Olfactory Nomad
Smells so Oud
I'm thinking you're going to need a top up pretty soon?
Sandalwood oil of the day
- Thread starter oud.time
- Start date
Mr.P
oud<3er
not there yet, but it's one that I'd always like to have a little bit of that's for sure.
Mr.P
oud<3er
Healthy swipe of 2002 tamil nadu "whole tree" oil deg distilled by Ramakant Harlaka in collaboration with Christopher McMahon of White Lotus Aromatics. One of a handful of what I consider to be the finest specimens in my collection based on my preferences. Interestingly the "one tree" from @AlHind Oud is the first oil I've experienced since then that brings this 2002 (and the previous 2001) Tamil Nadu batches to mind! They are nothing like identical, a simple matter to pick them out in a blind test but if I were to organize my oils into little groups of shared characteristics, these would be in a group of their own and really a bit of an outlier from the other groups.
What a mystery because I've smelled lots of great oils including many small batches that were wonderful, just as rich and precious but with different aromatic profiles. I wish I understood a little more about what makes this the way it is - the tree? the still? The duration of the distillation and adjustments to pH or whatever? the fact that it was the whole tree and not just a specimen from a section of the roots or trunk?
If I had to put into words what sets these apart, it is the presence of a pretty strong additional layer along with the classic full santalol profile that is found in all high quality sandalwoods. I would call these accessory notes, because it's a little bit unusual compared to the typical oil if it weren't for the fact that it's something that I smell in the wood itself, especially my Yamada Matsu SA 6 inch diameter heartwood trunk slices which have this really unusually rich and multifaceted sweetness. so it's more of a captured core note than an accessory note introduced by distillation methods. I now have a swipe of the one tree and the old tamil nadu on my forearms. they bring maple, fenugreek to mind; they share a kind of velvety texture that is more tangible and sticks in the nose a little bit more than comparable velvety notes in my other oils. I don't know if it's musky exactly but there's this kind of full fat warm richness that almost feels like a facet of musk. This transitions into that very beautiful warm sweet classic sandalwood aroma that really fills your nose, and you can almost taste on your tongue. It's saturates your perception almost in the way that a flan or crème brûlée or custard kind of saturates your taste buds - smooth and appealing and kind of custardy.
And of course excellent performance over the course of 12 to 14 hours if you are able to appreciate close lying aromas and skin scents.
lots of beautiful sandalwood out there including some crazy solvent / CO2 extracts and all of that but nothing is more satisfying when it comes to Sandalwood than the "full fat" hydrodistilled oil in my experience.
What a mystery because I've smelled lots of great oils including many small batches that were wonderful, just as rich and precious but with different aromatic profiles. I wish I understood a little more about what makes this the way it is - the tree? the still? The duration of the distillation and adjustments to pH or whatever? the fact that it was the whole tree and not just a specimen from a section of the roots or trunk?
If I had to put into words what sets these apart, it is the presence of a pretty strong additional layer along with the classic full santalol profile that is found in all high quality sandalwoods. I would call these accessory notes, because it's a little bit unusual compared to the typical oil if it weren't for the fact that it's something that I smell in the wood itself, especially my Yamada Matsu SA 6 inch diameter heartwood trunk slices which have this really unusually rich and multifaceted sweetness. so it's more of a captured core note than an accessory note introduced by distillation methods. I now have a swipe of the one tree and the old tamil nadu on my forearms. they bring maple, fenugreek to mind; they share a kind of velvety texture that is more tangible and sticks in the nose a little bit more than comparable velvety notes in my other oils. I don't know if it's musky exactly but there's this kind of full fat warm richness that almost feels like a facet of musk. This transitions into that very beautiful warm sweet classic sandalwood aroma that really fills your nose, and you can almost taste on your tongue. It's saturates your perception almost in the way that a flan or crème brûlée or custard kind of saturates your taste buds - smooth and appealing and kind of custardy.
And of course excellent performance over the course of 12 to 14 hours if you are able to appreciate close lying aromas and skin scents.
lots of beautiful sandalwood out there including some crazy solvent / CO2 extracts and all of that but nothing is more satisfying when it comes to Sandalwood than the "full fat" hydrodistilled oil in my experience.
