Oud of the Day

[Saudalhajri]

Kalakas + Prince Cambodia
Wet old hay, dark sugar, leaf smoke, plums and sour berries and tons of more antique leather. Gives the vibes of a rich ivory merchant in the Abbasid palace. Very strong without being immature, nice and grounded confidence and vigor.

 

[Saudalhajri]

Making some more dilutions today for testing. I put on the Angkor Wat Cambodian oud and it smells way more sweet than it is in its pure form. Its chocolaty sweet, white floral, and honey smooth sweetness surprised me. @Mr.P we spoke about this before no? Does alcohol bring out hidden sweetness?

 

[Humpdidumpdi]

I tried this as well with some of my oils.
I think alcohol enhances all notes of the oil but it makes them go away faster.
So more intensity in a shorter timeframe

 

[Mr.P]

View attachment 41995

Making some more dilutions today for testing. I put on the Angkor Wat Cambodian oud and it smells way more sweet than it is in its pure form. Its chocolaty sweet, white floral, and honey smooth sweetness surprised me. @Mr.P we spoke about this before no? Does alcohol bring out hidden sweetness?

I've been thinking about this… and just applied a swipe of some dilute 5% Lao crassna so I can give you a thoughtful answer. At the moment I'm getting reduced pungency, with pretty strong sweetness and I feel like the beauty of this particular oil (which mainly lies in its dry down) comes forward more quickly. Crassna is so sweet across the board though. My main memory associated with wearing diluted oud is long and delicate beautiful drydowns.

It would be interesting to see if there's any change over time because patchouli for example undergoes some pretty noticeable changes as it combines with alcohol. After sitting for a couple of weeks the presence is different than on the day that you mix it

 

[Castingshadows]

View attachment 41995

Making some more dilutions today for testing. I put on the Angkor Wat Cambodian oud and it smells way more sweet than it is in its pure form. Its chocolaty sweet, white floral, and honey smooth sweetness surprised me. @Mr.P we spoke about this before no? Does alcohol bring out hidden sweetness?

Think about it like this. An Oud oil is the most chemically diverse and complex aromatic material on earth. When we smell an oil undiluted you’re smelling an ultra condensed aromatic experience. When you add alcohol and dilute an oil it expands the peaks and valleys. It decompresses the intense complexity and gives it room to breathe. As a result you’ll see different nuances express themselves that are there all along but may be difficult for your nose to pick up on because of the density.

You see this effect happen all the time with perfumery. It’s one of the key reasons why perfumers struggle with keeping the original smell of an Attar 100% intact if they decide to create a spray perfume of the same composition. Dilution allows for all sorts of dimensions to take shape which allow us to play around with those dimensions and enhance them or alter them with other materials.

This is also the reason why heavy barnyard oils work so well in blends. When you smell a barnyard/fermented Oud neat and undiluted it can be incredibly intense but the moment you dilute the oil in alcohol it stretches out the fermentation and brings about different dimensions which start to smell like chocolate, wine, hay, and pleasant bucolic aromas verse an actual barn or horse stable.

 

[Saudalhajri]

I've been thinking about this… and just applied a swipe of some dilute 5% Lao crassna so I can give you a thoughtful answer. At the moment I'm getting reduced pungency, with pretty strong sweetness and I feel like the beauty of this particular oil (which mainly lies in its dry down) comes forward more quickly. Crassna is so sweet across the board though. My main memory associated with wearing diluted oud is long and delicate beautiful drydowns.

It would be interesting to see if there's any change over time because patchouli for example undergoes some pretty noticeable changes as it combines with alcohol. After sitting for a couple of weeks the presence is different than on the day that you mix it

I've heard a lot of weird things about patchouli like you described, and how it can change a lot when mixed, or aged by itsself. Such a wonderful thing. i tried @YusaAromatics Patch Cola when @Obada visited and it was the first time for me smelling patchouli oil. At first i thought "what a weird and beautiful oud oil, i wonder where its from" until brother Obada told me its patchouli. A for the alcohol, i noticed that i get this sweet kind of taste in the back of my throat when smelling alcohol by itsself, could this synergize with the background sweetness of some oud oils and strengthen it? or is it just a matter of making the background notes come forward?

