Sandalwood oil of the day

[Mr.P]

"Mysuru Maharaj" from @Tabeer_Oud , a sample generously shared with me by a fellow ouddict. Interesting multifaceted rich sandalwood oil with some unusual saturated transient confectionery elements in the top note - very sweet, almost like benzaldehyde or marzipan. Product description mentions steel distillation as opposed to copper, which makes sense to me. One aspect of the top notes - a kind of saturated sweet waxiness - reminds me of the Margon 2 bar sandalwood oil (also steel distilled). I don't recall the description saying if this is a high pressure oil, an ambient steam or hydrodistillation. The aroma of the mids is a little bit almost smoky and brings guaiac-like richness at the moment.

This is a good oil if you're looking for something that's got a little more oomph than your typical contemporary sandalwood oil.

 

[Mr.P]

Sandalwood Ceylon 2025 from @An Najwa is my sandalwood oil of the day. This one has a classic nutty presence to the top notes with a nice authentic Santalum album profile that could just as well have come from India as Sri Lanka. This would make an excellent oil for personal adornment or for use in blending.

[I found myself catching wafts of this throughout an extended period after i wore it - had a surprisingly nice mid / base phase - very appealing aspects of the sandalwood aroma]

 

[Mr.P]

Honestly this is not too much about a specific sandalwood of the day as it is about sandalwood in general. The sandalwoodS of the day happen to be an old RKSons Indian oil, at least 7 years old at this point, and a more recent Aceh sandalwood oil distilled from shavings by Margon. Both of these were inexpensive as far as sandalwood goes, roughly in the same price category. The Aceh oil, in spite of being from theoretically lower quality material (low oil content wood cut from the edges of the heartwood when cleaning it) and an unusual origin (Sumatra) is by far the most interesting of the two. Aromatically much more alive, engaging, rich in layers etc.. (although filled with accessory notes that deviate from the simple core heart wood aroma).

The rksons I never really have too much confidence in as far as being 100% pure goes, although they may be. Each of their oils smells like it's from some other source, like they're digging up random bottles and reselling them as opposed to selling a product from a particular distiller or manufacturer.They are one of those Indian resellers with impossible prices on oils that generally are extremely rare and costly to produce so when I see something off in one area I assume there will be issues in multiple areas, and I don't really feel comfortable with this sandalwood oil entirely.

That said, I was decanting some samples for somebody who wants some sandalwood fragrance and isn't really a connoisseur so I'm giving them some budget stuff to compare… I ended up having to smear a bunch of both of these all over my forearms, more than I usually apply.

Finally getting around to my point here… What strikes me is sandalwood in general is such an interesting material… It's less of a single aroma and more of a kind of aura at times… When I wear a lot of it it's like it creates this cloud that surrounds me - a bubble of dispersed santalols that has very low odor impact on its own at any given moment, but the cloud interacts in beautiful ways with the environment as you move through it. Sandalwood seems always to be as much about effect as it is about aroma.

Really loading up on pure sandalwood oil and nothing else and just letting that suffuse you in your environment for a day is an absolute peak olfactory experience. Wrapped up by applying a good swipe or two before bed so your pillow and comforter are all glowing with that fine dry woody tail... great thing to wake up to whether it's at two in the morning or the start of your day...

 

[Mr.P]

and now here is a truly outstanding oil, Tamil Nadu 2001 from White Lotus aromatics. The most perfectly placed / balanced maple note in a sandalwood i have ever smelled. This particular oil kicked off a collecting frenzy for me, trying to find another like it. it has been in this bottle since I got it in 2001, has aged beautifully in spite of a relatively large amount of air in the bottle.

 

[Mr.P]

Today it is vacuum distilled sandalwood oil, wood
was shavings cut away in the process of cleaning wild Sumatran sandalwood heartwood. Distilled by Margon, who was/is one of Olefaktory/ EjayB's collaborators in Indonesia. Distilling this material is normally not economical but he has a custom temp controlled still and ready access to the wood that makes it possible. I have vacuum, ambient, and 2 bar oil from this same wood. all three share a distinct terroir; the vacuum oil is the softest, very clear oil, mild sweet mellow aroma. the ambient oil is my favorite- woody spicy
petrichor aroma over classic santalum album heart. The 2 bar oil has very strong / boosted top notes, I feel like you can kind of sense the higher heat that was involved, more pronounced waxy, resinous notes with an intensity of top notes almost like spicatum oil. These oils have a good aroma but low santalol content compared to heartwood oil.

 

[Mr.P]

@An Najwa Mysore Ateeq 1965

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (sigh of delight, not scream of horror).


