Oud Oil 101

[feeble_25]

Just Ignore all the badmouhts

Ensar, I definitely think you should just ignore all the people who badmouth you and your company without knowing what their assets and possibilities are.

Everyone wants premium oudh, but not everyone can afford it. I for example am saving to get some oudh from you, and anticipation or desperation will not get to me because I don't have enough money to afford it yet.

Everyone should know what their budget limits are, and analyze the market and quality in a very objective way, and draw the conclusion for themselves.

It's merely like accusing Rolls Royce that Bentley or Jaguar has lower prices.

 

[Ouditory Hallucinator]

It's always the big duck in the pond that everyone aims at - no? However it's good to be the big duck - no? Oud is a business and a profession which cannot be written out of the equation. With costs increasing comes the frustration, sense of loss at something I really love and adore appearing to beome out of reach, and anger at all of this. It's quite identical to the stages of grief (for me anyway). All this considered, I still cannot find another supplier who can send me oud that is astounding. The kind that brings tears. What would I do without the big duck? I cannot find incredible oud at tremendous value. If there were such an oud it would be snapped up by the tola - right? The word would get get around quick - right? I'll be waiting........

 

[Ensar Oud]

On the natural history of the highly coveted 'Oud Cambodi' and other stories

If you're new to the world of Oud, one word you hear being chanted all over the place is 'Cambodi'. So, what is Oud Cambodi, anyway?

In the beginning, there was Oud Hindi. This was the deep, reddish-brown juice that was presented to the Sheikhs and Emirs, Sultans and dignitaries in fancy crystal flasks back in the 1970s as the ultimate olfactory wonder. Then, there came a stage when the jungles of Assam felt like they were coughing up the very last trees they had in store, so the Bengali and Indian tycoons of the Oud trade started sniffing around for a solution. Laotian Oud being too sharp when distilled the Hindi way, and Burma being impenetrably closed off for the most part, they could only turn to the 'next best' thing down the block, which was 'Oud Cambodi'.

As the sheikhs in white headscarves flew back and forth, from Delhi to Phnom Penh, from Dakka to Phnom Penh, from Dubai to Phnom Penh, from Dammam to Phnom Penh, from Doha to Phnom Penh... all the while repeating the oft-chanted mantra of 'Oudh Combodi'... the term stuck in the mind of the Oud consuming world. It gained such hold in the brains of Saudis and Emiratis that you could hear them chanting among themselves, as they ate camel mandi, 'Com-Bo-Di! Com-Bo-Di! Com-Bo-Di!' And they whispered it in the ears of their spellbound children as they put them to sleep, 'If you behave yourself, you get a bottle of Combodi.'

Now, as the Bengalis who run the Oudh conglomerates of the Emirates rapped on, something alarming started to happen in the forests of Kampung Speu. And then Pursat. And then Koh Kong... The hunters of Oudh Combodi stopped finding any trees to make their Oudh from. But it was too late. The people had been told that there is nothing as precious or as chique as Oudh Combodi. And so Oudh Combodi they had to have. What to do? It was a decisive moment in the history of Oudh, as the white head-scarfed Sequoia drivers and their Bengali tigers decided it was time to move yet further East in search of their juice. (All the while, the people kept chanting all over the streets of Riyadh, 'Com-BO-DI! Com-BO-DI!') And so they discovered Oudh Undonusi (lit. 'Indonesian Oud'). Of course, this immediately became the new 'Oudh Combodi'.

Last I witnessed (2007), 'Combodi Qadeem' was a mix of Indian, Thai and Papuan Ouds, according to a fortuitous inspiration of 'the Boss' one day.

So then, to return to our question, what on earth is 'Oud Cambodi'?

Well, a Cambodi is a Hindi is a Thai is a Maroke is a Borneo, or any combination of oils from any of these regions. In reality, a 'Cambodi' today is anything but Cambodian. And it hasn't been since 2004. Since the day I launched my first Oud oil in 2004, I have not smelled genuine Cambodian Oud except on two occasions.

