Oud of the Day

[Escentually]

Jinkoh Store - Grand Emperor Hue

Crazy how just in a few weeks I feel like my perception of this oil has completely changed. It used to open with such a strong acetone/wood varnish note that it was difficult for me to pick up anything else. Today as I swipe this that note is still present, but these deep liquored Cherry and molasses thick honey scent is now so much more present. It’s much smoother, sweeter, rounded. Not nearly as sharp or piercing as it was for me the first few times swiping. Old varnished wood floors with a combination of 100-year old barrel aged cherry wine and wildflower honey has been spilled all over, creating a syrupy sticky mess wherever you swipe. Makes me want more Vietnamese specimens to try

 

[Mike Jonez]

After work sampling some oils.

@mesOUD - Oud Said
@mesOUD - Trat Borai
@SULAYM - HM Royal Cambodi
@mesOUD - Vietking (I was just in the mood for it again)

I might love Versteegii just as much as I love Silani I need a gram or 2 of Oud Said ASAP !

 

[Escentually]

mesOUD - Koh Chang
mesOUD - Koh Kong

Swiped these two beauties on today! We are tired but blessed after staying up to watch the Celtics secure championship #18 last night!

Koh Chang is an A. malaccensis from Thailand, but smells very unique from a lot of other oils I’ve sampled from there. Apparently it’s very similar to Olefaktorys plantation Thai oil, which is incredibly high praise! Beginning with a camphorous herbal spicy note, mixing with a wintergreen-like cooling sensation. This cooling sensation makes this oil have a airy and velvety like texture to it. Very smooth and suede like as it enters your nose. Honeydew melon/melon rind and a cucumber water note come through for a long while after applying too, adding a fresh sweetness to the overall aroma. There’s a floral aspect here as well that others have noted as violet leaf, although I can’t quite identify that note specifically, it does smell very green. It later dries down to a more classic sweet and woody Thai base, which is very pleasant to smell. Such complex top notes that I think this oil is a steal for the price!

Koh Kong on the other hand is a cambodi A. crassna oil, and is a much different experience. You get these amber orange and red dried fruits, like apricots/figs/dates and a syrupy sweet honey note. I feel like many of the oils from the sample set had this sort of sour fruity jam aspect, but this one is the cleanest and driest of them all to me. What’s most interesting is the damp soil and petrichor like earthiness that swallows the aroma as it dries down. The projection of this oil is completely dominated by it. It’s those damp woodsy logs mixed with the smell of pipe water maybe? There’s still that dried tangy fruit aspect in the background, but the rich wet soil is largely what I smell more. I will need more time with oil for sure.

A great pair of oils to celebrate!

 

[Mr.P]

Nice reviews. Koh chang is crassna however! I think I've mentioned violet with respect to some thai oils but I did not mean Violet leaf - that is a very different aroma. I meant something like the smell of the flowers - irones and some melon/cuke scent. This koh chang (just swiped) brings "sweet cassie" (acacia) absolute to mind, which has violet flower nuances. This one really feels more like the small batch Artisanal thai oils i have smelled.

 

[Mr.P]

I've just dabbed "Naphung 2022" from Yusa. This is a thick oil, pale amber color and is a pretty smooth laid back honeylike crassna oil. Smells a little bit like oils I have smelled from cambodia and thailand and a recent Lao oil. I don't really get any surprising notes, but would set this one apart for the relatively gentle smooth and syrupy opening. As you might expect with an oil that is very viscous, evaporation is not sudden and the aroma unfolds gently and at a slow pace. This one does not have the strong marzipan or benzaldehyde notes that a some young crassna oils have (like mesoud koh chang), but instead starts out with a kind of candy like sweet smoothness, some of that unique crassna pungency is there but it kind of lies low under the sugary glaze. I need more time to assess the dry down of this but it is going in the mellow-sweet-woody direction... i think i smell some vanillin notes starting to become more noticeable, but that could've been from a different fragrance that I was working earlier.

If you are a big fan of the sugary opening, and the heart and base note phases of the crassna profile without any fermentation or soak notes, this would be a good choice.

 

[YusaAromatics]

I've just dabbed "Naphung 2022" from Yusa. This is a thick oil, pale amber color and is a pretty smooth laid back honeylike crassna oil. Smells a little bit like oils I have smelled from cambodia and thailand and a recent Lao oil. I don't really get any surprising notes, but would set this one apart for the relatively gentle smooth and syrupy opening. As you might expect with an oil that is very viscous, evaporation is not sudden and the aroma unfolds gently and at a slow pace. This one does not have the strong marzipan or benzaldehyde notes that a some young crassna oils have (like mesoud koh chang), but instead starts out with a kind of candy like sweet smoothness, some of that unique crassna pungency is there but it kind of lies low under the sugary glaze. I need more time to assess the dry down of this but it is going in the mellow-sweet-woody direction... i think i smell some vanillin notes starting to become more noticeable, but that could've been from a different fragrance that I was working earlier.

