Bigboy

True Ouddict
2020: A Musk odyssey
A long overdue review on the Mongolian Musk pod I bought from ninjarobb.
I searched high and low for a relaiable and trustworthiness source from which to procure high quality musk grains. There were remarkablely SO VERY MANY places apparently selling genuine material...or so you would think! Most of what you see on eBay is absolutely trash...I can tell you off the top of my head first hand that the market is full of ABSOLUTE garbage.
From musk oils that are dilluted damn near to death, and dried up recycled smelling grains...to actual coffee grinds and tainted and synthetic oils blended with next to zero actual musk grains involved....I have to admit that the musk market is substantially more shady and rife with fraud than even the oud oil and Indian sandalwood markets. Finding those special grains to soak up my absolutely drop dead gorgeous cream spicy 100 year old gcms tested Indian mysore sandalwood oil was quite the adventure in and of itself!

ENTER NINJA ROBB:
After scouring the internet, ,ebay, and etsy and everywhere else.....I ENDED UP WHERE I SHOULD HAVE STARTED: on ouddict talking to ninja Robb. SEVERAL long LONG winded
Questions later I pulled the trigger and purchased a pod from him...knowing he is a well respected and reviewed seller, member, and contributer to this forum gave me assurance and set my mind at ease.

Communication with NinjaRob was easy and always pleasant. He was patient and understanding of all my concerns about putting anything less than magic beans (grains) to soak in my outrageously rare and beautiful antique mysore oil. We spoke via text extensively and for several days via whatsapp before I purchased a 15g pod.
The packages arrived packed very well and securely with plenty of padding and tape to get through. upon opening the box I could IMMEDIATELY smell the pod!It was was divine ! As I peeled away the tape the scent become stronger and stronger until i had the beauty of a pod in my hand. Now, as far as musk pods go, or anything called a "pod", one would normally not assigne an adjective like "beauty " to describe it.....however in this case that was the only word appropriate. It was just a perfectly shaped gray Mongolian musk pod with a little fuzz all around it and a couple dozen strands of white hairs on one side while the rest , and especially the opposite side was totally devoid of any hair (key sign of legitimacy is one sided hair on your pod....if its covered in floor to floor carpeting you have something else thats fake) also of note is that Mongolian musk pods are specifically known for not having much in the way of hair. It took me several weeks before I could bring myself to ruin this little musky sachet of joy. I half wanted to just put it in my shirt pocket and walk around wirh it all day!
I took out a hobby knife and sliced the pod open useing a spoon to scoop the grains out. I suggest doing this on a paper plate because you will want to fold the paper olate in half later when your done cleaning the grains and want to out them back in your container (which should be an airtight bottle like the pyrex I used). The grains were very smooth textured and exactly the right amount of dry to begin macerating in my 100 + year old antique mysore oil. They also left a smudge on paper when smeared (tell tale signs of authenticity. )The aroma is NOT skanky, NOT fecal, NOT CHEMICAL , NOR SYNTHETIC SMELLING IN ANY MANNER OF WAY. Just a pure raw animalic musky aromatic profile one would expect from musk.
A note about Mongolian musk, it has a unique profile that is hard to place. Now I know that someone made mention of a marker smell. Raw musk , especially Mongolian and the more rare breeds like kasmiri (hit me up if you have some) can be like oud in that your brain can not really recognize the profile and starts flying through your aromatic roledex of memories (just dated myself) and winds up selecting whatever random smell you can most closely associate. I had to sit there for a while smelling for a long time to figure it out but it Finally registered on my scent Rader what was being talked about. Its funny but because if the interplay of mysore oil in the profile i get pencil shavings vibe sometimes. Again thats just reflexive olfactory assignment based on restructuring your brains understanding of a something altogether novel. ...which probably had not happened to many of us since we first smelled real ouds.
For those who are curious I've been useing approximately 35-40% depending on how well I can add that day.
Amazing to have access to such a rare anf beautiful aromatic material. We truelly are blessed to have NjnjaRobb provide us with REAL and VERY high quality grIns. Just be ready with your tweezers and magnifying glass to get those hair and skin out. If you want your oil to smell its best I suggest you TAKE YOUR TIME AND GET ALL THE SKIN AND HAIR OUT.
And on that note let me take the opportunity to tell you that NOTHING, AND I MEAN NOTHING MAKES YOUR MUSC MACERATION SMELL MAGICAL LIKE TIME.
Thanks for reading my long winded review. Hope you all found it informative and enjoyable!
 

