What's on your burner today?
- Thread starter YouNight
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Well, I’m not sure I can even recount the whirlwind tour I went on today. I’d go as far to say that @Rasoul S broke my nose.
In fact, I’m sure of it. By the end of the session, I was unable to discern North from South, and which way was home. It was like being shot out of a cannon, nose first through the jungles and pots of the oud producing world.
The focus was the wood in it’s raw form, and fine Japanese incense, largely from kyara zen. Ambergris & Osyris sandal ‘99 , plus some oils I hadn’t experienced before.
Kyara Zen’s wood offerings, and ridiculously fast selling incenses were absolutely smashing, as was the EO Brunei Kinam. Special prize goes to EO Royal Guallam oil and KZ green kyara oil no.1 wood. Absolutely crippling beauties. Plus, I got a sneak preview of @Rasoul S ’s own concoctions that are cooking away. Great stuff!
It was a pleasure to enjoy tea today with you, sir, and bathe in top quality smoke. I smell amazing now. I may never wash my shirt again.
In fact, I’m sure of it. By the end of the session, I was unable to discern North from South, and which way was home. It was like being shot out of a cannon, nose first through the jungles and pots of the oud producing world.
The focus was the wood in it’s raw form, and fine Japanese incense, largely from kyara zen. Ambergris & Osyris sandal ‘99 , plus some oils I hadn’t experienced before.
Kyara Zen’s wood offerings, and ridiculously fast selling incenses were absolutely smashing, as was the EO Brunei Kinam. Special prize goes to EO Royal Guallam oil and KZ green kyara oil no.1 wood. Absolutely crippling beauties. Plus, I got a sneak preview of @Rasoul S ’s own concoctions that are cooking away. Great stuff!
It was a pleasure to enjoy tea today with you, sir, and bathe in top quality smoke. I smell amazing now. I may never wash my shirt again.
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@Simla House my absolute pleasure.
i think i speak for any and all oud lovers, especially those in the west, when i say finding another oud aficionado is like re-uniting with a long-lost brother separated at birth.
sharing with like minded people is an even greater joy. since stefan's nose and brain was somewhat fried at time of writting above (sorry buddy) i share a few more noteworthy's:
mizume incense stick from kyarazen is a beautiful aloeswood base floral stick with 5% ambergris that is just perfect.
kyarazen's coarse mysore incense stick is unreal. waves of butter and delicious creamy smoke, smooth, refined and terrific.
taha's filipina wood made stefan's eyes pop out. i had to run and get a bowl in case they really fall out of their socket!
zak's ittar's made stefan happy and caused reminisching his days in india. the man loves india more than indians. wodnerful to see such respect.
we tried pretty much every japanese incense house's flagship incense. we decided yamadamatsu falls short. seijudo is unsung hero and kyukyodo.
nine life times from WSG chinese incense house with mostly hong kong material and vietnam soil wood is a wow wow wow stick.
taha's new hainan and wsg hainan classic sticks were comapred together and showed alot more similarity than differences. solid stuff and both very beatuiful.
taha's nha trang stick was blinded and we werent able to pick out the origin of the wood.
a comprehensive smelling of all things walla patta wood and oil was completed. i leave it to stefan to share any thoughts he may have.
and more...
we are lucky to have @Royal Bengal Oud @tyson @hainss ... all in Canada. should really try and do an oud fest of our own this year.
till we do it all over again
i think i speak for any and all oud lovers, especially those in the west, when i say finding another oud aficionado is like re-uniting with a long-lost brother separated at birth.
sharing with like minded people is an even greater joy. since stefan's nose and brain was somewhat fried at time of writting above (sorry buddy) i share a few more noteworthy's:
mizume incense stick from kyarazen is a beautiful aloeswood base floral stick with 5% ambergris that is just perfect.
kyarazen's coarse mysore incense stick is unreal. waves of butter and delicious creamy smoke, smooth, refined and terrific.
