SOTD
- Thread starter Kruger
- Start date
Wow bhanny, you have a nice collection of oils in such a short time! Not to mention an expensive list! 
).
I had the pleasure of a visit by Feel Oud's Ali, who came to Singapore with a couple Thai farmers in hopes of selling their oils on the local market.....
It was very interesting to see what is being produced in the way of cultivated oud these days, especially since the trees used were non-crassnas that originated in South Thailand, from what I gathered. The oil was a bit 'fuzzy' at the opening in addition to the standard sweet-fruity odors that are commonly present in cultivated Thai oils.
The minute I took a swipe, I said: 'This oil is no good....'
Ali couldn't believe it. 'No good?!' he said in dismay.
'I don't like it.'
'Ensar, if you don't like this, I can't imagine what you would say about other distilleries' products!.... Please, can you explain to me what it is that you don't like?'
'There is a dirty component to the opening, it's not very clean, or very well defined, or even very well rounded.... Lacks character.'
Then we started discussing about what it could possibly have been that was making the oil turn out this way..... He showed me pictures of the wood; this was okay for cultivated wood; plenty of kyen in the lot! So that made no sense..... Then we started looking at pictures of the distillery – everything from the pots to the condensers to the collection vessels..... All in order!
We kept scratching our heads about what could have gone wrong during the distillation..... Until he mentioned in passing that this was a new distillery just set up about a month or two prior.... KACHING! It finally all made sense. Everything in that distillery was new, the system had barely put out its first batch of oil. That was what the problem was......
It was very interesting to see what is being produced in the way of cultivated oud these days, especially since the trees used were non-crassnas that originated in South Thailand, from what I gathered. The oil was a bit 'fuzzy' at the opening in addition to the standard sweet-fruity odors that are commonly present in cultivated Thai oils.
The minute I took a swipe, I said: 'This oil is no good....'
Ali couldn't believe it. 'No good?!' he said in dismay.
'I don't like it.'
'Ensar, if you don't like this, I can't imagine what you would say about other distilleries' products!.... Please, can you explain to me what it is that you don't like?'
'There is a dirty component to the opening, it's not very clean, or very well defined, or even very well rounded.... Lacks character.'
Then we started discussing about what it could possibly have been that was making the oil turn out this way..... He showed me pictures of the wood; this was okay for cultivated wood; plenty of kyen in the lot! So that made no sense..... Then we started looking at pictures of the distillery – everything from the pots to the condensers to the collection vessels..... All in order!
We kept scratching our heads about what could have gone wrong during the distillation..... Until he mentioned in passing that this was a new distillery just set up about a month or two prior.... KACHING! It finally all made sense. Everything in that distillery was new, the system had barely put out its first batch of oil. That was what the problem was......
@Ensar
I remembered reading somewhere in your oil description that the pots have to be conditioned before the actual distillation. In fact correct me if I am wrong, distillation of an organic oil straight after sultan series would elevate its quality. It was the case for Maroke Kyen? I always wonder why is it so. Because of residual scent profile in the pot? But wouldn't the pots be cleaned up after every distillation?
I remembered reading somewhere in your oil description that the pots have to be conditioned before the actual distillation. In fact correct me if I am wrong, distillation of an organic oil straight after sultan series would elevate its quality. It was the case for Maroke Kyen? I always wonder why is it so. Because of residual scent profile in the pot? But wouldn't the pots be cleaned up after every distillation?
So interesting this came up today. What was the last thing I was reading on my iPad last night as I dozed off? Maroke Kyen! Whose pots were conditioned by Oud Royale III. I'd love to hear more about this as well. I know that cast iron pans/skillets in cooking are "seasoned". They are cleaned each time, but never to the point that the "seasoning" is stripped off the pan. That would would be "sacrilege" to some chefs apparently. I wonder if this is the same principle with the pots used for cooking the wood?