Oud of the Day

[Mr.P]

I just swiped Omar II from @An Najwa - was excited for this one because Omar I was such a treat. This one is super and saturated with an intense punchy woody opening. Really a burst of in your face scintillating oud wood. There is some dark funk to this for sure that comes in and out of focus - not sure if it's a regional thing or a fermentation thing - it is a kind of barnyard with some bite but in a dense and heavy, focused sense like you are near the horse (not diffuse hay or manure). Very dense soapy resinous heart as well. A beautiful oil that I think would be a shocker to anyone who was not familiar with the profile. This is robust rustic stuff not for the faint of heart haha

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Really enjoying layering at the moment. Al NAMIR - Habzoud + Arakan Classic - An Najwa. 😁😁

 

[Faris]

settling down to the scent of a blue-green ocean.

After a gourmand like profile throughout, I wasn’t expecting such a uniquely phenomenal dry down of @SULAYM No. 2

 

[Faris]

On the opposite end of the age spectrum I wore a little bit of @mesOUD Viet King yesterday.

This is my favourite of all new gen crassnas. Ultra HD notes (that’s how I discern quality) that feel like holding pure resin in one’s hand. The x-factor lies in the 🍒 sweetness combining with cool menthol to give a mouthwatering 🍉 dry down.

 

[mesOUD]

This is my favourite of all new gen crassnas. Ultra HD notes (that’s how I discern quality) that feel like holding pure resin in one’s hand. The x-factor lies in the 🍒 sweetness combining with cool menthol to give a mouthwatering 🍉 dry down.

İ am very excited to start soul projects and inshaAllah monday first of them SOUL OF LAOS will start.
Wait for SOUL OF VIETNAM brother,it will be another level inshaAllah

 

[Humpdidumpdi]

@Olfactory Nomad
Did you get any similarities between the unreleased oil from mohammad und al namir?
Because for me they are pretty similiar although they are from different regions.

 

[Al Hashimi]

Today's swipe of Khao Chin 2016 comes to you from @Al Hashimi

The oil has become molasses in the cooler weather. It doesn't look like this is still available on the website, perhaps in reserve? Not sweet or fruity, it's very silky and elegant oud. As with the other Al Hashimi oud oils I’ve sampled, it opens slowly — those first few minutes are just a glimpse as it develops, like a flower blooming, unfolding and evolving as it wears.

View attachment 42883

Not sure if we have any of this left. It was a very elegant oil.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

@Olfactory Nomad
Did you get any similarities between the unreleased oil from mohammad und al namir?
Because for me they are pretty similiar although they are from different regions.

It carries what I call the "signature Habzoud note" definitely, but is not the same. That signature Habzoud note is present in all his oils I have discovered and must be a result of however his distillers do their work. I have never smelled it in any other ouds, only his so I am now confident I could pick his out in a blind smell test. Lot's of nuances in his various ouds and no two are the same but yes, they do all have that signature to varying degrees. I'd say that's what you're recognising.

 

[honeybadger]

Yusa shah qinan

as someone who generally is not a fan of hindi oils, I've decided to give it the benefit of doubt and decided to pull the trigger on this and my goodness... it's soo good 😭
I was expecting some of those sharp barn notes but none, zilch! Very clean grassy and light floral scent with decent projection. I just knew at first sniff this screams quality and from here on became a fan of hindi oud 🫠

 

[Castingshadows]

I ordered Nha Trang Oritsu and Fragrant Harbor on the 16th. It MADE IT TO ARIZONA TODAY. Easily the fastest turn around time I have ever seen. And at Christmas time? What!??? clearly Yusa is a step above the rest when it comes to getting orders out on time. That’s not a slight on anyone else either. Yusa simply has the record. Since I started collecting in late 2018 not once has anything ever come from overseas this fast. It’s worthy of noting.

Now for the nitty gritty

I have a sinus infection so I’m struggling to smell these sadly. BUT…

Nha Trang Oritsu - Vanilla…loads and loads of vanilla. Creamy florals…golden resins. Honey and cream. Oddly enough I’m reminded of the way Olefaktory’s Thai Cherry smelled. I’m sure this is mostly because I can’t really smell or breathe out of my nose.

