Hello laph, also a Welcome to this expert Forum!
You wrote:
"I will post further thoughts on these and Taha's other oils as I get through at least a wear or two to get to know them. So far I'm very much enjoying his offerings."
I have only recently bought some oils from Taha, but judging from what I have, they are very beautiful oils. For example; I have Taha´s Oud Kampuchea. It is very nice oils, the Kampuchea is quite similar to Oud Yusuf from Ensar, but softer, and it does not project itself as strong as the Yusuf. It also has some notes which i don´t find in Yusuf. Yusuf was produced organic, while the wood for Kampuchea is from wild harvest.
Also: "I am considering some of Ensar's oils too. What are your current thoughts on Oud Yusha, Encens d'Angkor, Oud Yusuf and Crassna Cha?"
There is a brilliant review of Crassna Cha, by Oudiferous, here:
www.oudimpressions.com.
I can subscribe to each and every word in his review. Crassna Cha is very green, spicy, and has a wonderful dry-down. I like the Crassna Cha a lot, however, it is an oil you will want to wear every day as it suits better to hot weather than rainy days (IMHO, that is!).
Yusuf, Encens d´Angkor and Yusha are all nice, fruity and they are all organic oils. Yusuf is probably the "softest", sweetest among them. But Yusuf projects quite well (has good sillage).
Yusha and Angkor are sisters, both were distilled from the same batch of Thai Oud (Province Trat). There were some tweaks in the distillation process, which rendered d´Angkor somewhat "darker", woodier and more incense-y; than Yusha.
If you want to get past your newbie-ness, I suggest the same as I have suggested to Connor:
Get a Hindi, a Thai/ Cambodi, and a Papua oil so you can find out which scent profile is to your liking.
Or buy from the same region but from different harvests / years of distillation.
Then compare how each oil smells, and find out what you like about an oil.
This will help you decide what kond of oil(s) you want to explore in-depth.
It is said often that Hindi oils are the peak goal, the sumit of the Oud experience. But there are great variants in Hindis, as in all Oud oils, so you will need to work your way up to this summit
Kind regards and Blessings,
Thomas S.
Some thoughts from my recent testings:
I'm just testing Sultan al-Hind myself and very much enjoying the smooth, leathery and honeyed aroma. It's also fruity (think stewed fruits). I generally love leather fragrances so this really hits the mark for me.
Sauvage has lovely deep woody and spicy (ground black pepper) notes that I very much enjoy and there’s enough sweetness to keep a nice balance. I very much enjoy it and find it strongly but not hugely fecal. Are there more extreme Hindi ouds than this? Suggestions welcome.
I will post further thoughts on these and Taha's other oils as I get through at least a wear or two to get to know them. So far I'm very much enjoying his offerings.
I am considering some of Ensar's oils too.
What are your current thoughts on Oud Yusha, Encens d'Angkor, Oud Yusuf and Crassna Cha?
Also, are there any other oils (other than Ensar's and Taha's) that are currently available that you'd recommend?
(Sorry to the guys on both forums - you'll see my post on each but I'm trying to cover the bases and accelerate out of my oud newbiness
)