brief first impressions EO: adikuto, haroun, assam organic, nhek 76

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#1
dear oud heads

below are my unfiltered raw first thing to come to mind first impressions of these oils as opposed to multi-wear and consolidating detailed notes. pls note i am not touching on the drydown of these oils and these impressions are all off applicator:

Adikuto X:

wow. punching above its weight. way above it. challenge accepted and challenge aced mr ensar and team for such strong QPR oil. if longevity and silage are even an average, this is quite the every day wear for a solid price.

very gentle smoke. more like a gentle toast similar on light toast french oak barrels where some vanillin, caramelized sugar lactones come out. dried fruit. particularly tamarind. something very very mildly sinesis bitter medicinal about it. then comes out light cinnamon and baked banana note. elephant in the bottle: there is no hiding the pronounced freshly shaved nutmeg. overall an ever so slightly burnt top pumpkin pie fresh out of the oven would describe adikuto first impression.

final thought: really beautiful blend of notes. the smoke and light bitter medicine keeps the sweetness, fruit and baking spices in check. almost like a hypothetical blend of 30% yusuf, 10% hainan, 5% duhl q and 55% assam (no animal).

Haroon:
a touch coy. playing hard to get. nothing dominates or jumps out as one first dominant note (this is not a negative. in fact i like this quality at times). After digging deeper i get some sappy resinous wood like maple or birch, dried papaya and mango on the skin. some tobacco (cigar), ultra mild and not noticeable in every whiff hint of animal. there is a gentle sourness to it but not like citrus fruit, but more like dried tropical fruit sour. touch boozy like cherry liqueur or cough syrup. very very mild camphor brightness keeps the oil alive and away from becoming too thick, sweet and cloying.

final thought: not my favorite oil. i had an empty vial of yusuf for couple months that had some residual oil in the vial and now that it is oxidized (or almost there) there is this sour tinged note to it that while some may find exciting, it distracts me and and not something that speaks to me.


Assam organic:
hypothetical blend of: 70-20-10: hindi like yunus - burma like zacchariya- china like hainan 05 or more accurately china sayang.

this is a lot of oud. wow. impressive for organic and rests my unease about a possible future of no wild oud. sure it will be a shame but if this is a sign of future of organic oud, we should rejoice.

spiced plum cake, ginger chai being enjoyed while you off mounted a beautiful horse after a long ride. horse sweat, old saddle leather (zaccharriya) notes get intertwined with the afternoon snack of cake and chai. touch ginseng bitter and Chinese dispensary notes in the heart. while not a regular wear for me and i see this come out to play in winter time for me personally, it is a very very impressive oil. no denying that.


Nhek 76:
first off i have to say i am not 100% clear if this oil is a blend of an old cambodi and younger distillation or... anyways here are my first 2 cents:

blind i would have gone vietnam or hainan. hypnotic. medicinal but round and settled. i can tell this oil will have medicinal/therapeutic qualitis in spade. few whiffs and i am sedated, gently light headed and slowly leaving earth (levitating).

no florals. no fruit. mildly animal. i cant really say much more. hard to put fingers on a particular scent. i am bit out of it. ill just spill out few things that come to mind:

hypothetical blend of kinam rouge, hainan 05, yunnan exclusive.
 
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kesiro

Well-Known Member
#2
Thank you for taking the time to write up your impressions. I totally agree with you especially about the Adikuto and AO. Have not tried the Nhek but the profile intrigues me.
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#3
Thank you for taking the time to write up your impressions. I totally agree with you especially about the Adikuto and AO. Have not tried the Nhek but the profile intrigues me.
Hope fully you noted that I had a disclaimer for all above oils. These were all impressions off applicator.

After on skin application I only find Assam organic to be of top top caliber. I am a difficult marker and ensar is at fault too with oils like kinam rouge. Purple kinam. Abdus selam...

Nhek is mind numbing on attacking and has that X factor to it. Just be aware of the blue cheese and serious funk that comes to the foreground after mere minutes on skin. Too much for me at this stage of my appreciation.