Fragrant Harbour - If I didn’t know any better I would think I was smelling a perfume. I’m getting the most interesting dry woodiness here with a perfumey almost soapy aldehydic accord. It’s hard to know what I’m smelling. I can’t pick up on much but what I can smell vaguely reminds me of Emperor of China but without the overload of honey and fruits. It really smells a lot like Emperor of China though.

All in all I can’t wait to smell these when my nose actually works. I tasted Nha Trang and it made my mouth go numb. I also felt a tingling on my arm where I swiped with a toothpick.

 

[Mousse de Chene]

AlHind Dhahab - Habz

I requested a sample of this oil with a recent purchase, of which Habz graciously obliged. A traditionally distilled Nagaland Hindi, executed with great finesse.

The amount of fermentation is just right with the barn singing in perfect harmony with the spices & herbal notes in the top. Not only does the auxiliary barn note provide a warming, unctuous, complex aroma, it interacts with the Agallocha resin elevating it beyond what can be achieved without a soak. While unsoaked Hindi oils can be fun, they mostly lack that delicious, golden, ambery worn leather resinous goodness.

As AlHind Dhahab develops it exhibits fruits such a dates & plums, a beautiful labdanum-amber sweetness, animalic leather, cacao, white florals, incense, sun baked hay, Musk all underlined by a smooth voluptuous oozing Oud resin. Once it hits that dry down 2-3 hours into the scent progression, it’s very addicting! I’ve said it before, if a Hindi oil is distilled artisanally, with high quality wood there is no better aroma in the entire world for me. I’d take this aroma over fine Vietnamese Kyara, Musk, a Rose growing in my garden or roast chicken any day 😂

Creamy, buttery-sweet, yet refined & Royal smelling. Not the dark austere Malaysian or Merauke Royal aroma, but more so a Royal decadence. ‘Dhahab’ is a good descriptor, perhaps it’s the power of suggestion however Alhind Dhahab recalls the imagery of 24k Gold, rubies, sapphires etc.
A top tier Hindi oil, remarkable work yet again!

 

[Dazai]

AlHind Dhahab - Habz

I requested a sample of this oil with a recent purchase, of which Habz graciously obliged. A traditionally distilled Nagaland Hindi, executed with great finesse.

The amount of fermentation is just right with the barn singing in perfect harmony with the spices & herbal notes in the top. Not only does the auxiliary barn note provide a warming, unctuous, complex aroma, it interacts with the Agallocha resin elevating it beyond what can be achieved without a soak. While unsoaked Hindi oils can be fun, they mostly lack that delicious, golden, ambery worn leather resinous goodness.

As AlHind Dhahab develops it exhibits fruits such a dates & plums, a beautiful labdanum-amber sweetness, animalic leather, cacao, white florals, incense, sun baked hay, Musk all underlined by a smooth voluptuous oozing Oud resin. Once it hits that dry down 2-3 hours into the scent progression, it’s very addicting! I’ve said it before, if a Hindi oil is distilled artisanally, with high quality wood there is no better aroma in the entire world for me. I’d take this aroma over fine Vietnamese Kyara, Musk, a Rose growing in my garden or roast chicken any day 😂

Creamy, buttery-sweet, yet refined & Royal smelling. Not the dark austere Malaysian or Merauke Royal aroma, but more so a Royal decadence. ‘Dhahab’ is a good descriptor, perhaps it’s the power of suggestion however Alhind Dhahab recalls the imagery of 24k Gold, rubies, sapphires etc.
A top tier Hindi oil, remarkable work yet again!

I agree with your comment that the mild fermentation works so well with the rest of the notes. I haven’t smelled a non-fermented Hindi yet but the fermented ones I’ve tried have all been so rich and kept me coming back for another smell.

I felt this oil had more nutty and savory elements than the Al Hareer. It’s a very nice oil but I liked the slightly sweeter and more resinous Al Hareer.

 

[Scentlover98]

Harimau Yusa Aromatics

Third day in a row. Beautifully dark, slightly sweet resinous oil with notes of tabaco. It really has a deep warming effect that I really enjoy.

