Oud of the Day

[Castingshadows]

Starting to take cultivated kinam for granted… I still can’t believe it. I try to keep my wits about me, but I really bought into the whole “you will never get good oud again and prices will only climb” propaganda because the utter scarcity of oud in the US seemed to add credibility to that line. A major drive of my obsession with the oud scavenger hunt has been to try to find sources that offered a good quality, sustainable source. Didn’t see the kyara thing coming at ALL. I mean, of all of the possible varieties of oud, what are the odds that freaking KINAM ends up being fast and easy and cheap to cultivate. It’s like legalized cannabis - still shocked.

Today a swipe of mesoud’s CK oil Huaisheng. All CK oils have a fair amount of overlap which is to be expected, but also (so far) have each had some defining aspect. so it is interesting trying to tease out which particular aspect of the wood was captured whenever I smell these new types of oils. This oil has something open and airy feeling, spring forest kind of sense about it to me - something maybe a little electric and ozone/fresh air like. This oil is very much a sugary CK syrup of the smooth kind, and does not have some of the toothy notes that some CK extracts have. Sweet and minty (there it is again), something like vanillin, something almost floral as well. This would be an oud that you could apply liberally without any worry about offending - none of the “salivary” notes that some co2 oils have for example.

Yeah it really breaks the whole stereotype that good Oud can’t be found anymore.

It’s wild to me that some of the best oils I’ve ever smelled as of late are coming from the new guys like Marius with Jinkoh Store, Al Hind Oud, and Olefaktory. I haven’t even tried the brands you’re talking about but just with those guys I’ve mentioned my mind has been blown. I’m talking the same oils “The Albanian Van Gogh” would sell for $2000 a gram you can get for a literal fraction of the price and yet they keep coming and they keep being released.

Not to mention the insane deals that you get with Habzoud who is just criminally underrated. Every vendor in this community has blown me away with how they’re able to procure incredible oils of all grades. Even the low grade stuff they get is incredible. Oud isn’t dead and I laugh at the new testimony from Ensar when he says plantation Oud is over.

 

[The Scent Guru]

Oud Said from @mesOUD dry, aromatic and woody with hint of cedar

 

[Mr.P]

“HM Royal Maroke” 1990s Sulaym

Ah, this is a nice one… I was a little confused smelling the dipstick - smelling like a blend of old malaysian and maroke HOWEVER one small swipe… just amazing… top tier Maroke terroir notes backed with tangy old oud resinous depths. I’ve smelled a lot of nice marokes, but 90% have limited depth behind the peculiar mud cloth opening, or resinous notes that emerge only with time. This is just straight up tangy old oud maroke right in your face. It’s amazing. top merauke in my stash just got bumped down a peg.

 

[Ahmaoud]

@AlHindOud 's Oud Zheng - a floral apple-y (not a baked apple either, but perfectly ripe) incense, slightly sweet, devoid of any tartness. An oil that requires patience to appreciate. Several times I've tried to enjoy this oil quickly, and I failed miserably. It's slow developing, yet maintains each stage for a long period. Just the slightest warming aura to the scent I'm noticing today, otherwise the oil is balanced in every aspect. While nothing shouts, it always maintains a presence.

Later on there's a beautiful lumber like note with a very delicate suede. The background on which these notes are painted is quite special, unfortunately I can't find a way to articulate what I'm getting. Off the cap, and sometimes when it's dried down, I get a watery, (very light) green fruitiness I've experienced in some oils from Sabah. I think it's that backdrop which makes this oil particularly addictive for me, an instant smile on each sniff.

 

[Simla House]

Was considering clearing out some oils to make room for new wants and desires, and came across a bottle of Oud Mostafa 5. Haven't worn it in years. Decided to take a micro swipe to see if I still want it.
Gonna keep it. It's really hitting the spot this evening. Very soft with tranquilizing florals. What a throwback to yesteryears.

 

[Mario P.]

IO Royal Ceylon 2 - mango trip :X

 

[Mr.P]

HM Royal Hindi meghalaya 1970’s from sulaym.

This one is a very balanced smooth appealing Hindi. Fermented with restraint id guess and has notes of old and new school hindi as I understand it in an appealing balance. from the dipstick, it’s obvious that this oil is well aged - smells mature and sophisticated. It smells like hindi but on a different level than hyper-soaked plantation agallocha - the fermentation is not overly pungent and it’s balanced nicely against a deep resinous sweetness.

I’m not an expert on the hindi profile, but i am learning, and this is nicer and more mature/ resinous and balanced smelling than most of the other soaked hindi oils i have smelled in the past (mostly plantation oils also). The dry down has some soaked wood notes i associate with old school crassna oils as well.

That soaked wood note i experienced long before i ever smelled oud. I used to spend time fishing in canoes when i was young. There’s a certain smell that the paddles picked up as they spent the summers exposed to the elements. The aroma I would stick to my hands for a while… I don’t know how to describe the scent - it is not oudy per se but one i very much associate with soaked crassnas and agallochas. It is a nostalgic scent for me

 

[Dr B1414]

Some Brunie bliss for the day:

Jinkoh Store Brunei Qi
Ensar Oud Kyara de Kalbar

Both of these showcase some strong Borneo facets for sure. But they have a very unique profile, apart from that Borneo influence.
I'm so happy to have sourced 2 more grams of Brunei Qi. Now I can feel less guilty for enjoying this. This oil is getting better and better for me with each wear. I can see this one topping Emperor of China for my favorite all-time oud oil.