But wait, what about all the 'fruitilicious' and 'jammy' and 'figgy' and ultra sticky Cambodis and Thaqeels, Koh Kongs and Kampucheas, and all the rest of them that they keep bringing from Islamabad to Vancouver to Victoria to New York City? Do I mean to say that none of these oils are 'Cambodis'? Unfortunately, that is exactly so. They are either Thai oils that have been oxidized to smell like a faint resemblance of their long gone progenitors, or Aquilaria crassna trees that are cultivated within the 'legal' boundaries of Cambodia, and which bear as much resemblance to their wild forefathers as Oud Yusha does to Qi Nam Khmer. (In case you haven't smelled both, very little resemblance.)

Stop. Hold it right there. I am not saying that they are inferior, or not noteworthy oils in their own right, each and every (other) one of them. What I am saying is, by smelling Oud Yusha, you're not smelling Oud Cambodi à la 1970s Cambodi. You're smelling a very different type of Oud Cambodi, if that's what you insist that we call it. You're smelling the 'Cambodi' of the Future. The 'Cambodi' of the Past is now... history (or better yet, archeology).

Think about this for a second. I've distilled I don't know how many Ouds from all over the agarwood producing world, and I have only smelled genuine, wild-harvested Cambodian Oud twice in my life. The first time was when my distiller, having little to show me apart from what I quickly dismissed as mixtures of either DOP or vetiver, found himself between a rock and a hard place, and finally went into his shrine to pull out oils he'd buried there for 25 and 15 years apiece as devotional items. These he wouldn't part with for love or money. I offered him $2,000 for a single bottle (slightly over 3 grams) just to have a benchmark which I show people in order to educate. He declined.

The only other time I smelled a genuine Cambodi was when I...

[to be continued]

 

[Ensar Oud]

On the natural history of the highly coveted 'Oud Cambodi' and other stories: Cont'd

One Way Ticket

Life sure has its moments. Here I am, a New York Muslim convert, accompanied by a South African boer, on a rubber tree farm in Thailand run by an aspiring Buddhist monk, distilling 12.5 kilograms of incense-grade, premium wild harvested Cambodian agarwood collected over a span of two decades by a survivor of Pol Pot’s reign of terror.

‘If we can pull this off, this’ll go down as the most memorable Oud oil in all of history!’ I hummed.

‘Let me try to explain this: I’m flying into Cambodia, but I’ll be crossing the border into Thailand by foot, so why can’t you just give me a one way ticket?’

‘Sir, it’s airline policy. You have to buy a return ticket, regardless.’

From one queue to the next, I spoke to just about every airline supervisor at Suvarnabhumi Airport. They all insist that when I pass through Cambodian customs they’ll ask for proof of my intended departure, and if I don’t have any I’ll be deported while the airline who sold me the ticket gets penalized.

I had a meeting scheduled with a veteran distiller and collector in Phnom Penh in a few hours that I couldn’t afford to miss. Problem was that I was stuck in Bangkok with only so much cash on me, and no credit card (it’s a long story!) Normally, buying a return ticket in order to catch the appointment wouldn’t have been a big deal, but I simply couldn’t afford it that day.

I was eventually saved by a newbie at the Bangkok Airlines sales counter who was, to my great relief, clueless of their ‘return only’ restriction and printed my one way boarding pass. I had a 50-50 shot at getting in - customs might give trouble; they might not. Mind you, this is the same customs crew who took (or stole, depending on which way you look at it) $2,000 from me on my previous trip.

Acting like a first time tourist while the customs officer asked for my ID and entry form, I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t skip a beat every now and then. Missing the meeting would be a greater loss than being sent back to Bangkok with an empty wallet....

 

[d.dog]

This sounds like another very interesting oil, I keep wondering how you're going to pull off another awesome future distillation, I look forward to the outcome, good luck.

 

[d.dog]

Ensar that video you showed I think you were in Cambodia, for me it really showed the cheating that's going on with "wild Agarwood".
You wrote articles about it when, I saw that short video that hit home with the truth. Your experience with good agarwood is priceless now
& we see it in the oils you distill, Thanks for your hard work!