Think about it like this. An Oud oil is the most chemically diverse and complex aromatic material on earth. When we smell an oil undiluted you’re smelling an ultra condensed aromatic experience. When you add alcohol and dilute an oil it expands the peaks and valleys and gives them room.

i agree 100%, i've always said that, alcohol pushes all the notes of oud away from each other and seperates them, making them more apparent, and sometimes lifting notes while lowering others. but with other oils ive noticed it doesnt do the same, vetiver behaves the same, so does rose and caramom, perhaps its because of the very complex nature of oud. i'll try a sandalwood oil dilution and see if the effect persists with that too.

 

[Castingshadows]

i agree 100%, i've always said that, alcohol pushes all the notes of oud away from each other and seperates them, making them more apparent, and sometimes lifting notes while lowering others. but with other oils ive noticed it doesnt do the same, vetiver behaves the same, so does rose and caramom, perhaps its because of the very complex nature of oud. i'll try a sandalwood oil dilution and see if the effect persists with that too.

A lot of materials will behave the same way it might just be difficult to discern how they behave because of the gentle nuances. You can see this when you make a raw undiluted blend of materials and then dilute them in perfumers alcohol. Different notes takes shape and become present.

This is one of the reason Sultan Pasha has been struggling to release his spray perfume line. Once you dilute the attars the smell starts to change and they become so far removed from the original composition that you now have to reformulate the composition to keep the original integrity intact. It’s a really, really difficult process. Dilution so does many wonderful things with perfume materials I wouldn’t say it’s strictly an Oud quality.

 

[Mr.P]

I have recently tackled it from the other end: looking at concentrate/attar versions of things that I developed as sprays. Interesting

 

[-Renton-]

Oud Sudha Pursat - CraftOud. I got a really small free sample way back months and months ago, pretty much as we were entering summer, or even before, I got it with my 1gram of the Vintage Koh Kong 2015 from CraftOud... used it once, then my mate asked me to go out to the pub 15-30 mins after I applied it lol, so never got a real in-depth look at it.

So here we are, this is how much I have left after putting quite a bit amount on, it is a VERY, VERY, viscous thick oil that takes its time really getting to the nicer notes (the first 30-60 mins was a bit strange, but I will get onto that).

Starts off with this super, super dark sweet/sour resin note, with a very black fermented sour cherry note with a slight "candiness" sweetness to it that gets sweeter and sweeter as it develops (around 45-50 mins later) but still retains that black sour cherry note but with more sweetness to it. Strong, dark green leaf minty, that was pleasantly bitter and medicinal, some very rich tobacco notes here and there in the opening and in the first 60 mins, with some light smokiness, like a tame, but expensive cigar, some leathery notes jumping about here and there, super spicy notes in and out fast like a ninja, and quite a lot of the time in this phase, but that's a good thing since the spicy notes were quite overwhelming. This is where I find the opening is kinda all over the place, but after 30 mins it starts to get more well rounded with each couple of mins after that and at 60mins it becomes a real blissful experience, but I wouldn't say the opening is bad either, it is just kinda giving you a bunch of complex notes until it kind of calms down. The fermentation scent of the real pure sourness of the cherry becomes less fermented (but doesnt go away, just becomes more tame, and the fermented fruits arent a bad scent either) and more sweet and candy-like, the mintiness slowly becomes more tame and less bitter leafy and more in the undertones, tobacco makes a come back but only in the undertones and has a real nice addition to the complexities, red and purple berries combined with the more sweet, but still mainly sour cherry notes, creates this somewhat of a real cola scent, which REALLY amazed me, it was a real cherry and fruity cola scent for quite a while then jumping back and forth from some jungle, herbaceous, leafy bitter notes with earthy and soil notes, some semi-sweet gourmand dark chocolate. After all this it has been 90mins into the session and it relaxes more into your skin and becomes a more sweet more candied, cherry sour note with sweet red berries and purples too, and throughout the experience there was many times of resinous agarwood notes turning into pure Pursat wood being heated, delicious, makes me want to buy mesouds pursat to see what the wood is like on the kinam heater and compare. After around 3 hours now it is turning more sweet, slightly spicy, some floral notes, soft powderiness, and incense notes.

