Kind greetings, Gaianmind and bigbloke!
Maroke LTD is the louder sister. 2004 was redder in both color and profile, with an earthy balsamic temperament that emanated soft minty whispers if you listened. LTD is the blackhaired, tall, piercing-eyed twin that is all cool, sharp and composed, but super dazzling in her sublime austerity. There are no red notes, instead of that soft monsoon redearth breath, this is mineral-rich soil where the earth is dry and cool. It is super sharp, crisp, almost blueblack. There are no reds, no greens, no mint. It's all about spice and soil and jungle mist amid the canopies.
In the case of both Maroke 2004 and LTD, copper distillation was not an option. It is worthwhile to point out that steam distillation is always stainless steel, so far as I've seen. And all Taiwanese distillations we've launched have been steam.
I ought to add that what we did with Sultan Murad is something of an aberration, as most Papuan and Bornean and Indonesian ouds in general are as a rule steam distilled. So distilling a New Guinea oil in copper hydrodistillation apparatus was a first in the history of Oud, so far as I'm aware. Oud Royale I was of course earlier, but that originated from the Indonesian side of the island. Sultan Murad was 100% New Guinea raw materials.
Gaianmind, I'm also partial to Papuan oils. They are the most difficult to let go of, because of this grounding and satisfying quality that they possess for the psyche.
Good news is, I will soon be releasing an entire collection of
super aged Papuan oils of all Oud profiles that you never knew existed. All were distilled between 2001-2004. They've been sitting in my private collection, but I think with the official launch of an 'Aged Wild Oud' page on EnsarOud, it's time they made their public appearance.