Oud Reviews
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F4R1d0uX
Resident Artisan
It was my feeling when I saw comments on who tested sinensis.
The agallocha Co2 smells only wild honey and aniseed spices maybe a little bit liquorice but far from What people commented on sinensis.
Thank you my friend
Mandeel AlMandeel
Oud Geek
Mandeel AlMandeel
Oud Geek
Alaikom alsalam brother , I agree they share some aromas I really like both , thank you for lovely review
Mandeel AlMandeel
Oud Geek
salam alaikom brother , recently i try tow sri lankan oil IO Sinharaja & another one by indian distiller in Kuwait both are wonderful oils but i like Sinharaja more, It has more components the oil still young so with more aging will be better so far...
Oudamberlove
Member
Ammar
True Ouddict
Dr. Hindi by Feel-Oud,
Dr. and Hindi? Hmmm, it set the deal for me although it turned out to be a reference to Dr. Pepper which I hate LOL! Then, the cherry plumy notes to Adam turned out to me to be the densely resinous and incensy Hindi genre between the classical barn and the non-barn Hindis with its characteristic refined animalic barn-like but not a barn that is so calibrated and blended with the other notes to the level it cannot be separated from each other, whether it is something inherited to the distilled wood or due to well-thought soaking technique, and a drydown more complex than the typical non-barn genre although devoid of the classical Hindi strong animalic raw skin that I finds sometimes off-putting to my taste to enjoy…AKA the same family of the great Hudhayl and Anhaar by Al-Shareef Oudh.
Pardon the tinge of strange metallic note in the beginning which goes away fast and mostly related to the fresh distillation, the start is a dense resin with smoky incense and the aforementioned suave minimal animalic note wrapping up the typical mildly caramelized but here slightly over-roasted nuts with a hint of smooth tobacco(ish) suede leather that stay to the heartnote and drydown with some late spicy mahagony note although the resin decreases dramatically in density, not the case with the denser, stronger and overall more refined Anhaar. It needs some aging and it will be an EXCELLENT Hindi. Great job Adam!
Note: I might update my impression as it's my first wear but I doubt it would be much to add.
Dr. and Hindi? Hmmm, it set the deal for me although it turned out to be a reference to Dr. Pepper which I hate LOL! Then, the cherry plumy notes to Adam turned out to me to be the densely resinous and incensy Hindi genre between the classical barn and the non-barn Hindis with its characteristic refined animalic barn-like but not a barn that is so calibrated and blended with the other notes to the level it cannot be separated from each other, whether it is something inherited to the distilled wood or due to well-thought soaking technique, and a drydown more complex than the typical non-barn genre although devoid of the classical Hindi strong animalic raw skin that I finds sometimes off-putting to my taste to enjoy…AKA the same family of the great Hudhayl and Anhaar by Al-Shareef Oudh.
Pardon the tinge of strange metallic note in the beginning which goes away fast and mostly related to the fresh distillation, the start is a dense resin with smoky incense and the aforementioned suave minimal animalic note wrapping up the typical mildly caramelized but here slightly over-roasted nuts with a hint of smooth tobacco(ish) suede leather that stay to the heartnote and drydown with some late spicy mahagony note although the resin decreases dramatically in density, not the case with the denser, stronger and overall more refined Anhaar. It needs some aging and it will be an EXCELLENT Hindi. Great job Adam!
Note: I might update my impression as it's my first wear but I doubt it would be much to add.
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firdaous
Oud Kinamic
F4R1d0uX
Resident Artisan
Ammar
True Ouddict
@F4R1d0uX,
You should smell Anhaar or Hind by Al-Shareef there is nothing organic about them. I think the gap between wild and organic in Hindi is less dramatic than of Thai or Cambodi although people like Ensar and Adam also decreasing this gap by their amazing offerings from time to time. As I’m aware of the plantation started in India long time ago and not surprisingly you can find old planted trees full of mature resin, for example the tree went to Dr. Hindi distillation, a 20 year-old tree with natural and induced infection only by nailing. I think most of today and before Hindi offerings sold as wild are probably organic rather than wild by strict criteria which is fine. I usually don’t hesitate to buy organic Hindi from the right hand, not the case with Thai.
F4R1d0uX
Resident Artisan
Be
I totaly agree !
To my ridiculous knowledge, Indians were the first to develop plantation since I think Aquilaria Agallocha was the first agarwood specy registred under the convention of Washington (CITES).