Was a nice experience.

 

[Hazzy]

A swipe of Al Qasr Perfumes - 'Cambodi Koh Kong'. They should have named this one "Sukoon" because the almost cacao-y sweetness intertwined with woods, beautiful honey notes twirling and dancing, with a beautiful balanced barnyard note bring me peace. Ready for the night shift 🥰

 

[Mr.P]

Hindi Jadeed.2, Manipur from @Al-Hind Oud

Very interesting oil. The top notes are an interesting interplay of waxy, floral, and resinous. I smell many familiar nuances from other Hindi oils but there's something uniquely sweet and delicate and kind of "chewy" in the opening to this one. Quite a nice material with very little funk or barn of any kind. Agallocha is such an oddball as far as oud goes - really nice contrast to other regions. Nothing to photograph, just down to the last residue

 

[Mr.P]

And a follow up with Nha Trang Ko from @YusaAromatics. This is an oil that speaks of balance - a quite complex interplay of herbal, floral, balsamic, tangy, and bittersweet layers. I smell notes that bring a number of other fine sinensis and mature ouds to mind, diverse elements in tasteful balance, no blown out notes, no one facet dominating or defining the scent. Meanwhile on the other arm that Jadeed 2 is just killing it. Enticing.

I see "ko" at the end of some oud names. Is this an abbreviation of Kou / Koh (香)?

Or something else?

 

[AlHind Oud]

And a follow up with Nha Trang Ko from @YusaAromatics. This is an oil that speaks of balance - a quite complex interplay of herbal, floral, balsamic, tangy, and bittersweet layers. I smell notes that bring a number of other fine sinensis and mature ouds to mind, diverse elements in tasteful balance, no blown out notes, no one facet dominating or defining the scent. Meanwhile on the other arm that Jadeed 2 is just killing it. Enticing.

I see "ko" at the end of some oud names. Is this an abbreviation of Kou / Koh (香)?

Or something else?

Knock Out 😛

 

[Mousse de Chene]

Silani Sultan - Kymya.

I’ve been wearing this oil in anticipation for some sinking grade Sri Lankan wood I’m receiving from Hamza. The wood looks absolutely superb. Expensive, but that’s to be expected for high grade sinking Silani.

Man, Silani Sultan is beautiful, it has to be a top 5 oil of all time for me! An extremely bright pristine soul stirring top note, vividly aquatic / oceanic. Blue-green, mineralic, petrichor, mint, softly floral, musky-salty-chalky Ambergris tones. An incensey, honeyed, slightly tropical fruity Walla Patta resin dry down.

Oils such as these are an effective shot of dopamine straight up the nose into the brain. You can feel the anxiolytic effect immediately upon application. Give this aromatic to any perfume fan who is not accustomed to the different Oud genres & they would have zero idea the aroma is sourced from wood. Stunning.

Can’t wait to sample Purple Ceylon.

 

[Castingshadows]

Jinkoh Store’s Grand Emperor Koh Kong

Bitter, resinous, smoky, deep, complex. Absolute stunner of an oil. One of my favorites. I’m so burned out on mid grade koh kongs that all end up with the exact same drydown. It’s refreshing to smell something this high of quality at this price point.

 

[Mousse de Chene]

Jinkoh Store’s Grand Emperor Koh Kong

Bitter, resinous, smoky, deep, complex. Absolute stunner of an oil. One of my favorites. I’m so burned out on mid grade koh kongs that all end up with the exact same drydown. It’s refreshing to smell something this high of quality at this price point.

Sounds beautiful. Jinkoh Store’s - Emperor Of Pursat is one of my favourite Cambodi oils, if not my favourite!
It has all the signature Cambodian dry fruit, caramel, deeply resinous dark red incensey core but elevated by a pristine, luminous, Kinamic Crassna top note. It also exhibits characteristics of a high grade new gen Hainanese Sinensis.
It smells like vintage sinking Cambodi wood at very low temp on the sub. Tried it?