If you are a big fan of the sugary opening, and the heart and base note phases of the crassna profile without any fermentation or soak notes, this would be a good choice.

It’s on a sale atm for the lovers of above notes !!! Thanks @Mr.P

 

[Escentually]

Nice reviews. Koh chang is crassna however! I think I've mentioned violet with respect to some thai oils but I did not mean Violet leaf - that is a very different aroma. I meant something like the smell of the flowers - irones and some melon/cuke scent. This koh chang (just swiped) brings "sweet cassie" (acacia) absolute to mind, which has violet flower nuances. This one really feels more like the small batch Artisanal thai oils i have smelled.

Thank you brother it means a lot🙏 I think koh Chang definitely smells like a crassna to me, especially in the dry down. But the sample vial I got from Mehmet says Malaccensis, so I will have to check and again with him.

I see, to me it had definitely had a really nice floral component to it, forgive my complete lack of floral knowledge. I thought violets usually have a purple type of smell but that’s I guess not an actually smell. This one had more of a green floral, which I don’t think even exists, note to me. That’s probably just what you mentioned w the irones and melon mix. I’ll have to see if I can get my nose on some “Cassie” as I don’t think I’ve ever smelled that either. You have a very nuanced and deep scent database to pick from!

 

[Mr.P]

Thank you brother it means a lot🙏 I think koh Chang definitely smells like a crassna to me, especially in the dry down. But the sample vial I got from Mehmet says Malaccensis, so I will have to check and again with him. View attachment 38338

I see, to me it had definitely had a really nice floral component to it, forgive my complete lack of floral knowledge. I thought violets usually have a purple type of smell but that’s I guess not an actually smell. This one had more of a green floral, which I don’t think even exists, note to me. That’s probably just what you mentioned w the ironies and melon mix. I’ll have to see if I can get my nose on some “Cassie” as I don’t think I’ve ever smelled that either. You have a very nuanced and deep scent database to pick from!

Be careful where you get your Cassie. I would get it from someone who specializes in florals just because there's lots of adulterated stuff that will give you the wrong impression!

Violet flowers that I have smelled are kind of funny… A little bit of a cucumber and green note, some iris type smell, and a little bit of a sort of sweet pea flower funk sitting behind it. Really a sublime scent.

Appreciate the kind words, it really can be a challenge to try to come up with adjectives for these things.

Funny - my bottle says Crassna!

 

[Escentually]

Be careful where you get your Cassie. I would get it from someone who specializes in florals just because there's lots of adulterated stuff that will give you the wrong impression!

Violet flowers that I have smelled are kind of funny… A little bit of a cucumber and green note, some iris type smell, and a little bit of a sort of sweet pea flower funk sitting behind it. Really a sublime scent.

Appreciate the kind words, it really can be a challenge to try to come up with adjectives for these things.

Funny - my bottle says Crassna!

View attachment 38339

Thank you for the tips, I’ve heard the floral essential oil market can get even crazier than the oud market. That combination for violet flowers is crazy! I’ll have to stop and smell them if I ever find the chance.

Brother @mesOUD will have the answer for us, it does smell like a crassna to my amateur nose though!

 

[mesOUD]

Be careful where you get your Cassie. I would get it from someone who specializes in florals just because there's lots of adulterated stuff that will give you the wrong impression!

Violet flowers that I have smelled are kind of funny… A little bit of a cucumber and green note, some iris type smell, and a little bit of a sort of sweet pea flower funk sitting behind it. Really a sublime scent.

Appreciate the kind words, it really can be a challenge to try to come up with adjectives for these things.

Funny - my bottle says Crassna!

View attachment 38339

The old lable is wrong
Right one is Malaccensis
As koh chang is an exceptional region it thailand

 

[Mr.P]

It’s on a sale atm for the lovers of above notes !!! Thanks @Mr.P

I need to find your notes on this!

It’s on a sale atm for the lovers of above notes !!! Thanks @Mr.P

you are welcome, I always try to write these reviews without reading about the oils first - keeps me honest and then it is always fun to read the story and see if i am even close! Your description did a much better job of capturing the nuances. The aroma directly off of the dipstick is especially nice on this one, I think because it doesn't have all the spazzy top notes of a fresh plantation oil and so the other layers kind of come through. Some oils smell great on skin but land on the dipstick, this one has a very appealing smell just across the board. There's also something is triggering a memory in the top notes - reminding me of a place or a time.