 

[Faizal_p]

“HM Royal Maroke” 1990s Sulaym

Ah, this is a nice one… I was a little confused smelling the dipstick - smelling like a blend of old malaysian and maroke HOWEVER one small swipe… just amazing… top tier Maroke terroir notes backed with tangy old oud resinous depths. I’ve smelled a lot of nice marokes, but 90% have limited depth behind the peculiar mud cloth opening, or resinous notes that emerge only with time. This is just straight up tangy old oud maroke right in your face. It’s amazing. top merauke in my stash just got bumped down a peg.

This Merauke is definitely special, we had access to a number of Sultan Qaboos Papuan oils and this one was by far the best "bang for buck". It has retained its brightness but also mellowed somewhat over the decades

 

[Castingshadows]

Wearing Olefaktory’s S.L. One today.

Super heady opening with those old school, old stock, high intensity wild vapors. Rugged woods and a cooling, minty breeze wraps it all up and steeps it in green, vanilla cream.

Ed is such a talented distiller and we’re so lucky to have someone like him in the States. Sri Lankan grown American Made! How many oils can really claim that title?

 

[Mr.P]

Wearing Olefaktory’s S.L. One today.

Super heady opening with those old school, old stock, high intensity wild vapors. Rugged woods and a cooling, minty breeze wraps it all up and steeps it in green, vanilla cream.

Ed is such a talented distiller and we’re so lucky to have someone like him in the States. Sri Lankan grown American Made! How many oils can really claim that title?

Agreed - is that the wild sri from 2020? I had lost track of the sample and stumbled on it last week - pretty much encapsulates what i love about oud

 

[User]

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[EJayB]

Agreed - is that the wild sri from 2020? I had lost track of the sample and stumbled on it last week - pretty much encapsulates what i love about oud

SLone is the newest Sri Lankan, done this year

 

[Mr.P]

Which oil was dethroned?

Lucky score from a Singapore eBay vendor long ago..

 

[User]

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[User]

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[Rename]

@RisingPhoenix 3 Kings

It's good. There are fermentation notes that smell like a fermented Hindi and it took me a while to get over them, but now I am able to appreciate the oil better after smelling more fermented oils and some traditionally distilled Fili oils and getting used to the scent. The profile is similar to his other Fili oils. I am still more into unfermented oils, but this is great for the times that I decide to venture into fermented oils. I would love to see some clean Fili distillations from JK.

I know this is a codistillation of 3 regions, but I forgot the other two. Smells a lot like his pure Fili oils to me, but I might be missing some nuance from the other woods.

JK has had several New Gen Filis. You missed that party 😆

Glad to hear you’re warming up to 3 Kings
Jungles : Co-Distillation of :
-Philippines (Leyte, Bicol, and Mindanao)
-Sri Lankan (Adam)
-Hindi (Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram)

I think you’d love 4 Emperors
Jungles : Co-Distillation of :
-Philippines (Leyte, Bicol, and Mindanao)
-Sri Lankan (Adam)
-Hindi (Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram)
+Hainan Island

 

[PersonelHigh]

Yuzhi Oud is actually a trusted brand. The problem is that they clearly state they sell Co2 extracts which are not meant to be full spectrum oils and sometimes it can bother people with how poorly they perform. A lot of their extracts are meant for perfumery purposes and building accords verse wearing as standalone oils.

The Future of Oud Oils - Fractionated Sinensis CO2 - KyaraZen

Recently on a business trip i had 6 hours to spare so I decided to grab a bullet train ticket to the city of Dongguan, Guangzhou to visit a distillation plant/factory which I thought was potentially one of the most promising oud oil producers to have appeared in the recent…

www.kyarazen.com

None of this is news to me. Many of us were introduced to Mr Zeng reading the esteemed blog of Kyarzen.

https://www.kyarazen.com/the-future-of-oud-oils-fractionated-sinensis-co2.

What was a revelation is that after 2 years the scent actually COMPLETELY (if I wasn't clear) disappeared. There was no OUD or agarwood scent. Again just a faint chemical smell. Usually I've found sitting on ouds even Co2's improves them. I have tinctures with inferior woods that have only been charged once that have actual scent after a few years. This forum for me is purely information. Jeff seems like an affable guy and I wish him well. My post was strictly about the oud swipe of the day and what I experienced. Zip. I can't imagine that being his intent.

I would offer to giveaway. But it isn't worth paying for the shipping.

 

[Mr.P]

I tried going back in the thread, but I think I missed what this previous comment is about. So you got a cultivated kinam oil that lost all of its aroma?

The ck oils i have been sniffing keep getting better - just amazing stuff. I have two recent samples from wardlab and they are really eye opening. One is very mild in scent - snooth and candylike, seemingly innocuous. An hour or two later, though, and my wrist smells just like fine Japanese kinam based incense. Finally, starting to get some of that rich kinam note coming through in these. The other has more aggressive topnote, and reminds me of the old “royal kinam” hong kong oil.

Also smelled some great distillates from feel oud, mesoud, al hind, olefaktory

I can’t believe I can afford to smell the stuff.

 

[Mr.P]

North Sumatra Aceh sample from al hind. I think this may not be one that he distilled but I’m not 100% sure.

This hits like a classic “green gaharu” in my personal universe of oud specimens. this traces back to a particular greenish indo oil with that name from Oudhasi (great vendor while they lasted) that was a prime example of this style). The top note is multilayered and quite punchy. Tart almost sour green notes embedded in a sweet resinous body. Has some of the crazy wild topnote twang that shows up in thai oils from time to time. If I had to take a guess I would say that this oil is relatively young and will probably get much more dignified with age - at the moment it is a pretty bright-eyed and bushy tailed oil.