysore, sandalwood was considered a "royal tree". The precious sandalwood oil from Mysore is very coveted: “The lingering perfume of this wood”, as the famous Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda once stated, “may be truly said to have made its conquest of the world."

And that royal world conqueror, that sacred treasure from Mysore flows like pulsating blood through the veins of this noble perfume...

The fragrance

With Sacred Wood, Kilian Hennessy and perfumer Calice Becker draw a profound portrait of the precious Mysore sandalwood and all its spicy, woody and milky facets.

Sacred Wood opens with the spicy-earthy essences of carrot seed and ambrette seed absolute. Complex aromas of pure Mysore sandalwood join forces with Amyris oil from the Dominican Republic - and another woody fragrance delicacy: cedar wood from the Moroccan Atlas Mountains.

Tolu and copaiva balsam add a wonderfully balsamic warmth to the perfume. Subtly animal and apricot-like aspects flare up, while a mysterious, malty-milky scent hovers over the olfactory scenery like heavenly incense.

Sacred Wood pays homage to two superstars among fragrance woods: Mysore sandalwood and Atlas cedarwood. Special woods of this kind need a lot of time to grow, to mature, to be cultivated. And so this perfume is not in a hurry either, taking its time to relish and savour all aspects of these great wood essences with rapturous pleasure and with a long-lasting sillage.