 

[Mr.P]

The old lable is wrong
Right one is Malaccensis
As koh chang is an exceptional region it thailand

Whaaaa??? I trust you but my nose tells me otherwise... this smells like a bunch of the crassnas oils in my stash, and absolutely unlike the oils that I think are malaccensis. I am not challenging you haha but if that is malaccensis, then I cannot tell malaccensis apart from crassna based on aroma.

 

[Mr.P]

Thank you for the tips, I’ve heard the floral essential oil market can get even crazier than the oud market. That combination for violet flowers is crazy! I’ll have to stop and smell them if I ever find the chance.

Brother @mesOUD will have the answer for us, it does smell like a crassna to my amateur nose though!

I can steer you to some good sources for benchmark florals. It's good to sample as widely as possible but ideally start with stuff that is vetted by the pros in the industry so you have some kind of standard to compare things to. In some cases these help you identify mediocre oils and in others they will help you appreciate just how fantastic the small scale Artisanal oils are that these larger corporations can't deal with

 

[Oudamberlove]

Whaaaa??? I trust you but my nose tells me otherwise... this smells like a bunch of the crassnas oils in my stash, and absolutely unlike the oils that I think are malaccensis. I am not challenging you haha but if that is malaccensis, then I cannot tell malaccensis apart from crassna based on aroma.

I’ve had difficulty with oud oil species, the techniques and apparatus during distillation can blur the lines, even with regions sometimes.

 

[Shiningrobes]

I can steer you to some good sources for benchmark florals. It's good to sample as widely as possible but ideally start with stuff that is vetted by the pros in the industry so you have some kind of standard to compare things to. In some cases these help you identify mediocre oils and in others they will help you appreciate just how fantastic the small scale Artisanal oils are that these larger corporations can't deal with

I want to know where to get top notch florals! and funny enough I have been contemplating a dm to you on that subject since you seem to have put in the leg work. Which is respected and one of the best things about this forum.

 

[Mr.P]

I want to know where to get top notch florals! and funny enough I have been contemplating a dm to you on that subject since you seem to have put in the leg work. Which is respected and one of the best things about this forum.

DM any time, happy to help

 

[Mr.P]

Also I picked up my sample of Lombok (Gyrinops) from mesoud while looking for the koh chang after reading escentually's review. I don't feel like I'm qualified to judge Gyrinops - I still have a lot to learn about this profile - but some thing about this oil smells right to me. This one is striking and falls in line with some other striking oils I have smelled in the past. The opening is complex and abstract - oily, bitter herbal (?), a hint of galbanum adjacent smell, and with something that is somehow very oudy sitting there but not in the bittersweet sense of aquilaria... something spicy and dry and "jungly" and this builds as the top notes fade to a persistent dry spicy wood note that really appeals to me. You can really smell the fact that this is in an entirely different genus

 

[Fragdoctor]

Interesting discussion on Crassna and Malaccensis above. Koh Chang to my nose is not a typical Malaccensis but an oil with qualities of both continental Asia with subtle sweetness and vanilla sprinkled fruity floral aromas and some sweet dryness which is reflected in Sumatran woods.

 

[Ahmaoud]

I don't believe I'd be able to judge one way or another, but from my initial sampling, Koh Chang was the one oil I instantly fell in love, alongside the Malinua and the Malaysian Premium (who's new name I can never recall, but it's a Sinensis iirc). All these oils had an airy-ness, alongside a green undertone, of varying degrees to them. I remember lumping them together in my mind, profile wise, because these were the top of the top, and I wanted to purchased full bottles of them!

I'm super pleased this oil is getting the attention it deserves, in my older posts (while I was super new in the game) I couldn't stop mentioning, or raving about it!

 

[Escentually]

I don't believe I'd be able to judge one way or another, but from my initial sampling, Koh Chang was the one oil I instantly fell in love, alongside the Malinua and the Malaysian Premium (who's new name I can never recall, but it's a Sinensis iirc). All these oils had an airy-ness, alongside a green undertone, of varying degrees to them. I remember lumping them together in my mind, profile wise, because these were the top of the top, and I wanted to purchased full bottles of them!

I'm super pleased this oil is getting the attention it deserves, in my older posts (while I was super new in the game) I couldn't stop mentioning, or raving about it!

I believe that sinensis you’re speaking of is Meleka. My absolute favorite of all the oils I’ve tried so far from the set. We seem to have similar tastes haha