Then we started to see thoses bads medicinal cheap hindis but they learnt from their mistakes and so do Thai now.
The problem with Crassna specialy cultivated is the lack of depht.
The other thai specy, the subintegra is more solid but I learnt it yields less than Crassna.
I know personnaly very smarts farmers in Thailand, specialy one whom there is 90% chance you already swyped his oud even if distilled by another seller.
Just to say I'm hopefull for the most serious of them and I think Thailand will have it's place for the next years.
Simple conclusion : farmed Agallocha = solid base so easy to accept if properly distilled.
Farmed Crasna = pretty top notes but weak base so hard to distill. This is why people saw some distillers trying to experiment new technics (soaking mainly) to make it more solid.
I totaly agree !
To my ridiculous knowledge, Indians were the first to develop plantation since I think Aquilaria Agallocha was the first agarwood specy registred under the convention of Washington (CITES).
Then we started to see thoses bads medicinal cheap hindis but they learnt from their mistakes and so do Thai now.
The problem with Crassna specialy cultivated is the lack of depht.
The other thai specy, the subintegra is more solid but I learnt it yields less than Crassna.
I know personnaly very smarts farmers in Thailand, specialy one whom there is 90% chance you already swyped his oud even if distilled by another seller.
Just to say I'm hopefull for the most serious of them and I think Thailand will have it's place for the next years.
Simple conclusion : farmed Agallocha = solid base so easy to accept if properly distilled.
Farmed Crasna = pretty top notes but weak base so hard to distill. This is why people saw some distillers trying to experiment new technics (soaking mainly) to make it more solid.
Ammar
True Ouddict
Excellent post Farid!
Sultan Sufyan (EO) - Wow, this is another oud that was not what I was expecting - I read the description and figured that this might be a very challenging sort of oud - something that takes many wears to come to enjoy. Not the case! I find instead an extraordinarily rich, sweet, and easily enjoyed oud, with "floral/fruit" notes that are bodacious and quite magnificent. People will disagree on whether these notes I speak of are indeed fruity or floral or just oudy - one of the hardest questions to answer is "what exactly is the 'oudy' smell?" In reality, all oud smells like oud because all oud is oud - and all scents arising from oud are oudy scents. Sometimes, though, the oudy scent smells so much like fruit or florals or hay that we call those notes that - and there are other notes that smell unlike other scents we know - these are the notes I personally think of as the "oudy" notes (when I smell the aroma coming off my entire oud collection where it is stored, this is the "oudy" smell for me).. In the case of Sultan Sufyan the scent touches on aspects of the oud smell spectrum that are hard to describe - others have used the terms "alien" and "parallel universe," and I concur with these others, that although there is a resemblance to a sort of dark fruit type quality, it is radically transmuted into something that doesn't quite fit any description of other known scents.. Quite remarkable, and highly enjoyable...
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Ammar
True Ouddict
In simple words, it does have the fruits and flowers characteristics of New Guinea and Sumatra woods, hence unnamed dark flowers and fruits. Superimposed on NG dense resinous woodiness, hence oudiness. Superimposed on Ensar’s Sultan series signature smoky cloud of incense in the opening, hence satisfaction. To my nose, it is a realistic presentaion of the Sumatra and NG high grade woods.
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Ammar
True Ouddict
Malay Blue by Feel-Oud,
Initial impression from a sample…Similar wood, different distillation technique compared to Old School Malazi (confirmed by Adam). Fresher in a way related to a soapy green bergamot-like note that gives the topnotes barbershop vibe especially when sniffing the wand deeply. Shinier in a way that the topnotes are more piercing and crystalline. Less densely packed aromas likely related to tuning down the healthy dose of resinous woodiness found in OSM that gives the latter its solid base oudiness. As Farid noticed, there is some unsettlement between the notes and layers which needs to be resolved by aging...And the color is a pleasure for the eyes to look at!
Again, both are at the resinous end of the dark Malaysian oud spectrum as I mentioned in different posts before, being Tigerwood Royale the crown of this category sitting there at the highest possible hierarchy.
Note: OSM is really going well compared to the first time I tested it. It suffered at that time some loosening of the aromas that give this watery feel to it plus some gap between the layers, in addition to a slight edgy umami-like flavor that has been omitted completely now with augmentation of smoky incensy chocolaty notes superimposed on the already solid overall oudiness adding extra dimension to its complexity. A pleasant surprise that does fit my personal taste!