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Loulikesoud
True Ouddict
Beautifully put, Mr. P.
I thank you for the ability to smell this special oil!!!
I thank you for the ability to smell this special oil!!!
Mr.P
oud<3er
Glad you like it, I definitely felt like this was something you would appreciate and I was excited to get the sample to you.
Simla House
True Ouddict
I had lunch with Mr. Harkala at his office about 15 years ago. We went through many of his oils. Very kind man.
Mr.P
oud<3er
that's fantastic! would love to have a chance to chat with him in person
Mr.P
oud<3er
I'm wearing these two concentrates, evaporated tinctures of an old Indian and a contemporary Indonesian sandalwood. These were experimental small batches - really an effort to see if it would be worth extracting a larger amount. The Indonesian had some odd facets that I wasn't crazy about at first, something like the extraction equivalent of "still notes" and it has now settled into a pleasing profile that's more familiar to me from some other extracts that I have experienced over the years. Most of the different extractions share this one particular je ne sais quoi that is certainly present in these oils - peculiar kind of glossy smooth sandalwood facet. If you have experienced a CO2 extract or absolute of S. album you have some sense of this.
There's a little bit of an animalic quality - like hints of softer versions of notes found in valerian and atlas cedar oil. at first this had me wondering if I had literally left some Valerian residue somewhere in the equipment but in fact that wasn't the case, this is just some quality of the wood. The newer oil is more simple and smooth in profile, the older one is more complex and multifaceted with some resinous qualities and a stronger version of that particular thing that some oxidozed sandalwood and Atlas cedar have in common. The wood had been sitting in a jar for 20 years or so, so there was plenty of time for anything in there to oxidize.
The two were extracted the same way, the powdery looking residue on the side of the old bottle is some kind of wax or pigment that precipitated although there might be some very fine dust I suppose that got through the filtration if there was some channeling going on. You can see near the solvent line there's actually like a wax that's sticking to the side of the bottle there. I believe this powdery looking stuff may be more water soluble than oil soluble.
There's a little bit of an animalic quality - like hints of softer versions of notes found in valerian and atlas cedar oil. at first this had me wondering if I had literally left some Valerian residue somewhere in the equipment but in fact that wasn't the case, this is just some quality of the wood. The newer oil is more simple and smooth in profile, the older one is more complex and multifaceted with some resinous qualities and a stronger version of that particular thing that some oxidozed sandalwood and Atlas cedar have in common. The wood had been sitting in a jar for 20 years or so, so there was plenty of time for anything in there to oxidize.
The two were extracted the same way, the powdery looking residue on the side of the old bottle is some kind of wax or pigment that precipitated although there might be some very fine dust I suppose that got through the filtration if there was some channeling going on. You can see near the solvent line there's actually like a wax that's sticking to the side of the bottle there. I believe this powdery looking stuff may be more water soluble than oil soluble.
Mr.P
oud<3er
"One tree" from Anas / @AlHind Oud is my current go to sandalwood. Truly outstanding stuff - a representative of a profile I rarely encounter. Beautiful rich full warm broad spectrum sandalwood with a beautiful maple / fenugreek / reiryoko type sweetness that really hits the spot for me. every time I wear this I want to congratulate Anas for making this happen!
AlHind Oud
Resident Artisan
Thank you, Mr. P. It was a risky decision to distill the entire heartwood of a single tree, but it appears to have been successful. I’m delighted that you’re enjoying it.
Olfactory Nomad
Smells so Oud
Sulaym - HM Mysore. Smooth and rich. It also has that toothiness strength that gives it a nice projection.
Mousse de Chene
True Ouddict
Kangiiten - Black Meat Mysore Resinoid (Vintage).
I’ve never smelled a CO2 extract of Sandalwood. This third-final fraction is dark in colour & aroma, super sticky. It smells insanely rich; maple syrup, vanilla, toffee with a beautiful aroma of old vintage raw wood. It’s like I’m smelling the grain of the wood?
Lacking the bright citrus, butter-cream of a full spectrum hydro distilled oil, this CO2 extract is dense, spicy, ambery, musky. It smells similar to heating a piece of wood the sub, incensey & smoky.