Bigboy

True Ouddict
Great write up @Bigboy. I really appreciate it. hoping to smell the pod myself one day if I could stop myself from buying ouds. :Roflmao:

Truelly once you go musk you never go back! Taesik I STRONGLY urge you to at LEAST buy a small sample of grains from Ninja Robb , and contact jk for a sample of his musk oil so you can see the journey from beginning to end and understand what all the fuss is about. You can't even begin to realize just how profoundly beautiful , mesmerizing, and dynamic a musk oil can be! You must must must try it! I'm sorry but it pains me to know a fellow connisour of aromatic oils and woods has not experienced the bliss of true musk. I know i sound over the top....you are so seriously depriving yourself of one of (IF NOT THE ) greatest aromatic oils on earth!

EVERYONE ! GO BUY SOME GRAINS AND MUSK OIL IF YOU HAVE NEVER SMELLED MUSK BEFORE ! You will thank me later. I promise.
 

Bigboy

True Ouddict
my 3-month shopping plan is set in stone. maybe I will give it a try at the end of this year. I'll definitely go to ninjarob or JK

I would say its important to get a sample from both because to buy one without the other would be like trying to truelly understand Agarwood full circle with only oud oil or only the wood....you would have a very incomplete picture. I have to see what happens but I may pick up some more oil soon and if I do ill send you some and a little bit of grains as well just so you can see.
 

Taesik Yun

Attar Yun
Staff member
I would say its important to get a sample from both because to buy one without the other would be like trying to truelly understand Agarwood full circle with only oud oil or only the wood....you would have a very incomplete picture. I have to see what happens but I may pick up some more oil soon and if I do ill send you some and a little bit of grains as well just so you can see.
고마워요. 감사합니다 빅보이님. Thanks for generous gesture. @Bigboy. I'll definitely try various form of musk. pod, grain, oil, etc.
 

NinjaRobb

Official Trader Siberian and Mongolian Musk
2020: A Musk odyssey
A long overdue review on the Mongolian Musk pod I bought from ninjarobb.
I searched high and low for a relaiable and trustworthiness source from which to procure high quality musk grains. There were remarkablely SO VERY MANY places apparently selling genuine material...or so you would think! Most of what you see on eBay is absolutely trash...I can tell you off the top of my head first hand that the market is full of ABSOLUTE garbage.
From musk oils that are dilluted damn near to death, and dried up recycled smelling grains...to actual coffee grinds and tainted and synthetic oils blended with next to zero actual musk grains involved....I have to admit that the musk market is substantially more shady and rife with fraud than even the oud oil and Indian sandalwood markets. Finding those special grains to soak up my absolutely drop dead gorgeous cream spicy 100 year old gcms tested Indian mysore sandalwood oil was quite the adventure in and of itself!

ENTER NINJA ROBB:
After scouring the internet, ,ebay, and etsy and everywhere else.....I ENDED UP WHERE I SHOULD HAVE STARTED: on ouddict talking to ninja Robb. SEVERAL long LONG winded
Questions later I pulled the trigger and purchased a pod from him...knowing he is a well respected and reviewed seller, member, and contributer to this forum gave me assurance and set my mind at ease.

