focus on EO Bhutan oils and few others

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#1
get together with @Simla House the other night to study some hindi/bhutan oils more closely. here are some of my impressions.

oils observed closely by wearing good swipe on skin and followed thru the course of the evening, night and even this morning:
muana zen (unreleased 2016 Bhutan distillation)
muana supreme (unreleased 2012 Bhutan distillation. looooong soak time and ferment. more so than royal Bhutan of same year)
bhutan red (unreleased 2009 Bhutan oil very traditional)
royal imphal (unreleased. iirc 2014 oil?)

below for detailed notes.
muana zen: most unique. familiar yet peculiar notes to my nose best described as a very soft subdued curry note. bay leaf. ginger. even curry leaf. something mildly zesty like buddha hand or some imaginary yet to be discovered citrus zest. so subtle though. other than that, the same muana note of red/black tea with milk, touch of wild honey and hint of vanilla. clean. pristine. love it

muana supreme: touch cheese, quite advanced notes of tobacco, leather, animal skin, touch sour fruit. then the beauty of muana comes and goes as a the dance continues

bhutan red: serious oil. very serious. old school but more harmonious than supreme and more restrained in the funk/fermented category. deep. very deep. it feels like the wood used was of a higher or different quality. i like this. not to wear as regularly but definitely crave it.

royal imphal: higher elevation note. hint of cheese at first but blows off to showcase a soft, tea/tobacco note but also the same muana. i could have been fooled easily and see this as another Bhutan. need to study further to pick out differences.

missing was muana royale which is awfully close to the already released nirvata muana except touch more focused, even more elegant and pitched at a frequency or two higher. fully clean non soaked oil, all about the pretty notes. nothing funky.

few more oils observed off vial/dipstick:
assam 3000: all sorts of melange of tropical fruit and delicious notes. no cheese. no sour berries. slight leather. some clean hay/barn.

shuayb: petrichor. dusty soil, mild barn, mild leather, no funk, no cheese, touch sour fruit but subtle. yellow orchard fruit mostly

ayoub (unreleased i believe): touch of that same muana/bhutan like notes. tea. rooibos, subtle vanilla, distant barn. no fecal, sour, sweat or cheese.

naga 3000: gorgeous. immediately noticeable as nagaland oil. fruit, red tobacco, tropical fruit to be precise and lychee, coconut husk subtle notes. lots goign on here in a very refined yet rich way.

asamugu senkoh: truly the brother of chugoku senkoh. still has that potting soil, bitter root veg, chinese vibrancy and zest but ever so subtle and soooo refined. this is the real deal.

hope these notes are of some help to fellow oud lovers.
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#2
AAAAbsolutely love this Rasoul, thanks for sharing your impressions of all these treasures.

It's really fun to explore the subtleties of each region, and to compare and contrast all the similarities and differences within them, especially those of such close proximity.

Not sure exactly the succession or method you used for comparisons, but I definitely advocate a contrasting region for use as a sort of reset or control oil, while exploring a particular region. This will enable you to experience even more subtle differences between the sometimes closely related, even overlapping profiles. I'd use Oud Yusuf, or Suriranka Naya in between each donning or experience, coffee is also commonly used as a reset, have you ever tried that?

In Muana Zen, I definitely get wild honey and vanilla in with bay leaves and ginger, and while the brightness of ginger can be confused with citrus, in this case there is definitely another zesty note lingering beneath which sent me to the scent library to search for just what that was.. not rosemary, not high elevation mountain sage, more citrus than either of those... ah, there it is, a deep lemon basil!

As for Bhutan Red, serious oil indeed, it's got an old-school rawness a-la Kambodi X that makes me wonder if Mr. Nhek had anything to do with it... @Ensar was the 'redness' in the profile imparted through soaking in that renown mineral water? And was it iron that made it red?

shuayb: petrichor. dusty soil, mild barn, mild leather, no funk, no cheese, touch sour fruit but subtle. yellow orchard fruit mostly
I usually experience petrichor from more tropical profiles, Borneo's, Ceylon oils... But boy are you right! 100% petrichor opening. The interesting thing about that is obviously secretion that gives off the 'smell of rain' before it falls will differ depending on the rocks and soils that it's coming from! So I find Shuayb's to be more like a desert Aztec Sandstone petrichor, and that sour fruit note I interpret as a distinct guava!