 

[Ensar Oud]

You're welcome, d.dog. I'm here, running back and forth between Cambodia and Thailand now, having almost used up all my free passport pages going between the two countries, importing wild Cambodian agarwood into Trat Province, where I can run my experimental distillations. By 'wild Cambodian' I'm not referring to anything harvested recently, rather it is the entire wood supply of my Cambodi Kinam supplier, which was collected between 1989 and 2008.

Cambodi Kinam is not the "only other Cambodi" I've smelled apart from this man's 'devotional' oils which he keeps in his shrine, referred to in Part I of this journal. Rather, it is too wild, airy, fruity and floral to even qualify as a Cambodi, in my lexicon. I actually rank Mission Cambodi Kinam among the Borneo oils, with its uncanny resemblance to Borneo 4000.

Each time I visit Mr Ho, he inadvertently shows me all the oils he has available for sale, which he exclusively exports to the shops in Bukit Bintang, in Kuala Lumpur. Having smelled and re-smelled the vetiver-laced and DOP-cut offerings, I always ask if I could get another whiff of his vintage Pursat, Koh Kong, and Pailin oils, which he keeps inside his shrine, and which no one is allowed to touch. The answer so far has always been, "Yes!" - fortunately for me, because as I mentioned, these are the only true vintage Cambodian oils I have smelled in my life, apart from one other encounter.

The only other time I smelled a genuine Cambodi was in early 2013, when I went for a visit to the Holy Kaabah in Mecca. I will explain how later.

 

[Ensar Oud]

'Sinking-grade' Agarwood

Referred to by locals as:

‘The one that goes underwater.’

Since we coined the term sinking-grade a few years ago in order to share with others just what makes this grade of agarwood so unique, the term’s been borrowed by all and tossed around loosely by many.

You’d routinely see a new batch of ‘sinking’ chips on offer, from hunters to middlemen to retailers. You’d see oud oils ‘distilled from sinking-grade agarwood’ or ‘from trees that contained sinking-grade chips’ or something like this. It seems that sinking agarwood isn’t as hard to come by as some have made it out to be... and at a third of the price that it’s supposed to be selling for!

Truth is, the wood they have might well sink in water. The oils they sell were probably distilled from trees that contained sinking chips. But it wouldn’t surprise me to find sinking chips in even a middle-aged cultivated tree.

The trick is to then leave that same piece you saw bubbling down to the bottom of the pool for a few weeks or months. In most cases, you’ll find that it sure was sinking wood, but not sinking-grade agarwood.

So, when you see the word ‘sinking’ used to promote a new oud oil or oud chips, keep the following definitions in mind:


1) Sinking agarwood:

Wood that goes underwater.

Def: The term ‘sinking’ agarwood may refer to any resinated pieces of wood from a freshly harvested tree which still retain so large a concentration of moisture that they will sink in water. But a piece of agarwood from a newly harvested tree may lose up to 50% (if not more) of its weight once the water leaves; a process that can take upwards of six months! At this point, it will just be another piece of floating wood.


2) Sinking-grade agarwood:

Agarwood that goes underwater, even once thoroughly dried.

Def: The term ‘sinking-grade’ agarwood refers to a piece of agarwood so densely resinated that it sinks in water. Not to be mistaken for ‘sinking’ agarwood where resin content is confused with moisture content. Once a piece of sinking agarwood is found, professional dealers in collectible sinking-grade wood leave it to de-moisturize for at least six months (depending on the size) before thinking of selling it as genuine sinking-grade agarwood.


So, next time you hear of a new batch of ‘sinking-grade’ wood that was found deep in the jungle... just remember that jungles get a lot of rain.

 

[Ensar Oud]

There's a campaign underway that aims to blur the lines between artisanal, high grade oud and mass produced, run o' the mill (pardon me) garbage....

So I thought I'd take a minute to point out – for the billionth time – the obvious.....

Oud that is sourced from Facebook – or Bukit Bintang – or Ali Baba – or Arab Street – is not the same as oud that is produced from the most expensive raw materials, by artisans that are only interested in the final product – irrespective of profitability, or sellability, or even personal bankruptcy.

