Shabby
Junior Member
Dear friends, as the year is coming to an end I thought I would direct part of my celebrations to the oud forums as both a recognition of the great efforts of our esteemed vendors and as a testament to the value that their products have brought to us customers.
For me personally the culmination of this is in the Sri Lankan ouds that have been produced this year. Since their release, I have been smelling them and delving deeper and deeper into the spirit of the oils and remembering the spirit of the country from which they come. I have been apart from the nature that I grew up with for so long that smelling these ouds brings me almost to tears. It is not just me, my whole family has benefitted from these oils – we have sat together by the fire, and the ouds take us back to particular places and times. It is not however as simple as an association with a memory, it is something far deeper...it takes one back to quiet conversations with God in the dawn, or looking out onto the lagoon where elephants are bathing and one is alone with the infinite beauty of the cosmos. Somehow in those moments alone, the underlying spirit of the land is mingled with the soul, and it is really this that the ouds evoke.
That being said, I have had the joy today of wearing four of these oils, which naturally begets a four-way comparison. In order of preference:
Al-Syed Ceylon No. 1
The opening is honey, light and bright, infused with the typical notes of walla patta – a hint of citrus, fresh apple, steaming chamomile tea, a slight dark violet leaf note seeping through. This is for just the first five minutes or so...then, just as in Adhirajya, a sudden transposition takes place as the oil moves up towards the ether, the previous notes are absorbed into a crystalline note, laced with the tiniest amount of bitter chlorophyll and still with the soul of walla patta. Every part of the fragrance is revolving in a beautiful synergy here, whence its etherealness and the lack of an adequate description I believe. It never fully disseminates back into its constituent notes, rather it slowly reduces in pitch until it is a mellowed crystal honey fusion. Truly sublime.
Sinharaja
The camphoric opening of this oud has now been toned down ever so slightly by aging, but it still begins with a camphor laced sweet jungle note, one of my favourite notes in all of oud – simply without reference and unimaginable until I smelled it here - hence my ranking it slightly above Adhirajya. After the opening comes the oscillation between steaming Papuan jungle and creamy santal-guava, this continues as a tussle between two worlds, one of delight and the other of thriving life. Slowly the creaminess begins to win through and you have a classic walla patta dry down layered over the sweet humid air of a paradisal jungle. As an aside, since a few people have written about preferring Adhirajya to Sinharaja, I would compare the two to Federer and Nadal – once is full of intensity and dynamism, the other is supremely poised, elegant and precise. I love both but my heart leans towards Nadal. I would fully accept the verdict that Adhirajya is more impressive and may be the popular favourite however.
Adhirajya
Also known as the 'billion dollar Borneo', mintier than any of the above, with a slight honey note again. I do see the Frankincense which some have spoken about, but I would describe it more as a sparkling Borneo - a sliver of salty wood, a dose of walla patta mystery and a large amount of minty camphor binding all the notes together. The longevity and projection of this oil is phenomenal, as with Sinharaja, and it really just gets better for a few hours until it begins a slow fade. The psychoactive effects of this are of the highest order, one can get lost in the heavenly spheres with this oud. Paging @jalil to say that if you are looking for a similarly ethereal Sri Lankan, Ceylon No. 1 is your best bet so far in my humble opinion, although the notes are quite different.
Al-Syed Ceylon No. 2
Although this comes at the end of the list, that is really meaningless because it is in the company of sublime ouds. A gorgeous richer but still bright honey, like a classic acacia, with the crispness and sweetness of a ripe red apple, slowly moving towards a slightly papuan profile. It becomes even easier to wear as the notes meld together in what can truly be described the archetypal Sri Lankan smell – the note which is present in all of the ouds above in some form or another. Whereas in the others this note has different accents – ethereal, jungly, minty – here it is in perfect proportion. The beauty here lies in the balance of all the elements together, like a long walk with the ambient fragrance of the wood (I realise that that was Taha's aim). Somehow this quality makes this oud the easiest and most addictive to wear, for the price it is a phenomenal deal, but I would say that for all of them actually!
Anyway, this is all a means to convey my deepest gratitude to the vendors for what they have done, which goes above and beyond the production of a mere material good.