taha's filipina wood made stefan's eyes pop out. i had to run and get a bowl in case they really fall out of their socket!
zak's ittar's made stefan happy and caused reminisching his days in india. the man loves india more than indians. wodnerful to see such respect.
we tried pretty much every japanese incense house's flagship incense. we decided yamadamatsu falls short. seijudo is unsung hero and kyukyodo.
nine life times from WSG chinese incense house with mostly hong kong material and vietnam soil wood is a wow wow wow stick.
taha's new hainan and wsg hainan classic sticks were comapred together and showed alot more similarity than differences. solid stuff and both very beatuiful.
taha's nha trang stick was blinded and we werent able to pick out the origin of the wood.
a comprehensive smelling of all things walla patta wood and oil was completed. i leave it to stefan to share any thoughts he may have.
and more...
we are lucky to have @Royal Bengal Oud @tyson @hainss ... all in Canada. should really try and do an oud fest of our own this year.
till we do it all over again
what to do on a rare snowy cold vancouver sunday? oud marathon of course with @Simla House
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When I used to go hunting for oud and attar while living in India, I would set a limit on the number of items I’d sample each day for fear of my brain melting (either from sub-par material, or fatigue).
Despite the fresh coffee beans presented to clear my sinuses, gallons of chai consumed and bribes with bottles of thums-up, I was happy to have short days to sniff and look forward to a revisit the next day. I’d make notes and reflect.
Yesterday was a heap of fun, a blitz of scent and emotion. I should have taken notes, but wouldn’t have been able to write that fast. Regardless, I feel very blessed to have met a proper oud-head living so close to me.
@Rasoul S , I think over our last two meetings, we may have inadvertently started Oudfest Northwest™ . Along with our other Canadian brothers and sisters, we should also extend our invitation to our west coast neighbours living down south. You could come visit us in Vancouver and take advantage of the deflated Canadian dollar! It’s practically free!
Despite the fresh coffee beans presented to clear my sinuses, gallons of chai consumed and bribes with bottles of thums-up, I was happy to have short days to sniff and look forward to a revisit the next day. I’d make notes and reflect.
Yesterday was a heap of fun, a blitz of scent and emotion. I should have taken notes, but wouldn’t have been able to write that fast. Regardless, I feel very blessed to have met a proper oud-head living so close to me.
@Rasoul S , I think over our last two meetings, we may have inadvertently started Oudfest Northwest™ . Along with our other Canadian brothers and sisters, we should also extend our invitation to our west coast neighbours living down south. You could come visit us in Vancouver and take advantage of the deflated Canadian dollar! It’s practically free!
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Yunnan '91 (Ensar) - when buying higher end agarwood from Ensar you are guaranteed something special - and these chips are no exception. They open with this delightfully difficult-to-describe bouquet of fruit-floral-kinamic woodiness.. You wouldn't confuse it for Vietnamese kyara, but in terms of enjoyability and "wow factor" it is on the same level (though I find many agarwoods to be as impressive and enjoyable as proper kyara).. I think I smell the Hainan 2005 oil in this wood! Or perhaps the Royal Kinam.. It's like a tangerine milkshake or something in the opening.. Over the course of the session it morphs into more of that spicy animalic orange peel aroma.. One of my favorites for sure..
Sumatora 1996 (Ensar) - epic!! Enjoying the vaporous magic arising from 150C heating of slivers from these chips - the most incredible sweet woody magic - the intensity is like smelling oud right from the bottle.. What is this scent, how do I describe it? Words fail, but it has a "bubblegum" quality to it that I find particularly delightful - also found this quality in Taha's legendary king super Malaysian A. hirta chips.. Scent becomes darker, more woody, less fruity-floral bubblegum as the heating session progresses.
