Oud Oil Reviews - MAIN THREAD

[kesiro]

Tawau Al-Awwal

I have had a gram of this for a while but just today gave it a serious go. First off, I am very impressed with this oil. If you told me it was twice the price, I would not flinch. It start with a slightly sweet woody scent. It the slowly grows in intensity, displaying some burning incense and classic oud notes. The dry down is so pleasant. It does have a slight Borneo breezy quality but very faint. Borneo's are generally not my favorites, but this oil is not in anyway beholden to that designation. It has a delicate and multifaceted profile that is really stunning for an oil this price.

What a great effort Adam!

 

[5MeO]

Yes Tawau Al-Awwal is a remarkable Borneo - one of the finest I've ever smelled, and really doesn't smell like anything else - it has a righteously plump and bodacious top note that I can't get enough of - highly recommended!

 

[bhanny]

Sultan Beyazit - EO

This is a pure New Guinea beauty from Ensar. Super nice, high-quality wood obviously. It starts will a beautiful blue-green, semi-sweet, oceanic incense that transitions perfectly to smoldering seaside NG agarawood chalk full of resin. Another winner from the Sultan series.

 

[5MeO]

Nice review Bhanny - these Sultan series ouds are calling my name! I have some of them - Sultan Faith, Oud Sultan Murad, and Sultan Afnan - all three have that blue-green oceanic quality to them which I just love..

 

[kesiro]

Royal Guallam

Dang Ensar! You are killing us here with these releases.

 

[sg1011]

Dang Ensar! You are killing us here with these releases.

I was thinking the same thing! I wish this was offered in a 1 gram size. It would be much more manageable considering all of the recent releases that have been picked up.

 

[Joyoud]

I just asked Ensar to take it easy on us with the new releases few days ago ....!!
Then Friday , Sunday and Today .... each day new Ones and for one day ....!
There's only two ways :
A Bank ... or soon my wife will divorce me !!!!!!

Thank you Ensar.

 

[kesiro]

I am with you gentlemen! So, the elephant in the room question is: Who bit?

 

[Oud Learner]

Now how about we do a split of the 3 gram bottle? It is kinda too expensive to own the entire bottle.

 

[Ensar Oud]

Now, now, gentlemen!… Those were Black Friday and Cyber Monday releases which I couldn't not offer… I promise, no more releases for a bit – at least no costly ones. I've actually encouraged other vendors not to release too many oils at once, as it makes it difficult for people. But Black Friday is Black Friday! And Cyber Monday is… Vietnamese Monday!

It is quite stressful to sustain an oud business at the End of [Oud] Times, so you also need to see it as supporting the source of your beloved aromatic that brings joy into your life… Don't think of it as money spent, see it as investing in future artisanal releases that are of the caliber and quality you've grown to love and hope to be able to acquire a few years down the line.

Note: I've received inquiries about Royal Guallam asking if it bears any resemblance to Guallam Solide. It must be said they are completely different, and don't bear the slightest resemblance to one another. The closest thing to Royal Guallam from previous releases would be Kynam No 1, but RG has its own shine, which is distinct and quite different to Kynam No 1. Royal Guallam was distilled from wood harvested in the legendary Nha Trang region of Vietnam, whereas Guallam Solide comprises of wood harvested throughout the country, as well as Laos.

 

[bhanny]

Note: I've received inquiries about Royal Guallam asking if it bears any resemblance to Guallam Solide. It must be said they are completely different, and don't bear the slightest resemblance to one another. The closest thing to Royal Guallam from previous releases would be Kynam No 1, but RG has its own shine, which is distinct and quite different to Kynam No 1. Royal Guallam was distilled from wood harvested in the legendary Nha Trang region of Vietnam, whereas Guallam Solide comprises of wood harvested throughout the country, as well as Laos.

Oh my..bhanny salivating!!!

 

[5MeO]

I just asked Ensar to take it easy on us with the new releases few days ago ....!!
Then Friday , Sunday and Today .... each day new Ones and for one day ....!
There's only two ways :
A Bank ... or soon my wife will divorce me !!!!!!

Thank you Ensar.

Yes indeed my friend, while I lack a wife presently, I feel a similar financial doom impending..

I was hoping it would not come to this, but I have decided to offer my sister in exchange for these fine ouds - she is quite beautiful, willing to convert to Islam, and can be put to work for long periods of time in the kitchen or around the house - "works hard and no complain!" I understand Ensar is married but perhaps for Adam or Thomas, or for one of the Chinese agarwood barons, or the Taiwanese distillation master?

Now, let's get down to brass tacks on the details - I want both Guallam ouds, 3 of the Sultan series, and Oud Ahmad - full bottles. I think this is a very fair deal, and await a response..

 

[bhanny]

Yes indeed my friend, while I lack a wife presently, I feel a similar financial doom impending..

I was hoping it would not come to this, but I have decided to offer my sister in exchange for these fine ouds - she is quite beautiful, willing to convert to Islam, and can be put to work for long periods of time in the kitchen or around the house - "works hard and no complain!" I understand Ensar is married but perhaps for Adam or Thomas, or for one of the Chinese agarwood barons, or the Taiwanese distillation master?