I especially love the resinous top-mid notes. As it settles down it gets darker and drier and the tabaco notes come to life

I swipe this one at the evening when it gets really cold (minus 1 degrees Celsius). Like I said it has this kind of warming effect that I haven’t smelled in a lot of oils.

 

[Castingshadows]

Fragrant Harbor by Yusa

I woke up to the most amazing, Hainan’esque dry down. My favorite Hainan’s for reference are Hainan 05’, Hailam Kilam and Emperor of China (it’s a codistillation between Hainan/HK). Fragrant Harbor somehow is a perfect mix between all 3 in the drydown. The reason why I say Hainan 05’ is that deep in the far drydown you come to the most beautifully pristine Chinese sinensis note and I feel there’s elements of that found in Fragrant Harbor.

Where Emperor of China went into a sort of one dimensional classically clean sinensis drydown I feel like Fragrant Harbor maintains more of the Hainan terroir so it’s ever so slightly nutty, creamy, somewhat green, and feels quite literally like holding a raw piece of sinking grade wood in your hand. Absolutely stunning oil and this is definitely my favorite out of all the recent sampling sprees I’ve been on.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about Nha Trang Oritsu. I already have some really solid sinensis references in my collection and this one felt somewhat redundant. I still have yet to try Oriscent’s Nha Trang so I don’t really know how Oritsu compares. Vietnam doesn’t seem to offer me an experience that I can’t find in a high quality, sinking grade Thai oil.

 

[Ersel]

Recently we visited Sadaaharitha store in Colombo in One Galle Face. The clerk showed me 4 oils, in an increasing price range, from around 130USD to around 300USD and they were nice. I wasn't looking to buy though. They also had a large perfume line. The pure oud perfume was interesting and I liked it, but we had different opinions on it.

 

[User]

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[User]

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[Castingshadows]

That sounds great and now I feel the need to try it.

I have never heard of Nha Trang Oritsu, but it sounds like it's different from Oriscent Nha Trang. In fact I don't even think that Oriscent NT is a sinensis oil. I have tried Sinensis oils from Nha Trang which were closer in scent to a Hainan oil, but Oriscent NT is not really in that category. I think it's crassna.

If it's a sinensis oil, then it is still completely out of the realm of those sinensis oils you mentioned from Hainan. Oriscent Nha Trang is good in its own right. More like Nha Trang Ultima from Imperial Oud if you have ever tried that one.

I should reiterate that I do have a sinus infection. I’m not claiming it’s a sinensis oil only that it smells very, very similar to an oil I already have which happens to be sinensis. But I also feel a lot of sinensis and Crassna have overlap and in this case it simply smells redundant from what I can smell.

This could change once my sinus infection goes away but I enjoy writing down my initial impressions and talking about them. I will say though that I get zero association to Hainan with Nha Trang Oritsu.

 

[User]

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[iori]

As far as I know, every oil you mentioned is sinensis or smells like sinensis to me, except for NT Oritsu, which I have not smelled.

I was talking about Nha Trang LTD from Ensar, which I thought was a crassna oil. Your sinus infection is not relevant because you haven't smelled that oil before. BTW I didn't know you had an infection. Maybe you mentioned it in another comment. Anyways it could be sinensis, but it doesn't have the drydown that I usually associate with high quality sinensis oils.

Then again, Royal Kinam and Hyang Kang also don't really smell like sinensis to me. Does crassna grow in Hainan and Hong Kong? If not, then the different smell could be a result of the distillation style or genetics, and not a difference in the species.

Where are you getting high quality Thai oils from? I don't see them around a lot and the ones I have tried were all a bit disappointing.

If you haven't tried Ensar's Nha Trang or IO Nha Trang Ultima or something in that category, then you should try one if you can. Hopefully they will show you that Vietnam has something to offer. Nha Trang Qinan from Kymya is another good example of that scent profile.

Even an NT oil I tried which was similar to Hainan/HK oils was very good and stood out from the crowd. I kinda wish I had bought some.

NLTD is sinensis all right same for YCA etc, got nothing to do with crassna.
Also Royal Kinam and Hyang Kang is sinensis too, and there is no crassna in china or hong kong, there is only Sinensis "Grandiflora" besides Yunnan which have "Yunnanensis".