Oud of the Day

[Nikhil S]

I’m no expert on anything, but I have smelled every single Sri Lankan released by our artisans aside from one of the early IO releases, Sultan Abu Zahi and one recent Sri Lankan from RBO.

Ceylon No. 1 is at a completely different level. I would say if you haven’t smelled it, then you almost don’t know what walla patta is, so outstanding is the scent.

And yes, it captures the soul of the country in a way that no other oil does.

I am in complete agreement brother. This oil takes Wallapatta to a sufiyana level. Those who got a bottle of this....its priceless. I have spent enough in Sri Lankan Oils. This is unbeatable by all standards - smell, feel, texture. Every SL oil has this sharp honey tone at the start but this goes boom from the word go. I am no expert either.

 

[Kesiro]

I love both oils because of their being free from unnecessarily barn, heavy , tobacco, etc. nuances, but very constant Oud aroma they do emit. Wood is perpetually being burnt inside the vial.

That is exactly my take as well. It is not about genre or region or characteristics of Cambodi vs some other country’s oils. It it capturing the smell of the wood used for the distillation. As honestly as possible. Once this concept clicked in my pea brain, my appreciation for the oils and the artisans has grown immensely.

 

[Rai Munir]

AgarAura Hindustan No 1. Assassin, yes. Intruder, no.

Revered PEARL, as usual 'brevity-is-the-soul-of-wit' like post.

 

[ParadiseofOils]

Some Oud Yusuf tonight

 

[Oudamberlove]

Well.......Kanzen this morning.
Not much change since I got it.
Cambodi essential oil indeed. Some Khmer Special K up front with a tiny bit of Camellia in the background.
Burgundy fruit preserves, resiny oudy, woody, a whisper of candy, long lasting pleasure😵



Noon swipe.....
Oriscent Cambodi Caramel
creamy caramel notes, smoothed by age, quite aromatic, the fruits are medium shade, some fruit, resiny oudy woody like Kanzen, but not as deep. Nice composition

 

[Bryan-I]

My heart cries as I was too late to oud to experience this oil as wallas are my favorite.

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

 

[saint458]

Well.......Kanzen this morning.
Not much change since I got it.
Cambodi essential oil indeed. Some Khmer Special K up front with a tiny bit of Camellia in the background.
Burgundy fruit preserves, resiny oudy, woody, a whisper of candy, long lasting pleasure😵



Noon swipe.....
Oriscent Cambodi Caramel
creamy caramel notes, smoothed by age, quite aromatic, the fruits are medium shade, some fruit, resiny oudy woody like Kanzen, but not as deep. Nice composition

Not Kanzen _ but Kuzen is more like KSKv2 ... at least more vaporous & stronger opening than KSKv2. Not that kind of longevity or explaining like KSKv2 but according to the price point it could be easily said that Kuzen is the poor men KSKv2. BTW KSKv2 is one among all-time-great cambodis ever made ... currently the best cambodi in the market.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Not Kanzen _ but Kuzen is more like KSKv2 ... at least more vaporous & stronger opening than KSKv2. Not that kind of longevity or explaining like KSKv2 but according to the price point it could be easily said that Kuzen is the poor men KSKv2. BTW KSKv2 is one among all-time-great cambodis ever made ... currently the best cambodi in the market.

Ya.....ummmmm.....
Taha’s description of Kuzen on th AA site mentions how close it is to KSK, with the use of more Kampot wood. Definitely a super oil too!

 

[Shabby]

Ya.....ummmmm.....
Taha’s description of Kuzen on th AA site mentions how close it is to KSK, with the use of more Kampot wood. Definitely a super oil too!

Yes, and by the way KSKv2 is very different to v1.

V1 for me is cutting, meditative, active, focusing, clarifying, samurai sword to the mind.

V2 is dignified grandfather in an armchair, warm embers of a cozy fire, gentle advice delivered in between puffs on a pipe.

 

[Ammar]

'Oud as such' is to be redefined keeping in view the latest oils.

Case in point there's no such a thing as oud-as-such. There's Rai Munir or Ammar appreciation of oud as such, however there's reality that can be approached and "studied" by long time experience apart from personal own preference, that let people make bold statement, that keeps changing.

Also distilled oil from low grade wood can also smell like the oudwood, and oil from low grade wild wood not necessarily better than the one from high grade cultivated wood. If you want full experience of the wood just burn the wood, oil will never be as the wood and vice versa, I don't understand how people appreciate this while in realty they haven't smelled the predistilled wood or even have good experience with oudwood to begin with. Send these "green, purple, black Kyara" oils to Japanese incense master and he will let you know.

Quality of the oil is behind the grade of the wood and how the experienced distiller (not necessarily artisan) captures the essence of the wood plus what make oud oil as such...

 

[Kesiro]

There is no question one can make an oil from low grade farmed wood smell like the wood. The problem is that you cannot put lipstick on that pig. The oil will smell like the low grade wood. That is why oils made from wood like that are usually made with tweaks.

 

[Kesiro]

Getting back on topic, I am sniffing Nha Trang LTD while sitting at the airport waiting for my flight.

This oil is somewhat hard for me to reconcile. It is mind bogglingly expensive, not at all complex in its scent, no significant scent progression or any olfactory pyrotechnics.
What it is, is a proper capturing of incredible quality of Vietnamese Agarwood. As such, it really is perfection.

 

[Rai Munir]

Noir Velours (LMK): Thumb up, dear brother Farid. Hindi oil with much visible Nagaland and Assam Oud oils. Though I didn't wear it because of allergy, but sniffing it again and again. First flash was 'Assam Organic', and then 'Nagaland'.