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i am jealous. i never understood this agarwood. i cant even relate to 10% of what is mentioned here. there may be hope though. to date i have tried this wood using charcoal, charcoal buried in ash and over mica sheet as well as subitism heater. all pretty hot compared to lets say 150 on ceramic heater. ill try the last method and see if i can witness any of these qualities.
this wood may just be the only purchase from ensar oud that has fallen below my expectation. oud emerald too can be added to this short list.
this wood may just be the only purchase from ensar oud that has fallen below my expectation. oud emerald too can be added to this short list.
Rasoul - I will say that the front end of the heating session is by far the most enjoyable for me - after maybe 30min or so I've found that this batch can get that harsh burnt sort of smell - have noticed this primarily with Indonesian/Borneo type woods - some of them get super dark and roasted smelling in a way that I don't care for.. So, this Sumatora 1996 is just incredible in the opening, and then gets rather burnt and harsh for me.. I try turning the heat off, letting cool, the re-heating - when I do this there's a lovely dark woodiness for awhile before it gets a bit burnt smelling again.. In contrast I find that the Thai and Vietnamese type woods can just roast for hours and they remain sweet and delightfull.. Not as fickle as the Indonesian woods..
So, maybe try heating it on low heat and really focus on the opening? There's just no way you wouldn't have liked what I was smelling the other day coming off that chip!
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Brunei Supreme (Ensar) - heating some of this today - bought this wood in late 2014 - lovely nutty sweet floral type aroma - like a pie baking in the oven or something - one of the pieces he sent me is so beautiful - about 6 grams and solid fast-sinking.. I love the way Ensar doesn't even both advertising his woods as sinking grade even though many/most of the high grade stuff I've bought has been - Ensar knows that the aroma is what makes the wood magic, not the resin density - and he curates the finest selection of woods..
So, maybe try heating it on low heat and really focus on the opening? There's just no way you wouldn't have liked what I was smelling the other day coming off that chip!
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Brunei Supreme (Ensar) - heating some of this today - bought this wood in late 2014 - lovely nutty sweet floral type aroma - like a pie baking in the oven or something - one of the pieces he sent me is so beautiful - about 6 grams and solid fast-sinking.. I love the way Ensar doesn't even both advertising his woods as sinking grade even though many/most of the high grade stuff I've bought has been - Ensar knows that the aroma is what makes the wood magic, not the resin density - and he curates the finest selection of woods..
vietnamese marathon las night with father in law. most of the wood sourced via agar aroma (tony bolton) and then few more pieces via @Royal Bengal Oud @Alkhadra and of course kyarazen
started from double super, then tripple super, slow sinking, fast sinking, fast sinking king and finally finished with a nha trang super sinking.
remarkably they all had the same dna. what one got out of each piece was the difference in intensity vs. length vs. absence or presence of other notes.
the dominating note is a certain unique bittersweet quality, a particular type of honey and some pieces displaying dolce de leche a creamy milky sweetness. of course there is the classic mint and cooling note. sometimes more patchouli like, sometimes mint creme brule. absent is camphor or any particularly super strong minty note.
honestly words fail to describe the differences between the various grades. as i mentioned the scent emitting is not massively different but the energy, or emotion or that hard to capture by word quality is very different, esp. when it comes to very old and very dense pieces. ones soul and very spirit gets moved.
started from double super, then tripple super, slow sinking, fast sinking, fast sinking king and finally finished with a nha trang super sinking.
remarkably they all had the same dna. what one got out of each piece was the difference in intensity vs. length vs. absence or presence of other notes.
the dominating note is a certain unique bittersweet quality, a particular type of honey and some pieces displaying dolce de leche a creamy milky sweetness. of course there is the classic mint and cooling note. sometimes more patchouli like, sometimes mint creme brule. absent is camphor or any particularly super strong minty note.
honestly words fail to describe the differences between the various grades. as i mentioned the scent emitting is not massively different but the energy, or emotion or that hard to capture by word quality is very different, esp. when it comes to very old and very dense pieces. ones soul and very spirit gets moved.
