The neshama alone derives pleasure from a pleasant aroma. Nevertheless, you must bless before sniffing it. If you remembered to bless only after finishing to sniff, you lost your beracha. (ShA1 – MB1,3)
Boray Atzay V’somim is for aromas wafting from wood, even soft wood, that sprout leaves. (ShA2 – MB6)
Boray Is’vay V’somim is for fragrant grasses. (ShA2)
Boray Minay V’somim is for fragrances not emanating from wood or grass, rather from animals (e.g. musk) and the like. (ShA2 – MB7)
Asher Nossan Rayach Tov Bapairos is for edible fruits picked up with intention to sniff. (ShA2 – MB9)
If you lift a fragrant fruit both to smell and to eat, it is best not to have kavana to smell it until after you say a blessing on a small taste. Then, say a beracha on the aroma and sniff. If you had kavana to smell it first, the beracha on the aroma comes first. (MB10)
If you pick up the fruit only to eat, do not say a beracha on the aroma. (ShA2)
Boray Minay V’somim is a general nusach which could be used for any of the above types of aromas. When in doubt about which beracha , use this one. (ShA2 – MB13)
Cinnamon and hot ground coffee picked up for sniffing are Asher Nossan Rayach Tov Bapairos. Since they are mainly for eating, they classify as “pairos”. (ShA2 – MB15,16)
Perfumed oil (or any other liquid) gets the beracha of whatever is perfuming it. If it is a mixture of wood and grass, say Boray Minay V’somim. This is true only when some of the spicing agent remains in the oil. But if all the spice has been filtered out of the liquid you should not smell it since there is an argument regarding the beracha. Someone who does not wish to be machmir on himself is allowed, l’chatchila, to sniff it after saying Boray Minay V’somim. (ShA6 – MB26,29,32)
On Yom Tov, you aren’t allowed to pour scented oils on a cloth or in water in order to make it smell nice; that’s called molid rayach. (MB32,35)
When you have all types of fragrant species mixed together, it is best to separate them and say the specific berachos in the following order: Atzay, Is’vay, Minay. If you cannot separate the bundle, say just Minay. (MB37)
Boray Minay V’somim said on musk can exempt species of Atzay and Is’vay only if you had them in mind during the beracha. (Rama10 – MB39)
Atzay does not exempt species of Is’vay. Is’vay does not exempt species of Atzay. (MB39)
Say you have both a haddas and fragrant oil – if they are the same beracha say the beracha on the haddas, held in your right hand and exempt the oil held in your left – if the oil is a different beracha, say the beracha on the haddas first. The reason is that the haddas is more chashuv since it is naturally fragrant and unprocessed. (ShA11 – MB43,45)
On Sukkos, when you lift the esrog to do the mitzva and, by the way, you smell it – no beracha is required. If you lift it in order to sniff it, there is an argument in the poskim – therefore, do not intentionally sniff the esrog until after Sukkos is over. (ShA14 – MB51 – BeH “hamayreeyach”) LAWS OF BIRKAS HAB’SOMIM