Now, let's get down to brass tacks on the details - I want both Guallam ouds, 3 of the Sultan series, and Oud Ahmad - full bottles. I think this is a very fair deal, and await a response..

Incredibly fair. Full bottles? Tolas?

 

[Joyoud]

Yes indeed my friend, while I lack a wife presently, I feel a similar financial doom impending..

I was hoping it would not come to this, but I have decided to offer my sister in exchange for these fine ouds - she is quite beautiful, willing to convert to Islam, and can be put to work for long periods of time in the kitchen or around the house - "works hard and no complain!" I understand Ensar is married but perhaps for Adam or Thomas, or for one of the Chinese agarwood barons, or the Taiwanese distillation master?

Now, let's get down to brass tacks on the details - I want both Guallam ouds, 3 of the Sultan series, and Oud Ahmad - full bottles. I think this is a very fair deal, and await a response..

Oh my god Ensar , do you see what have you done !
And that's only the last 7 days releases , my friend if you release anything new within the next few days I am sure something bad happens.
By the way : I have an African grey Congo parrot and she's amazing ( three languages fluent-Arabic, English and Italian) , talking like a storm .
Anybody interesting ?

 

[Ensar Oud]

@5MeO, do you think she'd be down with filling bottles, handwriting labels (everyone's complaining about the new printed ones), perhaps some light customer service via email... I gather from your post she's willing to convert but would stipulate monogamy as a condition for marriage? Lastly, would you consider half tolas of the requested oils, instead of full tola bottles?

@Joyoud, I am very sorry but I think 5MeO's offer is a lot more appealing! Maybe Taha needs a parrot?

 

[sg1011]

Lmao! You guys are hilarious! I will agree that 5MeO is presenting an excellent deal! Hahahaha.

As a side note, the new labels are awesome...they just fade for some reason.

 

[kesiro]

Funny stuff! 5MeO, is your sister aware of this barter arrangement? Lol

 

[5MeO]

Lol, well Ensar, you drive a hard bargain, but yes, half tolas will be fine.. She writes very neatly, and will not require a monogamous marriage..

The parrot will make a fine pet for an oud artisan, I can see that coming..

 

[m.arif]

Al-Syed Ceylon No.1 - AA

Pristine. Rich. Mind-tingling. To call it "pretty" is an understatement. "What is this?" was the first impression that I got. I've smelled ouds (not as many as you guys though) that have notes of barn, musk, earth, fruity sweet, sour, honey , syrup, jungle-green, spice, sour, floral, camphor...But again, what is this smell? I can't put my finger on a single specific note. It's like a continuous swirl of different unusual scents playing peek-a-boo. Just when I was about to get a hint of something specific, it swirls and swirls into it's own unique rhythm.

Colour? I won't even try to describe the colours that came to my mind.

It could be my lack of experience and scent vocabulary. Very esoteric. Unorthodox aroma. It's one of those ouds that if no one told you it was oud, you'd think it wasn't. Perfume-like. The only thing I could link the "feeling" of smelling it to was Sutera Ungu, another Oud in the "pretty" category. Similar in the sense that you get the same strange vibe of unable to pinpoint the individual notes. Definitely Gen 3. I find it hard to appreciate all its beauty in the span of a few hours. For my novice nose a few weeks might be wishful thinking. Oh, and it is a 2016 distillation.. Though agar aura ouds in general do not need much aging according to Taha in some of his blog posts (correct me if I'm wrong ), I still wonder what aging would do to it. A young oil indeed.

I guess this is one of the ouds that you just have to experience it to know. Raw materials for this distillation? Wow..Let Taha reveal the details.

Too bad it's not for sale yet, even for private visits. Was considering a sample of it.

Perhaps if I was asked what did it smell like, the best answer for me right now would be, it smells like Al-Syed Ceylon No.1. Need to keep building my library of scents, especially the kinam area that you guys talk about so much

 

[Joyoud]

Hi my friends,
I just received my order from Adam (Ensar oud), then the first I tried is the winner of the Oscar (Tigerwood Royale),
Man ohhh man, truly winner and I can't describe the aroma (its too early for me , I just applied it) but what a pleasure ?
Wooooody oooudy musssky , I dont know ..its just so beautiful and rich not like any other Malaysian oud I have or I tried before,
And the best way to describe it is what Ensar said :
Tigerwood Royale’s got that oudy marrow modern ouds are sorely lacking in. I’ve had a swipe on for hours already as I write this, and not only is there no trace of dustiness (which plagues the drydown in many old oils), but instead of the all-woods drydown you’d expect in well aged oils, it’s remarkably menthol sweet – a feature that goes right back to the incredible quality raw tigerwood that went into the stills. The scent’s imbued with a dark floral West Malaysian profile that gives it the same regal mood you find in the greats. You’ll still get a whiff of the red muskiness that’s the highlight in Oud Ahmad, but here the musk has been steeped longer, made more intense, with a green camphory chord that comes and goes like a chorus in tune to the brute red oudiness of this aroma.

Its still there , oud lovers : hurry up because this is something else and worth every penny.
I'll post back when I spend some more time with it .

Thank you Ensar and the team.