Communication with NinjaRob was easy and always pleasant. He was patient and understanding of all my concerns about putting anything less than magic beans (grains) to soak in my outrageously rare and beautiful antique mysore oil. We spoke via text extensively and for several days via whatsapp before I purchased a 15g pod.
The packages arrived packed very well and securely with plenty of padding and tape to get through. upon opening the box I could IMMEDIATELY smell the pod!It was was divine ! As I peeled away the tape the scent become stronger and stronger until i had the beauty of a pod in my hand. Now, as far as musk pods go, or anything called a "pod", one would normally not assigne an adjective like "beauty " to describe it.....however in this case that was the only word appropriate. It was just a perfectly shaped gray Mongolian musk pod with a little fuzz all around it and a couple dozen strands of white hairs on one side while the rest , and especially the opposite side was totally devoid of any hair (key sign of legitimacy is one sided hair on your pod....if its covered in floor to floor carpeting you have something else thats fake) also of note is that Mongolian musk pods are specifically known for not having much in the way of hair. It took me several weeks before I could bring myself to ruin this little musky sachet of joy. I half wanted to just put it in my shirt pocket and walk around wirh it all day!
I took out a hobby knife and sliced the pod open useing a spoon to scoop the grains out. I suggest doing this on a paper plate because you will want to fold the paper olate in half later when your done cleaning the grains and want to out them back in your container (which should be an airtight bottle like the pyrex I used). The grains were very smooth textured and exactly the right amount of dry to begin macerating in my 100 + year old antique mysore oil. They also left a smudge on paper when smeared (tell tale signs of authenticity. )The aroma is NOT skanky, NOT fecal, NOT CHEMICAL , NOR SYNTHETIC SMELLING IN ANY MANNER OF WAY. Just a pure raw animalic musky aromatic profile one would expect from musk.
A note about Mongolian musk, it has a unique profile that is hard to place. Now I know that someone made mention of a marker smell. Raw musk , especially Mongolian and the more rare breeds like kasmiri (hit me up if you have some) can be like oud in that your brain can not really recognize the profile and starts flying through your aromatic roledex of memories (just dated myself) and winds up selecting whatever random smell you can most closely associate. I had to sit there for a while smelling for a long time to figure it out but it Finally registered on my scent Rader what was being talked about. Its funny but because if the interplay of mysore oil in the profile i get pencil shavings vibe sometimes. Again thats just reflexive olfactory assignment based on restructuring your brains understanding of a something altogether novel. ...which probably had not happened to many of us since we first smelled real ouds.
For those who are curious I've been useing approximately 35-40% depending on how well I can add that day.
Amazing to have access to such a rare anf beautiful aromatic material. We truelly are blessed to have NjnjaRobb provide us with REAL and VERY high quality grIns. Just be ready with your tweezers and magnifying glass to get those hair and skin out. If you want your oil to smell its best I suggest you TAKE YOUR TIME AND GET ALL THE SKIN AND HAIR OUT.
And on that note let me take the opportunity to tell you that NOTHING, AND I MEAN NOTHING MAKES YOUR MUSC MACERATION SMELL MAGICAL LIKE TIME.
Thanks for reading my long winded review. Hope you all found it informative and enjoyable!
Thank you for the detailed and informative review, it is very nice to communicate with you. I wish you great success!
 

Khawar Ali

Just Arrived
Thank you for the detailed review,
Can you please provide other sellers here that deal with pure deer musk? Who is JK referred to by Taeisk Yun?

Thank you in advance
 

Bigboy

True Ouddict
For direct source outstanding quality Mongolian and Siberian grains for maceration go to Ninja Rob. His grains are fing amazing. If you have the patience to make and are artistic or just like the smell of raw grains here is the place to go. He has also started Carrying macerations in various oils of the musk aged for a year.

For something a little more aged or a different take on things like Pharma grade Tibetan musk grains (as well as very high grade artisan oud oil and woods ) JK at RPP can be found on etsy.
 
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Castingshadows

@scentofsamadhi
I own a sample of Musc 84 from Ensar. To my nose it had a slight ammonia like aroma with the typical brightness and animalics you’d expect from musk.