Of all the oils I find Naga 3000 closest to the Legend, Assam 3000, with that same South African Rooibos profile, no milk, but perhaps a touch of honey :)

Thanks again @Rasoul S for sharing your thoughts and insights.
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#3
AAAAbsolutely love this Rasoul, thanks for sharing your impressions of all these treasures.

It's really fun to explore the subtleties of each region, and to compare and contrast all the similarities and differences within them, especially those of such close proximity.

Not sure exactly the succession or method you used for comparisons, but I definitely advocate a contrasting region for use as a sort of reset or control oil, while exploring a particular region. This will enable you to experience even more subtle differences between the sometimes closely related, even overlapping profiles. I'd use Oud Yusuf, or Suriranka Naya in between each donning or experience, coffee is also commonly used as a reset, have you ever tried that?

In Muana Zen, I definitely get wild honey and vanilla in with bay leaves and ginger, and while the brightness of ginger can be confused with citrus, in this case there is definitely another zesty note lingering beneath which sent me to the scent library to search for just what that was.. not rosemary, not high elevation mountain sage, more citrus than either of those... ah, there it is, a deep lemon basil!

As for Bhutan Red, serious oil indeed, it's got an old-school rawness a-la Kambodi X that makes me wonder if Mr. Nhek had anything to do with it... @Ensar was the 'redness' in the profile imparted through soaking in that renown mineral water? And was it iron that made it red?


I usually experience petrichor from more tropical profiles, Borneo's, Ceylon oils... But boy are you right! 100% petrichor opening. The interesting thing about that is obviously secretion that gives off the 'smell of rain' before it falls will differ depending on the rocks and soils that it's coming from! So I find Shuayb's to be more like a desert Aztec Sandstone petrichor, and that sour fruit note I interpret as a distinct guava!

Of all the oils I find Naga 3000 closest to the Legend, Assam 3000, with that same South African Rooibos profile, no milk, but perhaps a touch of honey :)

Thanks again @Rasoul S for sharing your thoughts and insights.
bingo. sniffing a diffusive vaporous oil like a walla or borneo helps reset things and something i did and do. coffee works but another oud works even better.

bhutan red totally does have that mineral and hint of blood (iron) note in it. i would attribute it to the water and also ions of the vessel during distillation.
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#4
bingo. sniffing a diffusive vaporous oil like a walla or borneo helps reset things and something i did and do. coffee works but another oud works even better.

bhutan red totally does have that mineral and hint of blood (iron) note in it. i would attribute it to the water and also ions of the vessel during distillation.
Ah, walla patta, that high pitched profile will cut right through most others, especially those with more earthen tones. Kinam Rouge will also blast the senses!

You know something amazing, it wasn't until Ensar composed the 'clean' distillations of Hindi ouds in the recent years past that I was able to pick up on the auxiliary notes imparted by the vessels. Distinct and earthy terracotta, under the cumin, twigs and nutmeg of Assam Organic or the mineral glimmer of Yoshi, and the new Muanas.

The clean distillations have transformed my experience of the usually pungent and overly fermented ouds of the Indian region and strike a balance, capturing the intrinsic characteristics of the oud with just a hint of the techniques used!
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#5
Ah, walla patta, that high pitched profile will cut right through most others, especially those with more earthen tones. Kinam Rouge will also blast the senses!

You know something amazing, it wasn't until Ensar composed the 'clean' distillations of Hindi ouds in the recent years past that I was able to pick up on the auxiliary notes imparted by the vessels. Distinct and earthy terracotta, under the cumin, twigs and nutmeg of Assam Organic or the mineral glimmer of Yoshi, and the new Muanas.

The clean distillations have transformed my experience of the usually pungent and overly fermented ouds of the Indian region and strike a balance, capturing the intrinsic characteristics of the oud with just a hint of the techniques used!
indeed with walla. kinam rouge is such a shape shifter. a transformer. a beast one day, a tame oil another. vietnamese one day, more red cambodi another day. it is remarkable. oud mustapha 7 is the only other oil that big time does this hide and seek performance and shape shifting in my experience to date. i mean kyara ltd 2.0 too and many other oils, but none to the levels of KR and OM7
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#6
indeed with walla. kinam rouge is such a shape shifter. a transformer. a beast one day, a tame oil another. vietnamese one day, more red cambodi another day. it is remarkable. oud mustapha 7 is the only other oil that big time does this hide and seek performance and shape shifting in my experience to date. i mean kyara ltd 2.0 too and many other oils, but none to the levels of KR and OM7
Like true love oud oils have their ups and downs too :rolleyes:

Part of my appreciation and love of oud is the mystery, the fact that intrinsic to it is its sometimes elusive behavior, and appreciation of the subtle nuances of their profiles requires acute observation and patience.

