Oud Reviews

[rodspeed]

All,

I just want to say how happy I am that this forum exists. I decided to quit lurking and join in the conversation today 🙂

And start with a review of EO Oud Ahmad...which is indeed incredible - especially its phenomenal, arresting opening! What a picture-perfect rendition of genuine deer musk, with its ability to blow air between layers of scent. I really like the transparent depth. I get an almost palpable sense of space - like being in a very nice smelling room. The sonic equivalent listening to music in a concert hall rather than through earbuds. When I need reprieve from mundane cares, I spend hours in that room.

 

[Habz786]

Welcome @rodspeed to the forums glad you decided to join in. Oud Ahmed is not a oil i was at all impressed with however Oud is very subjective to taste and its nice to see people who appreciate its profile.

 

[jalil]

KZ hindi classic

I know not many other ouddict have the chance to try this oud but this is my review.

I begin my journey in the "barn" hindi world about 2 month ago with my first Hind by Al Shareef and my second was 100k by Feel-oud.

So I can compare only that three ouds.

They are all organic.

I place hind and 100k in the same powerfull categorie, and hindi classic in an other.

HC is definitly more smooth and less powerful. If I swipe Hind or 100k, Iam quite shure to have bad reflexion around me (nobody use oud).

HC is more cosy, I can put a swipe in my beard and enjoy it for me, instead of the outstanding projection of 100k for exemple, where all the place is surounded by a barn scent the minute you swipe it.

For the scent profile of HC, KZ description is perfect, its a powerfull barn opening and rapidly it morphe in a pleasant chocolaty/leathery heart. All is perfectly balanced, the blend is beautiful.

Personaly I get some red fruit and musky note, and the rotten milk drydown I find in all the hindi I have (barn or not).

Hindi oil are so satisfing!!! al hamdoulilah

 

[jalil]

Small rectification after wearing hind all the day...I put HC and hind in the same powerfull categorie and 100K in its own lol

 

[Abdullah]

Young like a baby😳 but will grow up to be a beauty🙄

lol. good imagery?

 

[jalil]

Feel-oud Dr.Hindi

It is my lastest hindi try...very different from the other.

Not different with the drydown and the heart note where you find classic hindi notes like leather/tobacco/milk but the barn top note is different...you definitly get this cola vibe Adam talking about.

First it was derouting, after a month with "classic" hindi (Hindi classic, hind, 100k)...but now I definitly enjoy this Dr.Pepper note.

And the best is this plumy note is not just a top note (its powerfulest in the begining)...it accompanies you all the hindi journey!

Cherry/cola/plum...you got it...a very special hindi right here!

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Feel-oud Dr.Hindi

It is my lastest hindi try...very different from the other.

Not different with the drydown and the heart note where you find classic hindi notes like leather/tobacco/milk but the barn top note is different...you definitly get this cola vibe Adam talking about.

First it was derouting, after a month with "classic" hindi (Hindi classic, hind, 100k)...but now I definitly enjoy this Dr.Pepper note.

And the best is this plumy note is not just a top note (its powerfulest in the begining)...it accompanies you all the hindi journey!

Cherry/cola/plum...you got it...a very special hindi right here!

We have new Hindi geeky here ! 😛

 

[jalil]

Iam afraid 😀

 

[Royalbengalouds]

What did you swap it for? How would you describe the aroma of trat adventure? can you share? 🙂

Top note : You will think it's a Asam Profile . Heavy animalic note . Real nice
Middle note : incense , Florals , no fruity tone like typical Thai oud
Base note : dry down wood and floral & burning chips

This oud changes after months , I have 2 bottles cause it's that good

 

[jalil]

Al Shareef Oudh Ceen
VS
Imperial Oud fragrant harbour

1 little swipe of them on the hand and I sniff them for hours.

The opening point go to Ceen because I love this camphorik smell where FH smell metalic note (pot distil note) because of its youngness.

The heart note point go to ceen too because of it incredible mushroom (for me it is) note where FH is more woody...at this point the two oil are like twins with two minutes difference between them when born...Ceen is aged (4 years) where FH is freshly out of the pot. For oud oil...4 years is like 2/3H difference for new born, if you hunderstand what I mean. Both oil have this beautiful camphorik heart.

For the drydown its 30 secondes twins...and the point go to FH for its nuclear lasting!

2 for Ceen / 1 for FH

Now...

A point which is definitly very important for me ...the price.

Ceen is 600 where FH is 200!!!

Am I ready to pay 3 times more for a oud that is twins with an other...even if at the end I prefer Ceen...definitly not!

The point go to FH

Ceen 2 - FH 2

Its a perfect egality but if I take in consideration that the metalic opening (5 minutes not more) will disapear with 6 month (maybe less) aging...

...the winner is FH

Iam not ready to pay 3 times a oud for a single note (mushroom here) and aging, even if I love this note. I prefer to keep my bucks and buy 1KG of the best Paris mushroom and put my head in the bag before swiping FH...It worth the money ahahahah

At the end its two amazing oils by two super vendors.

I will keep my 0.2 sample of Ceen like a tresor for its mushroom note and greedly put big swipe of FH without thinking of the bank.

 

[firdaous]

@jalil to celebrate your excellent review :
IO - Sinensis

 

[AbasFrag]

Al Shareef Oudh Ceen
VS
Imperial Oud fragrant harbour

1 little swipe of them on the hand and I sniff them for hours.

The opening point go to Ceen because I love this camphorik smell where FH smell metalic note (pot distil note) because of its youngness.

The heart note point go to ceen too because of it incredible mushroom (for me it is) note where FH is more woody...at this point the two oil are like twins with two minutes difference between them when born...Ceen is a bit aged (6 month?) where FH is freshly out of the pot. For oud oil...6 month difference is like 2/3 minutes for new born, if you hunderstand what I mean. Both oil have this beautiful camphorik heart.