It’s like the sweet vanillic resinous aspect of Mysore has been isolated & blown up to full scale, it’s confusing my brain, I know it’s Mysore but it’s very different! It wears like an heavy ambery, spicy, gourmand Sandalwood attar. Quite beautiful.
I’ve never smelled a CO2 extract of Sandalwood. This third-final fraction is dark in colour & aroma, super sticky. It smells insanely rich; maple syrup, vanilla, toffee with a beautiful aroma of old vintage raw wood. It’s like I’m smelling the grain of the wood?
Lacking the bright citrus, butter-cream of a full spectrum hydro distilled oil, this CO2 extract is dense, spicy, ambery, musky. It smells similar to heating a piece of wood the sub, incensey & smoky.
It’s like the sweet vanillic resinous aspect of Mysore has been isolated & blown up to full scale, it’s confusing my brain, I know it’s Mysore but it’s very different! It wears like an heavy ambery, spicy, gourmand Sandalwood attar. Quite beautiful.
Mr.P
oud<3er
Nice to see a review of some of the kangiiten oils. They've had so many interesting ones over the last year and the reviews here have been pretty rare!
holy-wood
True Ouddict
Thanks for this review ive been curious about their sandalwood fractions
Mr.P
oud<3er
I was happy to discover that I had a few swipes left of the NTT sandalwood from @mesOUD (this is the original batch, I did not smell the second version). This is a truly excellent sandalwood distillation - just rich core woody sandalwood with a full velvety top note array - every bit filling the shoes of top shelf Indian oils. Amazing
Mr.P
oud<3er
A dab of sandalwood Midy - this is that old stuff from 1910 or thereabouts that was in the gel caps. It's sandalwood, a little odd smelling with some phenolic notes, a little medicinal, a little barny. I am sniffing hopeful to find something special but I'm not seeing it… I think sandalwood generally improves with age but not indefinitely…
Mousse de Chene
True Ouddict
Do you think the reason for the off notes is due to the sandalwood interacting with the gel caps or just poorly aged?….
Mr.P
oud<3er
I would guess a little of each. I also get the feeling from the things that have come my way that extreme age in general is not necessarily a good thing for sandalwood oil.
Mousse de Chene
True Ouddict
The oldest sandalwood I own / smelled is from the 1960s. Jabeer from An Najwa’s friend discovered an old government Mysore tin. It’s very different from the other Mysore oils I own. Devoid of any fresh citrus tops notes, it has an incensey aroma, like a piece of wood on the sub.
Spicy, very woody like smelling a handful of raw sandalwood shavings. Soft & delicate florals, something like freesia & violet. The signature butter & cream is there, but restrained as I’d describe it as ‘milky’.
What sets it apart from other Mysore oils I own is the dry down, which is this pristine stark ‘whiteness’. A beautifully clean woody note, very powdery & wonderfully sharp. I’ve definitely smelled this aroma on older Indian gentleman. It goes on for a very long time, usually I can smell it on my arm 16 hours since application. This is a testament to the age of the tree & how replete it was in oil.
This antique oil from An Najwa seems relatively young in comparison to Mr.P’s 1910 Mysore! I do wonder how it smelled 30 years ago, for example? Was it better at 30 or is better now it’s 60, no idea 🤷♂️
Spicy, very woody like smelling a handful of raw sandalwood shavings. Soft & delicate florals, something like freesia & violet. The signature butter & cream is there, but restrained as I’d describe it as ‘milky’.
What sets it apart from other Mysore oils I own is the dry down, which is this pristine stark ‘whiteness’. A beautifully clean woody note, very powdery & wonderfully sharp. I’ve definitely smelled this aroma on older Indian gentleman. It goes on for a very long time, usually I can smell it on my arm 16 hours since application. This is a testament to the age of the tree & how replete it was in oil.
This antique oil from An Najwa seems relatively young in comparison to Mr.P’s 1910 Mysore! I do wonder how it smelled 30 years ago, for example? Was it better at 30 or is better now it’s 60, no idea 🤷♂️
Mr.P
oud<3er
I think I may have sampled that same oil, I will look through my collection because I still have some of the one that I'm thinking of… it was one of the 1960's mysores from An Najwa and the most appealing government oil I've smelled.
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