I've often wondered if the phases which are observed actually take place simultaneously world-wide or if it is just an individual bottle phenomenon. Obviously the ambient environment, exposure, and many other variables would need to be considered, and standard nomenclature would need to be set to test the theory, but is it in fact the oil maturing and releasing, or highlighting another layer within its profile, or is it just merely environmental impact on it?

Lol, get out your Kinam Rouge everyone, let's have a mass scale observation! We can have a set day where we observe it each week and survey if everyone experiences the same shifts, or if they're different.

Hit the thumbs up, or reply if interested!
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#7
Like true love oud oils have their ups and downs too :rolleyes:

Part of my appreciation and love of oud is the mystery, the fact that intrinsic to it is its sometimes elusive behavior, and appreciation of the subtle nuances of their profiles requires acute observation and patience.

I've often wondered if the phases which are observed actually take place simultaneously world-wide or if it is just an individual bottle phenomenon. Obviously the ambient environment, exposure, and many other variables would need to be considered, and standard nomenclature would need to be set to test the theory, but is it in fact the oil maturing and releasing, or highlighting another layer within its profile, or is it just merely environmental impact on it?

Lol, get out your Kinam Rouge everyone, let's have a mass scale observation! We can have a set day where we observe it each week and survey if everyone experiences the same shifts, or if they're different.

Hit the thumbs up, or reply if interested!
bingo. oud and wine are alive. they change as time goes by, like us! sometimes they are "on" and sometimes not. sometimes when we think we fully know them, we see a side never before seen. nuances they are, but that's the whole point and the joy of it. giving it the time to show its subtle sides. not to take it for granted.
case in point, smelled JSL from dipstick today after a long time and wow, a picked up a distinct kukicha twig tea note when brewed correctly. never before i saw it, cause i guess i was always looking for that dried fruit and mint.
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#8
Like true love oud oils have their ups and downs too :rolleyes:

Part of my appreciation and love of oud is the mystery, the fact that intrinsic to it is its sometimes elusive behavior, and appreciation of the subtle nuances of their profiles requires acute observation and patience.

I've often wondered if the phases which are observed actually take place simultaneously world-wide or if it is just an individual bottle phenomenon. Obviously the ambient environment, exposure, and many other variables would need to be considered, and standard nomenclature would need to be set to test the theory, but is it in fact the oil maturing and releasing, or highlighting another layer within its profile, or is it just merely environmental impact on it?

Lol, get out your Kinam Rouge everyone, let's have a mass scale observation! We can have a set day where we observe it each week and survey if everyone experiences the same shifts, or if they're different.

Hit the thumbs up, or reply if interested!
two thumbs up. on wine forums we do virtual tastings all the time. set day where everyone opens the same wine and we discuss its merits, shortcomings and compare impressions. can be very educational for thsoe newer to it and also shakes up the old timers and even they get to learn and appreciate something new.

i say we wait a bit longer for summer holidays to be over and begin a monthly virtual oud wear and live posting. time difference will be a challenge, so perhaps we can find a time that somehow works for majority of the members or a time frame that helps to accommodate as many as possible
 

~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
#9
let's have a mass scale observation!
I guess I should have said a collaborative observation, :oops: nothing 'mass scale' about just us two :D

two thumbs up. on wine forums we do virtual tastings all the time. set day where everyone opens the same wine and we discuss its merits, shortcomings and compare impressions. can be very educational for thsoe newer to it and also shakes up the old timers and even they get to learn and appreciate something new.

i say we wait a bit longer for summer holidays to be over and begin a monthly virtual oud wear and live posting. time difference will be a challenge, so perhaps we can find a time that somehow works for majority of the members or a time frame that helps to accommodate as many as possible
Good idea, and I also think we should choose oils more in the mid-range, so it's relevant to more people. After all not everyone has a sample of Kinam Rouge =)

The other thing is I might be travelling soon, there's some oud beckoning which I can't wait to get my hands on!
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#10
I guess I should have said a collaborative observation, :oops: nothing 'mass scale' about just us two :D



Good idea, and I also think we should choose oils more in the mid-range, so it's relevant to more people. After all not everyone has a sample of Kinam Rouge =)

The other thing is I might be travelling soon, there's some oud beckoning which I can't wait to get my hands on!
Of course. Let’s stay with an very inclusive oil.