Smells that transport one

[Kevin Peacocke]

Mopane smoke is Africa's signature.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Talisker 10yr - Isle of Skye
Pine - Flagstaff, Arizona
Creosote - Sonoran Desert in the rain
Cigarette smoke, tomatoes - gardening with my grandfather
Juniper and woodsmoke - elk hunting
Saltwater - South Carolina Barrier Islands
Silt - Chesapeake Bay

 

[Nyati]

Wood smoke

A damp dog

 

[jpr9954]

Smells can also trigger negative memories.

Old cat litter
Decomposing body or carcass
Paper mill


Those with positive memories (some already posted)

Freshly ground coffee
Just fired shot shell hull
Tundra
Africa in burning season
Cut alfalfa
Wet horse
Elk

I used to live about 10 miles west of a paper mill in NC. Our prevailing winds are west to east. If it was a cold damp day in the winter and you smelled the paper mill, you knew you were going to get snow sometime soon.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Labrador puppies. Maybe all puppies smell like that, but I have forgotten since the last three were labs.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Probably the oddest - and yes, I have answered this question before in other places - is the slight scent of beaver castor in the air on a late fall day as you approach a beaver pond. I used to trap beaver quite a bit and it's likely a combination of how enjoyable those days were with the beauty of the fall woods.

In late summer/early fall here in AK the cottonwood species we have puts off a scent that I absolutely love. My cabin is in a cottonwood grove, and we have several near the office I work in. I simply love it.

There are others smells others have mentioned: old books, bacon (particularly certain flavors), other foods (corned beef, moose or caribou, fried chicken, turkey), coffee (particularly based on location - at the office, my cabin, while hunting), certain perfumes that remind me of people important to me both past and present.

 

[375Fox]

I can’t say I’m nostalgic about any smells, but my favorite smell the entire year is the first hint of skunk in February. It means warmer days are ahead. A skunk knows when winter is over not the groundhog, even though it gets a holiday.

 

[Ragman]

The smell of a slough hay bale when you roll it out in the winter. And of course the cows.
Also the individual smells of my local game animals. Whitetail, mulies, pronghorn, moose, elk and black bear all have their unique aroma that you can identify blindfolded.

 

[Newboomer]

The smell of a slough hay bale when you roll it out in the winter. And of course the cows.
Also the individual smells of my local game animals. Whitetail, mulies, pronghorn, moose, elk and black bear all have their unique aroma that you can identify blindfolded.

Vanilla makes my mouth water.
Fresh mowed hay brings back memories of childhood and teens.
Fresh sawn cedar and pine and their smell in the woods.
Some perfumes: special ladies past and present.
Leather reminds me of horse logging as a kid.
Good strong coffee first thing in the morning. The elixir of life.

 

[Happy Myles]

Mopane smoke is a great one. How about a whiff of Hoppe’s 9?

 

[Joedad]

Every single time I smell a freshly fired shotgun shell it takes me back to 1973 when I was 4 years old. Dad would stick me and my younger brother behind him in the weeds when he was duck hunting. His empty shells would end up back there with us and I loved the smell of them.

I have the same memories of the smell of spent shotgun shells, but from the 50’s. Those old 10 gauge paper hull, old powder loads of Dad’s had a smell all their own. Nothing like plastic hull newer powder shells of today.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

There is nothing like the smell of a hot Land Rover engine - oil, hot metal, a little steam and of course hot brake pads. Just lets you know it's ready to carry on.

 

[R eight]

There is nothing like the smell of a hot Land Rover engine - oil, hot metal, a little steam and of course hot brake pads. Just lets you know it's ready to carry on.

Arh yes memories of pushing broken down Land Rovers

 

[PerH]

The old dusty smell of gun oil stock oil and splitacane rods in a old gun room in a Scottish estate grand house, all the smells long gone,nand guns there were in a dull grey locked little gun safe in the corner of the grand room.

 

[Joker12]

The smell of o horse, A well loved wet dog, Hopes #9, JP4 exhaust, bacon and hot buckwheat pancakes on the griddle, the smell of Vietnamese fish sauce (stinks but tastes good and takes me back to 1966. Those are some that come to mind.

 

[gbflyer]

Sagebrush.

The smell of a strike on the box match.

Rotting aspen leaves.

Lady Stetson. ( probably not a family friendly memory)

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

One of those little engines firing up on the model aeroplanes we used to build, a tiny little thing called a Cox Baby Bee if I recall.

 

[fourfive8]

One of those little engines firing up on the model aeroplanes we used to build, a tiny little thing called a Cox Baby Bee if I recall.

Good memory, I had forgotten about that. Very distinctive smell. Ovepowered little buggers those engines were and are! The ultimate 2 stroke. I think mixture of methanol (alcohol) and castor oil. Some types with a dash of nitromethane added for evenness of burn- IIRC same function as octane regulation in gasoline engines. Thanks for remembering

 

[jduckhunter]

Sage does it for me, every time I open a bottle of dried sage and add some to a recipe my mind wonders off to the prairies of Wyoming and I start thinking about pronghorn hunts, past and future.

 

[cash_tx]

Hoppes #9 - sitting on the floor of my Dad's study and helping him clean rifles in his collection.

Fabuloso (the original lavender scented one) - this wonderful scent reminds me of every Mexican beach resort I have ever stayed at, and I now keep Fabuloso-scented trash bags in our kitchen at home.