Oud that is distilled from $5 / kg – or $10 / kg – or even $30 / kg wood, is NOT the same as oud that is distilled from $100 / kg, or $300 / kg, or $500 / kg wood.

I know both are liquid, both have a smell, and both come in small glass bottles. But to say that one is 'democratizing' oud by granting access to the former and creating a pool of resellers is to deny the existence of Facebook, Instagram, and Ali Baba. These sites have been 'democratizing' mass produced oud for years, and thanks to them consumers can now contact distillers in just about any location on the map.

I have yet to smell a Berkilau, or a Purple Kinam, or a Sultani from any of these folks. And I doubt the wares that are being peddled with the USP "the same as Ensar's – in just a few years" will save you any money.

There is no way you will end up with oil that costs tens to hundreds of thousands to distill by spending a few hundred dollars. Whoever tells you otherwise is lying to you. Plain and simple.

 

[PEARL]

@Ensar I'm am avid reader, member and participant of gaharu.com, ouddict.com and was on the now defunct old majlis on BN's as well as being a consumer and wearer of oud oils. Now, IMO the majority of the members of those boards are very discerning, highly critical users of niche, artisanal, high quality oud oils. I state all that to say that yes, it is obvious; very obvious and evident. Just look at the evidence, all anyone has to do is to read, take a look at the boards and they'll notice that the greatest majority of discussion centers around oils from a very small minority of vendors, period. If you're unaware of who those vendors are, I'll mention them: Feel Oud, Al Shareef Oud, Agar Aura, Imperial Oud and yourself, Ensar Oud. The amount of people talking about oils from other places such as Facebook, Instagram, Ali Baba, and any other vendors for that matter, are so statistically small that it's approaching zero. And it's very obvious as to why those other oils are not being discussed; for those discerning, highly critical users of niche, artisanal, high quality oils those other oils don't compare, period. There is no blurring of the lines between artisanal, high grade oud and mass produced, run o' the mill (pardon me) garbage... as they are vastly different, those who know(most), know. Anybody that says otherwise just doesn't have common sense.

Now you say that they say that the difference is small. Now, where do they say that? And if it is somewhere where they say that there, why do they say that there.

 

[Adam]

funny but many still can not get the difference…
perhaps its the way people perceive things…
for some car serves a need to get from point A to point B … therefore anything goes… lada or maserati… no difference…
for some it is about status or simply showing off… so… only maserati will do…
few just like drug racing… on lada hahaha… very few on maserati…

 

[Ensar Oud]

@PEARL If you read my post carefully you'll see that I'm not referring to the users of those forums but rather the people behind certain brands – some well known, others still 'in the works'. That there is an agenda over at Ouddict cannot escape anyone. And the matter will become very clear very soon, when the founder announces the two brands he's preparing to launch. For now, the stage is being set: 'everyone' has suspected for a long time that oud is not as 'extinct' as certain 'very controlled sources' have been saying. Oud is 'clearly' overpriced. You can do side by sides of certain things, and see for yourself that oil X is the same quality as oil Y, etc. While you and a few others might be able to tell the difference of such side-by-sides, many newcomers to oud simply can't.

The 'controlled sources' have defined and redefined what oud means to thousands. The 'piggyback' brands, on the other hand, are designed to live off the work of the 'controlled sources', while selling oils they bought on Arab Street. You cannot even compare the wares of the five 'trusted vendors' side by side; so how are you going to compare Bukit Bintang and Ruby Warehouse oils to 'trusted vendor' oils? – Very simple. Get enough trolls to repeat the same mantra over and over, and soon enough you have an army of self-righteous brigands who believe they're out to 'command the good and forbid evil'.

The path has been a thorny one since the beginning when 'oud' equaled Montale. The 'Walmart' phenomenon will never lose appeal, because people respond quite directly to the allegation that they've been overcharged. Walmart comes and Walmart goes. In the end, it is your money. You are free to spend it where you see fit.

I may have in the past, but I will allow no innuendos or smear campaigns about myself or my work – or even that of my colleagues whose toil I have witnessed firsthand – go unaddressed. Not by the present revolutionaries. I know them too well.

