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Also known as Woodsmoke
Spanish (pilot): Humo de leña · pending native-speaker review · Leer en español (piloto)
Dry smoky warmth associated with burning wood, ash and outdoor fire.
Wood smoke smells dry, warm and smoky, with a sharp, slightly bitter edge and soft woody sweetness underneath. EDITORIAL
Named in the VERIFIED claims about this smell: not a list of what it is made of, and not its cause.
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Links SmellBook records for this entry: molecules, related smells and comparisons. EDITORIAL links are chosen by SmellBook editors and VERIFIED links come from VERIFIED claims. Nothing here is a ranking, and a molecule is not presented as the cause of the smell.
QUESTIONS ABOUT WOOD SMOKE
Wood smoke smells dry, warm and smoky, with a sharp, slightly bitter edge and soft woody sweetness underneath. Up close it can sting and feel dense; at a distance it is mellow and almost pleasant. The smell clings to hair, wool and clothing long after the fire is out. It is close to the broader campfire experience, though narrower and more focused on the smoke itself.
People meet it near fireplaces and wood stoves in cold weather, around bonfires and campfires, and drifting over villages and rural lanes on autumn and winter evenings.
Typical settings: fireplace, campfire, wood stove.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Phenolic odorants in hardwood smoke. This claim says only what its source supports, in the scope shown with it.
4 molecules are named in this claim; see the evidence for the role the claim gives them. Each molecule this claim names has only the role the claim states; one molecule is not the whole smell. Where a molecule is listed as a reported volatile, the claim does not say it shapes the smell.
Wood Smoke is an atmospheric experience; intensity and ventilation strongly change how it is perceived.
SmellBook records 3 written comparisons with other smells: see them in Connections.
Words that are easy to mix up: When does woody become smoky?, Is every warm smell spicy? and When is woody also resinous?
No historical source or heritage record is linked to this entry yet.
Answers marked EDITORIAL are written by SmellBook editors to describe the experience and add no scientific fact. Answers marked VERIFIED point to claims on published sources, checked against each source's own summary where one was available (each claim's page says how); what each claim supports is in its own text and scope.
Scientific evidence · 1 claim
Phenolic odorants in hardwood smoke
A gas chromatography–olfactometry study of condensed mixed-hardwood smoke found phenolic compounds such as guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol and 4-methylsyringol among its most potent odorants, alongside compounds such as 2,3-butanedione.
Supports the odorants of one condensed hardwood smoke studied for food smoking; open fires, other woods and burning conditions can differ.
How this was found: Odour analysis with human assessors. People smelled the separated compounds or the material itself (for example gas chromatography–olfactometry, dilution analysis, recombination or a sensory panel). Source: primary study; sensory or perception work.
Timothy Vazquez, Edisson Tello & Devin G. Peterson
DOI 10.3390/molecules30030720Each molecule is named by the claim shown after it. Each molecule named here has only the role the claim states; one molecule is not the whole smell. About molecules in SmellBook
Links chosen by SmellBook editors, not a ranking.
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
PATHS FROM HERE
Each step is a relationship SmellBook editors recorded in the knowledge graph, named as it is published there. Paths are not ranked or personalised, and they do not mean the smells smell alike.
Each step is a molecule that a VERIFIED claim names for both smells, in whatever role the claims state. Sharing a molecule does not mean two smells smell alike.
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WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
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FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Wood Smoke.
CULTURAL: This entry's associations depend on context, language, memory or culture; its description and smell words are editorial. It says nothing about research or historical evidence; evidence for this entry is shown separately: VERIFIED.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0021 — Wood Smokesmellbook:smell:wood-smokehttps://smellbook.com/smells/wood-smokeSmellBook. (2026). Wood Smoke (revision 4, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:wood-smoke. https://smellbook.com/smells/wood-smoke@misc{smellbook_wood_smoke_r4,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Wood Smoke},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 4, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:wood-smoke},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/wood-smoke}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-wood-smoke-r4 TI - Wood Smoke AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 4 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/wood-smoke N1 - SB-0021; smellbook:smell:wood-smoke; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/wood-smoke ER -
The citation names revision 4 of 2026-10-06, so a reader can tell exactly which version was cited. Citing records what was read; it does not grant a licence.
Wood Smoke is an atmospheric experience; intensity and ventilation strongly change how it is perceived.
Other entries whose editors linked to Wood Smoke:
Editorial description expanded to answer what it smells like and where you meet it; independently reviewed.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-10-06Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since the first of three dataset releases of 2026-09-30.
No correction notices published for this entry. Corrections policyEVIDENCE MATTERS
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See the evidence coverage report ↗