Initial impression from a sample…Similar wood, different distillation technique compared to Old School Malazi (confirmed by Adam). Fresher in a way related to a soapy green bergamot-like note that gives the topnotes barbershop vibe especially when sniffing the wand deeply. Shinier in a way that the topnotes are more piercing and crystalline. Less densely packed aromas likely related to tuning down the healthy dose of resinous woodiness found in OSM that gives the latter its solid base oudiness. As Farid noticed, there is some unsettlement between the notes and layers which needs to be resolved by aging...And the color is a pleasure for the eyes to look at!
Again, both are at the resinous end of the dark Malaysian oud spectrum as I mentioned in different posts before, being Tigerwood Royale the crown of this category sitting there at the highest possible hierarchy.
Note: OSM is really going well compared to the first time I tested it. It suffered at that time some loosening of the aromas that give this watery feel to it plus some gap between the layers, in addition to a slight edgy umami-like flavor that has been omitted completely now with augmentation of smoky incensy chocolaty notes superimposed on the already solid overall oudiness adding extra dimension to its complexity. A pleasant surprise that does fit my personal taste!
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Ammar
True Ouddict
Oud Sultani vs Oud Ahmad by Ensar Oud,
Sultani; the avant garde smell, but why? Because it blurs the boundaries between the dark and shiny Malaysian olfactory spectrums. It does not sit somewhere in one spectrum or another rather than a hybrid of both. It has one of the best dark sweet woody resinous oudiness yet it is shiny vaporous flowery and even medicinal. Its refinement is supreme and has the ability to confuse the brain receptors and the soul. An achievement-unlocked oil.
While oud Ahmad is an augmentation and extreme refinement of a particular olfactory profile found at one end of the dark Malaysian spectrum, specifically this dense resinous greenish (not reddish to me) non-animalic oudy muskiness that can be seen in other Malaysian oils under the same category like Tigerwood Royale, Agar Supreme, Old School Malazi, KZ Malaysia classic (although with broader spectrum) and so on with different presentations although these oil are sitting steps behind Oud Ahmad in different distance depends on the comparable oil overall refinement. If you like this specific smell you will crazy LOVE Oud Ahmad, if you don’t care much about this smell then you probably don’t like it. If you are a museum-grade oud oil collector then you will not find better than this one per claim of being 100% sinking grade wood.
Personally, few can reach the achievement of Oud Sultani scent-wise whether it is from 100% sinking grade wood or not, although no doubt smelling Oud Ahmed can remind someone with Sultani and vice versa.
Hope this makes sense to someone…
Note: The closest oil to Sultani regarding smell being flowery resinous and medicinal is Fleur et Bois by AA (da!) although the latter is way far behind the former in its luxurious refinement and complexity. To my nose, Fleur et Bois is a realistic presentation of hospital wardrobe smell somewhere in its scent profile LOL!
Sultani; the avant garde smell, but why? Because it blurs the boundaries between the dark and shiny Malaysian olfactory spectrums. It does not sit somewhere in one spectrum or another rather than a hybrid of both. It has one of the best dark sweet woody resinous oudiness yet it is shiny vaporous flowery and even medicinal. Its refinement is supreme and has the ability to confuse the brain receptors and the soul. An achievement-unlocked oil.
While oud Ahmad is an augmentation and extreme refinement of a particular olfactory profile found at one end of the dark Malaysian spectrum, specifically this dense resinous greenish (not reddish to me) non-animalic oudy muskiness that can be seen in other Malaysian oils under the same category like Tigerwood Royale, Agar Supreme, Old School Malazi, KZ Malaysia classic (although with broader spectrum) and so on with different presentations although these oil are sitting steps behind Oud Ahmad in different distance depends on the comparable oil overall refinement. If you like this specific smell you will crazy LOVE Oud Ahmad, if you don’t care much about this smell then you probably don’t like it. If you are a museum-grade oud oil collector then you will not find better than this one per claim of being 100% sinking grade wood.
Personally, few can reach the achievement of Oud Sultani scent-wise whether it is from 100% sinking grade wood or not, although no doubt smelling Oud Ahmed can remind someone with Sultani and vice versa.
Hope this makes sense to someone…
Note: The closest oil to Sultani regarding smell being flowery resinous and medicinal is Fleur et Bois by AA (da!) although the latter is way far behind the former in its luxurious refinement and complexity. To my nose, Fleur et Bois is a realistic presentation of hospital wardrobe smell somewhere in its scent profile LOL!
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