Those Vietnamese woods Tony stocks are lovely! Interestingly, the double super and particularly triple super Vietnamese are probably the finest in terms of scent profile. I also have some Nha Trang Sinking and Vietnamese King Super from him - the lowly double super smells much finer than either of those in my opinion.. In the double super and triple super batches I got, there is a lot of oil in the wood, and I have come to find that agarwood that is "shiny" with oil as well as resin is often fantastic smelling.. Rising Phoenix has some Prachinburi Thai wood like this - highly unimpressive resin formation, the pieces are very light and not dense at all - but the smell, wow!
Speaking of Rising Phoenix, I'm heating some of his excellent sinking grade Northern Borneo chips right now - I have 4 different chips, and each smells different - they are in general though on a sweeter somewhat fruity type of the Borneo spectrum - certainly have that honey sunshine quality that makes Borneo woods so distinct, but the is a rich fruity quality - wonderful!
Also heated some of his very expensive Hainan chips yesterday - these smell fantastic but at $115/g you're paying for a rare good vs. a chip that has such a remarkable scent that it costs that much. Quality wise, these chips are comparable to other very fine chips that would run in the $25-$50/g range. In fact, Ensar's Yunnan '91 chips sport a similar scent profile and are easily the same quality, but were only $50/g (to be fair Ensar probably bought much further back when he could get a lower price, while JK bought at market values more recently). Very happy I picked up a little of the Hainan chips though - Chinese wood is such a deep and soulful scent profile and every wood connoisseur should have at least a bit of it in their collection..
Speaking of Rising Phoenix, I'm heating some of his excellent sinking grade Northern Borneo chips right now - I have 4 different chips, and each smells different - they are in general though on a sweeter somewhat fruity type of the Borneo spectrum - certainly have that honey sunshine quality that makes Borneo woods so distinct, but the is a rich fruity quality - wonderful!
Also heated some of his very expensive Hainan chips yesterday - these smell fantastic but at $115/g you're paying for a rare good vs. a chip that has such a remarkable scent that it costs that much. Quality wise, these chips are comparable to other very fine chips that would run in the $25-$50/g range. In fact, Ensar's Yunnan '91 chips sport a similar scent profile and are easily the same quality, but were only $50/g (to be fair Ensar probably bought much further back when he could get a lower price, while JK bought at market values more recently). Very happy I picked up a little of the Hainan chips though - Chinese wood is such a deep and soulful scent profile and every wood connoisseur should have at least a bit of it in their collection..
tiny sliver of the top grade filipino cummingiana via taha on 150-180 c ceramic heater. i find subitism unless many sheets of mica used to be too much for this wood. the scent? virtually identical to the oil. taragon infused clover honey. perfume and something purple kinam like too in scent but not energy or sensation it emits. beautiful stuff.
next up a good size chunk of assam agarwood via zakir of agarwood assam. terrific resination and weight. not much action on low heat or even higher spectrum temps like 250 on ceramic heater. on subitism though it really comes alive and signs all sorts of songs. molasses, chocolate fudge, leather and sultanas. rich, thick, decadent. no finesse here but lots of oomph. best part is it emits scent for ever and once all sides are roasted, i still get tons more from it from putting on charcoal to fumigate my hats and the home.
ill try and include images of woods i heat/burn. here is the filipina wood and trust me when i say i used less than a grain of rice and got a insane session out of it for a solid many minutes.
next up a good size chunk of assam agarwood via zakir of agarwood assam. terrific resination and weight. not much action on low heat or even higher spectrum temps like 250 on ceramic heater. on subitism though it really comes alive and signs all sorts of songs. molasses, chocolate fudge, leather and sultanas. rich, thick, decadent. no finesse here but lots of oomph. best part is it emits scent for ever and once all sides are roasted, i still get tons more from it from putting on charcoal to fumigate my hats and the home.
ill try and include images of woods i heat/burn. here is the filipina wood and trust me when i say i used less than a grain of rice and got a insane session out of it for a solid many minutes.