 

[PEARL]

@Ensar
As salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,

I agree with your sentiments, nothing escapes me, I see every jab, hook, feint, slight, hint, innuendo, etc.; there is much that I've wanted to address but haven't. And the reasons why i haven't are twofold, peace and futility. send me a bottle of Nha Trang LTD Peace in that an eye for an eye leaves all blind. Futility in that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink, or think for that matter.

My prior post was just to say that many have indeed done the comparative analysis. I mentioned the trusted sellers, they became that way because IMO they all offer pure oud and I trust them to deliver on their word. But make no mistake, they each have very different catalogs, send me a bottle of Nha Trang LTD comparatively, and have specific placement in hierachy as to consistency and quality when analyzed comparatively, IMHO.

Overpricing. The procurement of the wood is the single biggest determining factor in the selling price of an oil for the trusted vendor. send me a bottle of Nha Trang LTD Some merely look at the price of an oil compared to another oil and say that one is overpriced, seemingly while ignoring the quality and price of the wood that went into making the oil.

When doing comparative analysis the subjective does not always account for the objective, STOP. As far as Ceylon 2 vs Sinharaja I can't make a comparison because I have not smelled Ceylon 2, in fact my experience with Sinharaja is my first foray into oils distilled from walla patta agarwood. From what I've read walla patta oils possess a wide range of scent profile possibilities, Sinharaja for me is a sample of one. However, I do find Sinharaja in itself to be a very good oil with notes similar to some Borneo oils I've smelled, IMO the guys at Imperial came out swinging for the fences overall. send me a bottle of Nha Trang LTD Since I've mentioned Borneo oils I will compare Sinharaja to a similarly priced Borneo oil, Borneo 5000. I enjoy the scent profile of both, IMO Sinharaja smells like a younger oil that is just beginning to meld and the notes to marry; Borneo 5000 smells more mature, smoother, more ethereal and with a quality that suggest it was distilled from a higher grade of wood. Sinharaja on the other hand does have something, in addition to its excellent profile, that I personally really like in an oil, something we've discussed before(something not indicative of quality but an attribute I really like and oftentimes prefer nonetheless) which is powerful sillage and projection. To go back to Ceylon 2, while I haven't tried the oil, I have tried several oils from Agar Aura's generations 3 & 4 distillation styles and can compare the styles of these oils. Agar Aura's generation 3 & 4 oils are so much better than even what I initially thought, they are indeed superb, phenomenal oils. But there is a caveat, those oils come with a much longer and steeper learning curve and require a send me a bottle of Nha Trang LTD different type of listening and wearing, they aren't as immediately accessible and appreciated for most as an oil like Sinharaja. And no, the style quality of Sinharaja is not as high as generation 3 & 4 oils I've tried, and that's not taking anything away from it. So I've come full circle-for some what attributes, notes, etc. they subjectively prefer in an oil does not account for the objective price, grade and quality of the wood used to distill it. And as you stated, most clearly are not equipped and simply can't tell the difference.

As far as Sultani and Ahmad, I haven't tried them nor have I tried the centennial recipe musk. send me a bottle of Nha Trang LTD

As for King Koh Kong and Kambodi 1976, there is a thread here with a post from Taha where he mentions a conversation with someone about a four digit priced Ensar Oud, well that someone was me and the oil in question is Kambodi 1976. We both agreed that for every possible positive attribute someone could say about an oud oil and the wood that must have been used to distill it, Kambodi 1976's price is right, in fact it may even be a bargain. As far as overall, total experience of an oud oil there is nothing that i've smelled that can compare to '76(a better, apples:apples comparison to KKK would be Pursat 2005). But wait, didn't I say that the subjective does not always account for the objective, yes. I put up a brief review of both KKK and '76 on ouddict.com and send me a bottle of Nha Trang LTD I mentioned KKK having a medicinal note(my favorite note in an oil) that was in more abundance than in the '76 that would make me choose KKK, FULL STOP. But there's a caveat, I have to be fiscally responsible; '76 is a bargain that I simply cannot currently afford, if I could I'd have at least a tola that I'd never wear. Some may look at my statements and say that there is some contradiction, the reality is that most clearly are not equipped and simply can't tell the difference.