Would you say this note was present in your maceration?
 

Bigboy

True Ouddict
By "MY maceration " could you be a little more specific?

My current one I made or what I have from JK or from elsewhere?



I too have smelled musc 84. To me that oil may ONE DAY be a gorgeous oil. Its just too raw and too new...or maybe because he used the whole pod skin and all? Idk but to me its like an animal pissed on your arm and then git scared when you smacked it away and left a little brown finger on your arm.

Some people love it. I had it. I sold it.
 

Castingshadows

@scentofsamadhi
By "MY maceration " could you be a little more specific?

My current one I made or what I have from JK or from elsewhere?



I too have smelled musc 84. To me that oil may ONE DAY be a gorgeous oil. Its just too raw and too new...or maybe because he used the whole pod skin and all? Idk but to me its like an animal pissed on your arm and then git scared when you smacked it away and left a little brown finger on your arm.

Some people love it. I had it. I sold it.


I was referring to the maceration you spoke about in your original post. The one you bought from Ninja Rob and then macerated in sandalwood oil.
 

Bigboy

True Ouddict
Ahhh. Hmm. Well tbh its pretty darn smooth because it's Mongolian which tends to be a little more refined than Siberian and im running pretty high % of musk grains but im also useing outrageously high grade mysore which is SOOOO important and often overlooked by beginners and veterans alike as an unnecessary expense because the musk will outshine the mysore . Its true musk is a relatively more denser aromatic material and the main star and building block of your maceration...however the mysore is like a buttress that holds it up.

Just like you would not build an extremely expensive work of Architecture and use cheap material for the buttress so too can the same be said about your mysore.
 

DubOudh

Aster Oudh
Ahhh. Hmm. Well tbh its pretty darn smooth because it's Mongolian which tends to be a little more refined than Siberian and im running pretty high % of musk grains but im also useing outrageously high grade mysore which is SOOOO important and often overlooked by beginners and veterans alike as an unnecessary expense because the musk will outshine the mysore . Its true musk is a relatively more denser aromatic material and the main star and building block of your maceration...however the mysore is like a buttress that holds it up.

Just like you would not build an extremely expensive work of Architecture and use cheap material for the buttress so too can the same be said about your mysore.
Just for this purpose I have sourced some top notch 100% Mysore Sandalwood oil...for some up coming macerations that I plan to carry out...
Great thread and thanks for the write up and contributions here...
 

Mr.P

oud<3er
Sorry to question this, but how does one know if sandalwood is 100% Mysore these days? I thought Mysore was long dried up other than maybe a plantation or two... I just don't buy anything labeled as Mysore because this is a red flag that it is fake or cultivated.
 

DubOudh

Aster Oudh
Sorry to question this, but how does one know if sandalwood is 100% Mysore these days? I thought Mysore was long dried up other than maybe a plantation or two... I just don't buy anything labeled as Mysore because this is a red flag that it is fake or cultivated.
It is a chain of contacts through some friends.....And whilst I will not be getting a lab test on it...my contacts would be very similar to me, in that they know (like you) just how difficult this is to get nowadays....but not impossible...
So when it became available recently...a network of people were informed about it......family connections and stuff.....
So among some, a word from a reputable family member is all that is needed that a source is on stream....it shall be offered around for a short time and then most likely made public, should any be left...which I very much doubt.....Such is the way today....
 
Sorry to question this, but how does one know if sandalwood is 100% Mysore these days? I thought Mysore was long dried up other than maybe a plantation or two... I just don't buy anything labeled as Mysore because this is a red flag that it is fake or cultivated.
I suspect that a lot of Mysore oils are “Mysore Type”, in which case, some oils should be just as good as true Mysore if the specie’s lineage is just right, by that, I mean same species grown in the same general regional area. I figure with nearly the same growing conditions as well. And for that matter, a True Mysore Sandalwood oil distilled poorly or from lesser than heartwood parts, would be undesirable.
 
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