It is more 'velours' than 'noir' to me. I sensed Nagaland shade because of civet musk animalic scent. A balanced Hindi oil it is. It must have been distilled in Qajauj, India. Vibes are traditionally becalming and balmy. Worth and value lies in simplicity.

 

[Rai Munir]

Case in point there's no such a thing as oud-as-such. There's Rai Munir or Ammar appreciation of oud as such, however there's reality that can be approached and "studied" by long time experience apart from personal own preference, that let people make bold statement, that keeps changing.

Also distilled oil from low grade wood can also smell like the oudwood, and oil from low grade wild wood not necessarily better than the one from high grade cultivated wood. If you want full experience of the wood just burn the wood, oil will never be as the wood and vice versa, I don't understand how people appreciate this while in realty they haven't smelled the predistilled wood or even have good experience with oudwood to begin with. Send these "green, purple, black Kyara" oils to Japanese incense master and he will let you know.

Quality of the oil is behind the grade of the wood and how the experienced distiller (not necessarily artisan) captures the essence of the wood plus what make oud oil as such...

Respected Ammar, stay blessed! Great.

Even then, 'oud as such' is there, but 'negative capability' is a must to reach there. I feel most of the time, certain notes are masks into masks. To be as such resides beyond that.

After all, my personal preferences never let me, most of the time, to see and smell what the oil actually 'IS'.

Wood and oil! That part of the post is superb. By the way, sending green, purple, and black Kyara to some Japenese kodo master will be enlightening, but sending them and Meruke to some Hindi Oud master, or better say some Oud master in Hind, would also let us know something, heart rending.

Quality of the oil is behind the grade of the wood and how the experienced distiller (not necessarily artisan) captures the essence of the wood plus what make oud oil as such...

Again, God bless you. Liberating me from my self created shackles.


PS: Just received a package, much awaited, by Imperial Oud that includes Shahjahan and Bahadur. The best thing is I acquired 'Wood that was distilled' to know about the essence of the wood and the nucleus of the oil. The lesser the gap, the thriller the oil.

 

[peter4ptv]

I am trying to buy a small sample of "feel oid india" contact me if you have sample for sale.

if anybody has try it, please review it.
thank you.

 

[Arsalan]

I’m still just starting out my oud journey, going to give this a shot...

EO Zazen: words that come to mind - clean, fresh, crisp, a slight menthol note almost. Wakes you up & smells really good! More sharp and intense on the opening, but as it settles and dries, the menthol type note almost disappears. What remains is a nice clean, fresh woody scent that for me conjures an image of freshly chopped wood, not the dark damp mossy type, but light coloured and fresh. Good projection throughout. People friendly, absolutely!

Due to my limited palette, experience and exposure, I don’t think I do the description justice, but hey, gotta start somewhere!
This was an impulsive add on to my purchase, it had just been listed, and I had not seen any reviews. Literally because the description said: “in honor of all the centennial trees that were felled in these legendary jungles over the last several decades.” They did great job on the write up, certainly know how to hit a nerve with tree lovers! I didn’t really pay attention to the details or notes in the description, soon as I read that, added to the cart. Of course the price played a part as well...if it was twice the price, may have held off for sure.
Trying it out today, and I am glad, actually that is an understatement, that I got it. I had been searching for an oud for the warmer months ahead, seems like it found me instead.

 

[Ammar]

By the way, sending green, purple, and black Kyara to some Japenese kodo master will be enlightening, but sending them and Meruke to some Hindi Oud master, or better say some Oud master in Hind, would also let us know something, heart rending.

To keep comparison in line and reasonable, sending Hindustan1 to Oud master in Hind would be more interesting....

 

[sg1011]

Hindustan No.1 this morning...incredible Hindi oil. The core Hindi scent is there, ala Chugoku Senkoh, but with more complexity. To my nose, H1 is airy and uplifting. A masterpiece from Taha and addicting.

Wanmei currently. If this is the scent of black Kyara, I don’t want to know anything else! Lol. Sugary sweetness through and through with no bitter notes. There is a clear progression from Kanzen to Kuzen and finally Wanmei. There are hints o the intense sweetness that Wanmei has in both Kanzen and Kuzen. Kuzens sweetness lasts longer, but just like Kanzen, it dries down to a resinous scent. Wanmei on the other hand amplifies that sweetness and maintains it throughout the life of the oil. There is an incredible progression and correlation between Taha’s pricing and quality. You can clearly see with his oils that you get what you pay for. Wanmei is a masterpiece for sure!

 

[Rasoul Salehi]

Yes, and by the way KSKv2 is very different to v1.

V1 for me is cutting, meditative, active, focusing, clarifying, samurai sword to the mind.

V2 is dignified grandfather in an armchair, warm embers of a cozy fire, gentle advice delivered in between puffs on a pipe.

perfectly put. 100% agreed with.

 

[Rasoul Salehi]

Getting back on topic, I am sniffing Nha Trang LTD while sitting at the airport waiting for my flight.

This oil is somewhat hard for me to reconcile. It is mind bogglingly expensive, not at all complex in its scent, no significant scent progression or any olfactory pyrotechnics.
What it is, is a proper capturing of incredible quality of Vietnamese Agarwood. As such, it really is perfection.

and i would add to it a looooooooong dry down and lasting power. a tiny dot can be still enjoyed 12 hours or more later. otherwise this oil in many ways seems anti thesis of ensar oils that are layered, complex, rich, full and full of development. yet when base material is so good so precious and so rare, even a maximalist has to go minimalist.