Nice smooth sweet balanced light maple lovely mellow true Indian sandalwoodiness through and through. Highly collectible as I see it - I covet this type of oil. Smells like it was stored carefully - no overblown oxidized notes, not an oddball note to be found.

 

[Shiningrobes]

MESoud - Mysore

Last half ml getting thick in the bottle. Matured so nicely I regret, yet again, not buying multiple tolas while I could. Such a slow burn, sleeper oil the way this comes on. Just a gentle almost dull scent for the first few minutes and then POOF! a blissful, sweet, warm cloud slowly emanating. I detected dill in it tonight for the first time and also a bit of musk that I hadn’t smelled before. I applied it with a dot of that Kashan rose from Yusa and the two together have made a crazy flavor burst of cedar and verbena flip flopping with santal and green rose.

 

[Mr.P]

MESoud - Mysore

Last half ml getting thick in the bottle. Matured so nicely I regret, yet again, not buying multiple tolas while I could. Such a slow burn, sleeper oil the way this comes on. Just a gentle almost dull scent for the first few minutes and then POOF! a blissful, sweet, warm cloud slowly emanating. I detected dill in it tonight for the first time and also a bit of musk that I hadn’t smelled before. I applied it with a dot of that Kashan rose from Yusa and the two together have made a crazy flavor burst of cedar and verbena flip flopping with santal and green rose.

This one is a treat - I have a bottle and was just wearing a swipe this week in fact. I get a nutty opening followed by that classic cloud you describe.

 

[Mr.P]

Every week or so I apply a swipe of the sandalwood resin extracts that I made. These were made using 200 proof alcohol and a soxhlet extractor plus rotovap. One is from old wood roughly 2005-2008 or so purchased from a reseller in Singapore, Indian supposedly. The other is from heartwood of the same type as @AlHind Oud used in the distillation of Sumatra heartwood he produced last year.

What they have in common: dark coffee color, stronger topnotes and mid notes than a typical distilled oil, including dry woody, waxy woody, tart, animalic-musky, resinous and some thick / stuffy notes. Not a replacement for distilled oil, and lacking the long full dry-down that high% beta santalol seems to offer in the good distilled oils. good stuff for getting identifiable sandalwood top notes into a fragrance or for combining with good distilled oil to get a little bit of the best of both worlds.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Kangiiten - Santal Shivamogga Absolute. Quite a thin oil. Very strong "bitey" top notes which disappear quickly, Settles down into a warm and rich Indian sandalwood scent. Buttery and gourmand out of the bottle but not so much on the skin. Possibly getting nose blind from it. Weak projection. Longevity is ok if you put enough on. My only other sandalwood absolute is the Tamil Nadu from ASO and this is nothing like it.

 

[Mr.P]

Kangiiten - Santal Shivamogga Absolute. Quite a thin oil. Very strong "bitey" top notes which disappear quickly, Settles down into a warm and rich Indian sandalwood scent. Buttery and gourmand out of the bottle but not so much on the skin. Possibly getting nose blind from it. Weak projection. Longevity is ok if you put enough on. My only other sandalwood absolute is the Tamil Nadu from ASO and this is nothing like it.

very interesting!

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

very interesting!

It is. I'm a little confused by it to be honest. If my expectations of it weren't tainted by my comparison of the Tamil Nadu, I'd think it's a nice enough oil. Nothing really standoutish about it. But because it's an absolute I'm a bit disappointed. This is only the second sandalwood I've ever bought from Kangiiten and both times have been underwhelming.

 

[Mr.P]

It is. I'm a little confused by it to be honest. If my expectations of it weren't tainted by my comparison of the Tamil Nadu, I'd think it's a nice enough oil. Nothing really standoutish about it. But because it's an absolute I'm a bit disappointed. This is only the second sandalwood I've ever bought from Kangiiten and both times have been underwhelming.

I wonder if this is a true absolute or a single step alcohol extraction aka resinoid? They are definitely not going to be the same thing and I've noticed to a certain degree some small scale producers are using the word absolute incorrectly for single step ethanol extractions.

In reading various things about their oils over the years I never saw a sign of anyone doing the two stage hexane-ethanol extraction that you would use for a true absolute, and that could explain the difference between the one from ASO (although I don't know how that one was produced for all I know that could be a two stage or one stage).

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

I wonder if this is a true absolute or a single step alcohol extraction aka resinoid? They are definitely not going to be the same thing and I've noticed to a certain degree some small scale producers are using the word absolute incorrectly for single step ethanol extractions.

