Build an Extra-Fragrant Fire

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WOOD CHOICE | Mellow-smelling pinyon pine is a good option for a bedroom hearth, like this one in the Mount Lebanon getaway of fashion designer Elie Saab.

"THE SMELL OF FIREWOOD is transporting," said Eric Bromberg, a seasoned log connoisseur and co-owner of Manhattan's Blue Ribbon Bakery Kitchen. Besides the sublime-smelling trifecta of maple, cherry and applewood that he uses to bake bread in Blue Ribbon's brick oven, Mr. Bromberg regularly stocks his Connecticut residence's two working fireplaces with logs culled from the maple and oak trees on his grounds. These hardwoods reliably yield a sweet and rich campfire scent, but this perfumer of the hearth adds juniper-bush twigs and cedar shavings for a heightened whiff of the Great Outdoors.

Experimentation can help you zero in on a fire fragrance you love. Those, like Mr. Bromberg, who know their woods use the language of sommeliers to describe log aromas, rattling off modifiers such as "bold," "bitter," "aggressive," "clean," "piquant" and "peachy." Maple, said Mr. Bromberg, "is sharp and tickles the nose."

Like many pros, he uses only split, seasoned wood (dried for at least six months) to build a fire and recommends constructing the main body (or "furnace") with deciduous hardwoods (trees that seasonally shed their foliage) while adding softwoods (conifers, such as pines and cedars) as accents. While softwoods pack a lot of olfactory drama, they provide a less enduring heat than many hardwoods and can lead to creosote buildup in chimneys.

Here's a list of aromatic woods to get you going:

Pinyon Pine: If you're a pyro-purist and can handle an all-softwood fire, pinyon—mostly grown in the dry mountains of the Southwest—has a fragrance sometimes called the "Santa Fe smell." According to Frank Schoegel, co-owner of Southside Wood Company based in Kansas City, Kan., pinyon emanates a "pretty, outdoorsy" fragrance, "not sharp like other softer pines, more mellow. We've got a couple guys who swear it's an aphrodisiac."

Applewood: Apple has "a distinct fall-time smell—the essence of leaf-pile clean ups, a whiff of nostalgia," said Mr. Bromberg. According to wood furniture designer Al Noor Mughal, "It smells silvery sweet—umami-like."

Hickory: "A favorite of smokehouses, hickory is pungent and earthy," said Mr. Schoegel. "It's bitter, in a good way."

Cherry: "Sweet and tart, like when you bite into an apple," said Angie Nelson of J.N. Firewood in Fort Ripley, Minn., but rounder and smoother than applewood.

Paper/White Birch: Both types have "mild smoky" nuanced aromas, said Becky Reese of Minnesota firewood supplier the Blue Rooster Company. "Birch mixes nicely with oaks."

All of these woods are available at southsidewoodcompany.com or jnfirewood.com .