I cut on what I think was a quaking Aspen years ago- that was a guess based on bark cos the tree was dead, and the property owner claimed certain characteristics that helped lead me to that guess… Anyways, split and stacked it smelled like some kind of liquor, kind of whiskey-ish, but another component I really couldn’t pin down. It dried super light and I ended up selling a PU bed worth to a coworker for campfire wood.
I always notice cherry giving off a sweet smell, while fresh-cut oak hits me with a strong sour scent. Pine still reminds me of sap on my hands after splitting.
Yep. Welcome to the club. Lots of great folks here sharing knowledge and humor. We also like to help others theirs...
Faves are white oak, sassafras, red oak, cedar. Yesterday, cut down a standing dead red oak that still had 'green' wood in it and when I got home, as I walked past the truckbed, it was super strong scent and made me notice in a good way. If I harvest a big, green white oak, the woodyard smells heavenly for quite awhile, is pretty awesome. Probably making noodles helps create more scent.
In January one night I had a BL round drying in front of the stove. It was from my stack where there was a hole in the tarp. After awhile being in front of the fire, it started to smell like a cross between vanilla and caramel. Very pleasant smell. I've had it happen a couple times since. When BL is in the stove, it doesn't smell like that.
Fresh split tree of Heaven (ailanthus) really grosses me out. Smells like rancid peanut butter, but I don't sniff it long enough to find out.
While loading the firebox with any BL, the smoke that escapes into my furnace room stinks in a bad way. I do remember giving it wiffs while splitting and never came up with a positive description. Same with SBH. I never brought myself to use that specific hickory for cooking because of it.
Oh yeah. Nothing positive about any smell BL puts off when burning. Just positive BTUs, lol. That's why it was so weird to have a nice smell with BL.
Fresh cut cottonwood does NOT have a pleasant smell. The few different species of pine , fir, and spruce that I’m familiar with, all have a pleasing fragrance to me. As does the variety of cedar that we have,(which y’all have taught me is actually a juniper). Standing dead barkless elm (Siberian, mostly) just plain smells like firewood, and that goes back to my youth because that’s what dad mostly cut to take camping. I don’t really recall the smell when I cut down 2 living trees, but, for me Apricot is hands down the best smelling wood when burning. Whether it be on the grill, in the smoker, or in a stove when I’m outside and can smell whats coming out the pipe.
I love white oak and red oak, cherry is good to as is pine. I dislike box elder and I hate tree of heaven.
loved how certain woods keep their scent even after seasoning, and sometimes I’ll bring that vibe indoors with a candle from https://nothingbutscents.com/collections/cozy-warm. Their Pumpkin Spice one reminds me a lot of splitting fresh hardwood in the fall. It’s been a fun way to compare real wood aromas with something that lingers a bit longer in the house.
