Laotian Oud Oil

#1
I have never tried Laotian oud oil before. What are your thoughts on Laotian oud oils and their overall profile? And what are your favorite Laotian oud oils?
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#2
@Rezwan I'm really glad you brought up this question and I believe it ties into an ongoing geopolitical discussion and the real relation to scent.

For example a Laotian oud can, and many out there do, smell quite similar to Thai oud, especially if you're referring to Factory Plantation oud, the 'natural oud' of the fragrance industry which has a very generic sweet profile and is linear at best.

So Laotian oud in general exhibits fruity sweetness, a touch of floral and some possess a distinct pleasant sourness. Depending on the which oud you will more specific notes within these categories of scent.

For example Wang Liao Kuo's sweet and sourness reminds me of the the inner rind of Kiwi and the flesh of white grapes, piercing at times, but thick and syrupy at others (The closer you go in to smell the thicker it seems). It also possesses a light 'gunpowder' bitterness reminiscent of Ensar's Senkoh Series oils. It has matured quite a bit in a short period of time and the deeper heart of the oil has emerged yet it remains very diffusive (an exemplary wild Laotian oil)

If the distiller decides to long-soak the oud (which some do to 'boost' yields), as opposed to the animalistic indole exhibited from many Indian origins, Laotian oud tends towards a cheesy smell, (@Rasoul S could more accurately tell you the specific kinds of cheese) but to me over-soaked Lao ouds smell like bleu-cheese or gorgonzola.

So the wild no soak Wang Liao Kuo exhibits the subtle differences of the region. Bright green and white fruits, lychee, kiwi, dragonfruit, persimmons and guava, as opposed to Thai with its apricots, melons and figs...

But for a time capsule oud... a glimpse of the great history of wild Laos encapsulating its old-world profile from mountain agarwood (a terroir that imparts bold character) and for me the zenith of Laotian oud it has to be Pusong LTD.
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#3
Laotian harvested ~40 years ago is as far removed from the ‘Laos’ agarwood used in today’s perfumes (and oils that are being distilled all over) it’s a completely different aromatic.

To me, Vietnamese agarwood is not necessarily better than Laotian. True Laos Pusong agarwood has the same mind-numbing effect Kyara does, and to old-fashioned folks like me, might be even dearer due to its extreme scarcity.

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#4
JazakAllah for your replies dear @Ensar Oud and @~A Coburn. I am humbled to get replies from the masters of the Oud world. This was my first post in this forum, I was trying to figure out how to open a new thread for some time and I have managed to do so, thus now I was able to start a new thread. I am usually active on ouddict, but to get vast knowledgeable answers from the likes of the maestro Ensar Oud and Adam Coburn is truly an opportunity I never got at ouddict. So I will be more active here from now on and will get to be in the company of the oud legends and humble connoisseurs of our time and be able to learn from them. JazakAllah for this opportunity.