For the drydown its 30 secondes twins...and the point go to FH for its nuclear lasting!

2 for Ceen / 1 for FH

Now...

A point which is definitly very important for me ...the price.

Ceen is 600 where FH is 200!!!

As Iam ready to pay 3 times more for a oud that is twins with an other...even if at the end I prefer Ceen...definitly not!

The point go to FH

Ceen 2 - FH 2

Its a perfect egality but if I take in consideration that the metalic opening (5 minutes not more) will disapear with 6 month (maybe less) aging...

...the winner is FH

Iam not ready to pay 3 times a oud for a single note (mushroom here), even if I love this note. I prefer to keep my bucks and buy 1KG of the best Paris mushroom and put my head in the bag before swiping FH...Its worth the money ahahahah

At the end its two amazing oils by two super vendors.

I will keep my 0.2 sample of Ceen like a tresor for its mushroom note and greedly put big swipe of FH without thinking of the bank.

Masha'Allah!!

Thank you for an amazing review!!!

 

[IM_AU]

Hmmm... that's an interesting review
But AlShareef website read Ceen at least 4 years old.

 

[jalil]

@IM_AU thanks you right...I edit my review

Does this 4 years aging worth three time the price...that is the point in my review

 

[IM_AU]

Look I haven't tried Ceen but I am sure AlShareef has both breadth and depth of experience to ascertain the value of the product from pricing perspective... however I am not suggesting that pricing is right or wrong as I don't know about the product.

But based on your review of IO FH, which is also something I haven't tried, I must congratulate IO that they have produced something from a cultivated stock and just under $200 that is able to compete closely with a wild distllation Ceen.

 

[Al Shareef Oudh]

@jalil

Jazak Allah Khair for your effort to try and present a side by side of our CEEN with Imperial's Fragrant Harbour. I have always commended what the guys at Imperial are doing, and it is no different here. Without taking anything from their great work, I just want to clarify a couple of difference between our CEEN and IO's FH.

There are 2 fundamental differences between the two oils.

Firstly, the price of wild vs organic, there is a difference. Wild being much higher in price due to the demand on the trees and difficulty of getting the woods from jungle to pot.

Secondly as oils age, each year with aging the value of the oil increases, and CEEN has aged 4+ years.

I do not wish to say anymore as the consumer can themselves decide the rest.

 

[Ammar]

Secondly as oils age, each year with aging the value of the oil increases, and CEEN has aged 4+ years.

@Al Shareef Oudh, how do you guys usually assess the value of an aged oil over years? Is it by comparing its value in the market as of it's been distilled right now or by using different parameters like Zakat, increasing rarity, sentimental values vs others?

 

[Uday Lalan]

Jalil , I like your review. I would like to read reviews comparing Ceen with other Chinese wild oils of Ensar. I have tried Yunnan and that's the only Chinese oil I have tried.

 

[5MeO]

I have not tried the Fragrant Harbor oil from IO - though I have tried Ceen, and will say that in the big picture of things I think it is priced very fairly.. I also find it has a great deal more complexity than a "mushroom" note (not sure I can relate to that note anyhow - will sample it again later and see if I detect it)..

Also, I have found that with some of the finer oils, the level of refinement and complexity sometimes takes a bit to reveal itself as markedly "better" than a lower quality oil that has a similar general scent profile.. On an initial wearing, what can happen is that one can become aware of a certain dominant note and then continue to fixate on that note with each sniff, such that they can't always pick up on the other notes.. This phenomenon may be going on here as well - perhaps more experimentation will reveal Ceen to have levels of depth complexity or refinement that are clearly beyond Fragrant Harbor..

Or, maybe not - Fragrant Harbor may simply be a spectacular deal - certainly there have been many such deals in our oud world - e.g. (in my opinion) Oud Yusuf (EO), Oud Royale 1985 (EO), Tigerwood Royale (EO), Tawau Al Awwal (FO), Sabah Hijau (FO), Lao Chen Xiang and Mai Wan Lao (AA) etc - ouds where the quality of the scent is arguably worth quite a bit more than the cost of the oil..

--

Uday Lalan - I have tried several of Ensar's Chinese oils and also Ceen, and I find no real similarity at all - Ceen reminds me more of a sort of Burmese oil actually, entirely lacking in musky animalic elements and the negroli/orange peel type notes which seem to define the Chinese type oils from Ensar..

 

[Al Shareef Oudh]

@Al Shareef Oudh, how do you guys usually assess the value of an aged oil over years? Is it by comparing its value in the market as of it's been distilled right now or by using different parameters like Zakat, increasing rarity, sentimental values vs others?

Definitely not sentimental values otherwise we would have loved to be able to have as many people try our creations at cost price, but we live in a world that has real driving forces.

If we were to strip the value that age adds to an oil due to stabilising it, smoothing it, maturing it, givning it depth etc, and purely look at numbers, then age affects the cost of an oil in an array of different ways, and I will touch on some of the main ones to explain why the value increases. If we were to assume the same wood at year 1, 3, 5 then

1. Increase in cost of the raw materials, what is $500 per kg in year 1 can not be acquired for $500 per kg in year 3 or 5.

2. Increase in fuel cost, distillations run on fuel, gas, wood or electricity, all of which increase year to year.

3. Inflation and Value of Money over time, which means there is a lot of money stuck in oils sitting in a vault ageing, and that money is losing its value.

These factors and others such as basic labour costs, taxes, zakat etc all add to the replacement cost of that oil from year to year. Therefore whilst ageing adds value to the oil by improving its aroma, there is also an increase in the replacement value that the vendor has to account for the oil.