 

[Castingshadows]

Sounds beautiful. Jinkoh Store’s - Emperor Of Pursat is one of my favourite Cambodi oils, if not my favourite!
It has all the signature Cambodian dry fruit, caramel, deeply resinous dark red incensey core but elevated by a pristine, luminous, Kinamic Crassna top note. It also exhibits characteristics of a high grade Hainanese Sinensis.
It smells like vintage sinking Cambodi wood, very low temp on the sub. Tried it?

I haven’t tried that one because I’m not a fan of the heavy fruity/caramel cambodi brighter profile these days . I like the more bitter, incensy, dark, woodsy profiles which is why Grand Emperor Koh Kong is more my style. However I hear that people really love EOP but I right now I’m chasing that vintage koh king vibe.

 

[Mousse de Chene]

I haven’t tried that one because I’m not a fan of the heavy fruity/caramel cambodi brighter profile these days . I like the more bitter, incensy, dark, woodsy profiles which is why Grand Emperor Koh Kong is more my style. However I hear that people really love EOP but I right now I’m chasing that vintage koh king vibe.

I also enjoy that classical Cambodi style; dark, incensey, smoky, dry fruits, a resinous density. However, I don’t like it overly fermented, which is strange considering my deep love of traditionally soaked Indian Oud.

Back in early 2021, before most of the SQ craze, Ahmed from Elixir Attar was quietly selling two oils that were acquired directly from the Palace of the Sultanate of Oman. A Hindi & Cambodi both distilled in 1985.
This ‘Royal Cambodia 1985’ is a sublime Thaqeel. It’s rather clean with only a small touch of fermentation in the top note before a rich multifaceted scent profile blooms upon the skin.
Yes, it exhibits the dry fruit-syrupy sweet signature of Cambodi Oud but it’s mostly an incensey resinous aroma. A touch smoky, floral, dark molasses, a dense purple-red block of the most beautifully rich Crassna resin all underlined by a vivid note of deer Musk. The high grade of woods used to distill this oil is very obvious. Also, it has been aged to perfection retaining a brightness within all the dense unctuous resin.

I feel very lucky to own this gem! As I only have 1g, it gets swiped on special occasions.

 

[Saudalhajri]

I also enjoy that classical Cambodi style; dark, incensey, smoky, dry fruits, a resinous density. However, I don’t like it overly fermented, which is strange considering my deep love of traditionally soaked Indian Oud.

View attachment 42076
Back in early 2021, before most of the SQ craze, Ahmed from Elixir Attar was quietly selling two oils that were acquired directly from the Palace of the Sultanate of Oman. A Hindi & Cambodi both distilled in 1985.
This ‘Royal Cambodia 1985’ is a sublime Thaqeel. It’s rather clean with only a small touch of fermentation in the top note before a rich multifaceted scent profile blooms upon the skin.
Yes, it exhibits the dry fruit-syrupy sweet signature of Cambodi Oud but it’s mostly an incensey resinous aroma. A touch smoky, floral, dark molasses, a dense purple-red block of the most beautifully rich Crassna resin all underlined by a vivid note of deer Musk. The high grade of woods used to distill this oil is very obvious. Also, it has been aged to perfection.

I feel very lucky to own this gem! As I only have 1g, it gets swiped on special occasions.

Cambodian oils are best with little to no fermentation, too much can ruin it, as opposed to Hindi or Thai or Burmese. But again as with all oud it simply depends on the batch, distilling technique etc. so I’m only speaking generally.

 

[Mousse de Chene]

Cambodian oils are best with little to no fermentation, too much can ruin it, as opposed to Hindi or Thai or Burmese. But again as with all oud it simply depends on the batch, distilling technique etc. so I’m only speaking generally.

Yes, I completely agree brother. A slight suggestion of fermentation can give a complexity to a Cambodi oil, yet ultimately I prefer zero. If the woods are of a high grade, there’s no real need to ‘enhance’ the profile. High grade Cambodi wood Is complex & complete enough without intervention. Why disguise all that beauty?