Wishing all oud lovers a fantastic 2017, may God bless you all!
For me personally the culmination of this is in the Sri Lankan ouds that have been produced this year. Since their release, I have been smelling them and delving deeper and deeper into the spirit of the oils and remembering the spirit of the country from which they come. I have been apart from the nature that I grew up with for so long that smelling these ouds brings me almost to tears. It is not just me, my whole family has benefitted from these oils – we have sat together by the fire, and the ouds take us back to particular places and times. It is not however as simple as an association with a memory, it is something far deeper...it takes one back to quiet conversations with God in the dawn, or looking out onto the lagoon where elephants are bathing and one is alone with the infinite beauty of the cosmos. Somehow in those moments alone, the underlying spirit of the land is mingled with the soul, and it is really this that the ouds evoke.
That being said, I have had the joy today of wearing four of these oils, which naturally begets a four-way comparison. In order of preference:
Al-Syed Ceylon No. 1
The opening is honey, light and bright, infused with the typical notes of walla patta – a hint of citrus, fresh apple, steaming chamomile tea, a slight dark violet leaf note seeping through. This is for just the first five minutes or so...then, just as in Adhirajya, a sudden transposition takes place as the oil moves up towards the ether, the previous notes are absorbed into a crystalline note, laced with the tiniest amount of bitter chlorophyll and still with the soul of walla patta. Every part of the fragrance is revolving in a beautiful synergy here, whence its etherealness and the lack of an adequate description I believe. It never fully disseminates back into its constituent notes, rather it slowly reduces in pitch until it is a mellowed crystal honey fusion. Truly sublime.
Sinharaja
The camphoric opening of this oud has now been toned down ever so slightly by aging, but it still begins with a camphor laced sweet jungle note, one of my favourite notes in all of oud – simply without reference and unimaginable until I smelled it here - hence my ranking it slightly above Adhirajya. After the opening comes the oscillation between steaming Papuan jungle and creamy santal-guava, this continues as a tussle between two worlds, one of delight and the other of thriving life. Slowly the creaminess begins to win through and you have a classic walla patta dry down layered over the sweet humid air of a paradisal jungle. As an aside, since a few people have written about preferring Adhirajya to Sinharaja, I would compare the two to Federer and Nadal – once is full of intensity and dynamism, the other is supremely poised, elegant and precise. I love both but my heart leans towards Nadal. I would fully accept the verdict that Adhirajya is more impressive and may be the popular favourite however.
Adhirajya
Also known as the 'billion dollar Borneo', mintier than any of the above, with a slight honey note again. I do see the Frankincense which some have spoken about, but I would describe it more as a sparkling Borneo - a sliver of salty wood, a dose of walla patta mystery and a large amount of minty camphor binding all the notes together. The longevity and projection of this oil is phenomenal, as with Sinharaja, and it really just gets better for a few hours until it begins a slow fade. The psychoactive effects of this are of the highest order, one can get lost in the heavenly spheres with this oud. Paging @jalil to say that if you are looking for a similarly ethereal Sri Lankan, Ceylon No. 1 is your best bet so far in my humble opinion, although the notes are quite different.
Al-Syed Ceylon No. 2
Although this comes at the end of the list, that is really meaningless because it is in the company of sublime ouds. A gorgeous richer but still bright honey, like a classic acacia, with the crispness and sweetness of a ripe red apple, slowly moving towards a slightly papuan profile. It becomes even easier to wear as the notes meld together in what can truly be described the archetypal Sri Lankan smell – the note which is present in all of the ouds above in some form or another. Whereas in the others this note has different accents – ethereal, jungly, minty – here it is in perfect proportion. The beauty here lies in the balance of all the elements together, like a long walk with the ambient fragrance of the wood (I realise that that was Taha's aim). Somehow this quality makes this oud the easiest and most addictive to wear, for the price it is a phenomenal deal, but I would say that for all of them actually!
Anyway, this is all a means to convey my deepest gratitude to the vendors for what they have done, which goes above and beyond the production of a mere material good.
Wishing all oud lovers a fantastic 2017, may God bless you all!
