First, most sandalwood suppliers state the provenance of their products. The remainder sometimes say nothing, but most say their sandalwood is “Mysore,” named after the legendary area where the best sandalwood once originated.

When I first became obsessed with perfumery, I set out, if not to find original Mysore, at least to find out the best sandalwood available.

Sadly, I discovered that there is just none of the real stuff.

Second, every sandalwood (except one from the 1930s) that I’ve smelled is not Mysore. There simply isn’t any available.

Each of the sandalwoods I offer on this site is a wonderful product, redolent of the inimitable real thing. I wish I could offer authentic Mysore sandalwood. Such wood offers a creamy, nutty complexity completely missing in other versions.

One especially aromatic version, I found right in my neighborhood. There is a shop down the street that sells incense and supplies for making fake perfumes. They have mixtures for such things as Shalimar or L’air du temps. Anyway, I bopped in and asked them if they had any sandalwood. “Yes,” they assured me, but the “sandalwood” they put under my nose had no smell. When they saw my disappointment, he proudly brought out a more expensive version, which again had no odor. As I thanked him and prepared to leave, he said, “Wait, I do have something, but it’s very expensive.” Bingo. I bought all he had for about $5/ml. Other bottles got very expensive, up to $25 a milliliter, but I can’t swear that the more expensive bottles are better than the others.