 

[bhanny]

@PEARL. Brilliant post. For some reason I really want to try some Nha Trang LTD as well.

 

[RobertOne]

@PEARL. Brilliant post. For some reason I really want to try some Nha Trang LTD as well.

I wonder if the Nha Trang LTD has bold, strong notes or is subliminally kyara-like?

 

[Oud Learner]

@PEARL
Brilliant post! Awesome mind trick you are pulling off with the Nha Trang inception on Ensar!

If you love medicinal note, you would definitely love Nha Trang...it has one of the most medicinal note I have ever smelled albeit I have only one swipe of it. I am going to abstain buying any more oils for the rest of the year just to hopefully save enough to get a bottle of it. (Ok I try not to buy any for the rest of the year...).

 

[kesiro]

Ok, the subliminal Nha Trang messaging is messing with my pea brain!

Very interesting discussion by all with many really good points. From my n=1 vantage point, no matter how much one tries to pass off a mass produced car as a Bentley, it won't be a Bentley. I believe the same is true for the Oud market. As Adam said, there appear to be some who cannot tell a difference or just do not care, but for most, once you try the really good stuff, it re-calibrates your perceptions. At least that is my experience. Sometimes that is not a good thing. When I was younger, I was into stereo music and equipment. I though what I had sounded great and I was very proud of it. Unfortunately, I wandered into a high-end audio store and heard a Wilson Audio system. Needless to say, I came out depressed. It made my stuff sound like crap and there was no way to afford it.

My Oud experience has been a bit different, as many lower priced oils are incredible, (my SOTD Aroha Kyaku is a perfect example) but if you really get into the transcendental qualities of Kynam 1 or Royal Guallam, you realize that it is a COMPLETELY different level. To get there, like with WIlson Audio and Bentley, there is going to be a major premium. And for that, here will always be a market.

 

[RobertOne]

Ok, the subliminal Nha Trang messaging is messing with my pea brain!

Very interesting discussion by all with many really good points. From my n=1 vantage point, no matter how much one tries to pass off a mass produced car as a Bentley, it won't be a Bentley. I believe the same is true for the Oud market. As Adam said, there appear to be some who cannot tell a difference or just do not care, but for most, once you try the really good stuff, it re-calibrates your perceptions. At least that is my experience. Sometimes that is not a good thing. When I was younger, I was into stereo music and equipment. I though what I had sounded great and I was very proud of it. Unfortunately, I wandered into a high-end audio store and heard a Wilson Audio system. Needless to say, I came out depressed. It made my stuff sound like crap and there was no way to afford it.

My Oud experience has been a bit different, as many lower priced oils are incredible, (my SOTD Aroha Kyaku is a perfect example) but if you really get into the transcendental qualities of Kynam 1 or Royal Guallam, you realize that it is a COMPLETELY different level. To get there, like with WIlson Audio and Bentley, there is going to be a major premium. And for that, here will always be a market.

I know what you mean with the audio, Kesiro, I have had the chance to hear a pure silver Audio Note system, a Kondo built one, and my Marantz / Acoustic Energy setup did seem a little tarnished the next day.

However, I will dare to disagree with you over Aroha Kyaku

I have never tried Kynam 1 or Royal Guallam being a relative latecomer to the party, but I have tried Purple Kinam, which is completely fabulous and you know what? I genuinely treasure Aroha Kyaku just as much as the PK. I think this is due to personal taste.

 

[kesiro]

Hey Robert! I hope I did not imply that AK is somehow substandard as it is one of my favorites, (as is PK!), but there are big differences once you get to the K1 and some of the others. BUT, there is no doubt that olfactory perception and ideals are individual so YMMV.

 

[kooolaid79]

I think the Aroha Kyaku is one of the best oils I have. It can be worn everyday, anytime, for any occasion. What's more fascinating about the AK is the 2nd notes which come out after a while. Mind blowing!