In reading various things about their oils over the years I never saw a sign of anyone doing the two stage hexane-ethanol extraction that you would use for a true absolute, and that could explain the difference between the one from ASO (although I don't know how that one was produced for all I know that could be a two stage or one stage).

I really shouldn't compare the two because the Tamil nadu from ASO is incomparable. 60yr old tree, solvent extraction then aged for another 15yrs. This Shivamogga will never be like that however it was produced.

 

[MaxFromHolland]

I wonder if this is a true absolute or a single step alcohol extraction aka resinoid? They are definitely not going to be the same thing and I've noticed to a certain degree some small scale producers are using the word absolute incorrectly for single step ethanol extractions.

In reading various things about their oils over the years I never saw a sign of anyone doing the two stage hexane-ethanol extraction that you would use for a true absolute, and that could explain the difference between the one from ASO (although I don't know how that one was produced for all I know that could be a two stage or one stage).

They use pretty advanced wiped film equipment to process the sandalwood extract into the final product. There is no point in doing a 2 step process if your post processing offers so much selectivity.

Same setup (macerate in ethanol - post process with WF) also allows one to obtain an 'absolute' from spent sandalwood powder (after distillation) which is attractive given scarcity and price of good heartwood. (Fraterworks, Biolandes).

 

[Mr.P]

They use pretty advanced wiped film equipment to process the sandalwood extract into the final product. There is no point in doing a 2 step process if your post processing offers so much selectivity.

Same setup (macerate in ethanol - post process with WF) also allows one to obtain an 'absolute' from spent sandalwood powder (after distillation) which is attractive given scarcity and price of good heartwood. (Fraterworks, Biolandes).

hexane is a much more selective solvent - I know the wiped film allows for the efficient removal of solvent and it seems like an excellent technology, but I think there's a fundamental difference when you eliminate all of the stuff that is alcohol soluble that will not dissolve in a highly nonpolar solvent like hexane. I'm speculating I'm not speaking for hands-on experience

 

[Loulikesoud]

hexane is a much more selective solvent - I know the wiped film allows for the efficient removal of solvent and it seems like an excellent technology, but I think there's a fundamental difference when you eliminate all of the stuff that is alcohol soluble that will not dissolve in a highly nonpolar solvent like hexane. I'm speculating I'm not speaking for hands-on experience

You, sir, need some heptane!

 

[MaxFromHolland]

hexane is a much more selective solvent - I know the wiped film allows for the efficient removal of solvent and it seems like an excellent technology, but I think there's a fundamental difference when you eliminate all of the stuff that is alcohol soluble that will not dissolve in a highly nonpolar solvent like hexane. I'm speculating I'm not speaking for hands-on experience

Sure, the extract contains all sorts you dont want, although woods less than herbs i guess. But when you have the tools to fraction it, you can compose the product without particles (and even notes) you don't want.
WF Evaporation tech is capable of both solvent removal and fractioning. And its fast, so doing multiple runs is not a big deal.

Btw i noticed that they call that spent wood powder mass 'concrete' as well.

 

[Mr.P]

Hermitage Papua sandalwood CO2 is my sandalwood of the morning here. CO2 extracts always bring out something different, and in this case it's a vivid smell of butter that is strongest and sets it apart from other CO2 oils i have smelled (which variously had more woody, waxy, caramel or maple-like boosted notes). On average, the Co2 total oils have had a more gourmand character and the select oils more woody / mineral/ santalol character. If you are looking for something to add that buttery facet of sandalwood, this is the ideal oil for it I think! this is unusual enough that you couldn't just substitute it for regular sandalwood in a recipe, it's a unique material with its own aroma.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Sure, the extract contains all sorts you dont want, although woods less than herbs i guess. But when you have the tools to fraction it, you can compose the product without particles (and even notes) you don't want.
WF Evaporation tech is capable of both solvent removal and fractioning. And its fast, so doing multiple runs is not a big deal.

Btw i noticed that they call that spent wood powder mass 'concrete' as well.

Interestingly, KZ has just posted this description about the absolute on Facebook.
"
Santal Shivamogga Absolute by Kyarazen
A rare 2025 KZ Extraction crafted from vintage Shivamogga heartwood, this oil is produced through an intricate fractionation and refinement process that goes far beyond hydro‑distillation, capturing only the purest, most opulent layers of sandalwood essence. The result is a mellower yet profoundly powerful aroma with a deep, weighty body, an alto to the bright soprano of hydro‑distilled oils. Luxurious, soulful, and meticulously purified of waxes and impurities, it’s a masterpiece suited for fine perfumery, musk and ambergris macerations, personal anointment, or preservation as a legacy‑grade collectible."