@Heartistry I didn't want to jump right in as I really love hearing from everyone else from their perspectives, but I hope what I share will be valuable to you.
Not all oud gets better with age, and as Lieutenant
@Kruger stated sometime long ago, one of the biggest criteria for an oud oil to get better, is that it was good to begin with. There are also many 'techniques' which large oud distributors use to 'force age' an oud for those of the opinion that thicker is better (although clearly that's not an accurate indicator, just look at Oud Extraordinaire)
Is it worth saving any ouds purchased for longer periods to increase the depth of experience?
This is a kind of loaded statement
as the answer is a resounding YES, though perhaps not why you think.
It's definitely worth saving some of the oud you purchased for increased depth of experience, but the ultimate reality might very well be that it is
you that is changing, not the oud. One's perception varies based on so many factors not the least of which is your mindset, your mood, and for me, even my diet. Foods that I am slightly allergic to like milk lead to minor inflammation, and slight sensory deprivation.
And I think all the veterans here will agree that in order to really know an oud you
have to experience it in various environments and seasons. You can't really say you know an oud if you've only smelled it on the most humid day of Summer.
@mikhalil I think for example Oud Royale 2004 is going to have some pleasant surprises come spring just like Green Papua, 2014 did!
But perhaps what you really meant was will all oud oils develop and mature into deeper more complex profiles, and I believe the answer to that is no.
I'm pretty sure
@Martin is of the opinion that the older the oud oil, the less 'oomph' it has, is that right Martin?
Although I think there is some room for discussion here because for the most part I believe all the really old oud oils that exist these days are from the same regions... So it might not be their lack of one thing or another but more so their Malaysianess, eh?
Do plantation ouds age well?
I second what
@Oudamberlove said about this and just want to add that artisanal oud oils sourced from plantations that have nuances to begin with will likely further harmonize with time exhibiting a unique chord from the applicator and seamlessly unfurling thereafter. Oud Ehab is a good example as is Oud Yaqoub.
I am also not personally of the opinion that plantation oils will develop complexities, rather they must be there from the start, and maturation may highlight some notes and subdue others.
As well important to age a little after distillation, I am guessing for water evaporation...
Aging an artisanal oud oil after distillation allows the oud oil to breath, to 'off gas' if you will, the notes imparted from the still. When you hear of oud oils referred to as 'young' or sometimes as 'green' meaning 'new' it's indicative of a 'fresh out the pot' kind of smell. Think of a 'new car' smell... some people really like it, although personally I'd rather air it out
(unless it's fine leather)
With oud it's not
that bad, but there is a distinct 'freshness' that will go away with maturation, and so artisanal oud producers may wait to peak maturation before releasing a distillation, unless from my experience they want to share the aging process with others.
Aging is
not to get rid of water. That
should be done loooooong before an oud oil is considered ready, and that process is called 'curing.' Many distillers however will intentionally not fully cure the oil, as water adds weight to the bottles...
I even found someone promoting 80 years aged for 3ml.
Technically it's possible, and likely it comes with a story of 'my family's been doing it for generations...' well, we all know how the game telephone goes, sometimes passing things around leads to, well things being a bit distorted.
"I put a drop of 80 year old oud in that kilo of oil" becomes "That's 80 year old oil..."
Unfortunately that is a sad truth, at least with the big distributors. One must
stop and contemplate, how do they have all the same oud oils in
all of their storefronts... Like mainstream fragrances, formulas and compounding houses have more to do with it than what meets the eye...
Best bet is to find a reliable source for oud wood from various regions, as all the oud you'll smell in the markets of the East will be pretty generic. Plantation oud is big business, which is also why they sell by the region, their production formula is like one ton of 30% resinous Thai, or Cambodi, or Vietnamese, or even Laos and China, yet
all plantation, and for the most part, crassna.
In fact there is much less typicality with oud oils than I ever imagined when I started in late 2018. I strive to experience, assess and enjoy an oil on it's own merits, semi-independent of geography.
I think this is really great, and should be everyone's approach to their oud, although for single origin oud oils geography is a major factor and though there are techniques to elicit nuances and subtle notes from certain woods I'm talking artisanal oud oil here, and
not Cambodian, I-mean-Vietnamese
attars.