There is a pretty bad Antonio Banderas – Sylvester Stallone film entitled “Assasins” in which Antonio and Sylvester attempt to kill each other in an effort to demonstrate which of the two can produce the most testosterone.  Or something like that.  Like I said it is a pretty bad film and I may not remember the plot correctly.  The only reason I remember it at all is because the scent of jasmine played a minor part in the film.  Not a large enough role though, because ninety minutes of watching a flower wave in the wind would have been preferable to ninety minutes of Sylvester Stallone grunting out lines.

Anyway, jasmine is a wonderful fragrance.  Exotic, rich, sensual and very memorable.  I have been impressed with Nippon-Kodo’s Morning Star line before and I was looking forward to seeing if they could deliver on this scent as well.  The unlit stick is impressive and except for a slightly too sharp note I could close my eyes and easily imagine I was holding jasmine from my garden in my hand and not an incense stick.

Once lit the stick still manages to impress.  If I didn’t have fresh jasmine on hand to compare it to, I would think the scent is just about a perfect representation of jasmine.  There is still that slightly too sharp note that I can’t identify, but it doesn’t detract from the overall smell of the stick.  I will always prefer the smell of fresh jasmine, but Nippon-Kodo has given me (and other jasmine lovers) a nice, full bodied alternative for when the real thing is not readily available.

Get a box here and pretend you are firing a large caliber weapon at Sylvester Stallone.