My first major Oud purchase was two bottles of Maroke 2004, I think in 2013. I’ve never opened either and I’ve been living on a sample that I combined with a Bulgarian rose otto. (Worked out splendidly! If you want to make a rose-Oud attar I highly recommend a Maroke.) Anyway, after reading your post 5me0, I think I’m gonna have to open one.
SOTD
- Thread starter Kruger
- Start date
@Rasoul S et al.
The truth of the matter is that I mainly agree with you. Perhaps of all the species, walla patta is the least therapeutic for oils under the $500 mark, for me at least (the greatest exception being Ceylon No.2, and to a lesser extent, Oud Royale SL). The drydown settles in rather too early most of the time and is mainly quite similar in aroma.
However, I would consider all the oils above the $500 range that I've tried to be therapeutic, with some being unbelievably good, namely: Ceylon No.1, Suriranka Senkoh and Adhirajaya (the original). The wood for Adhirajaya and Ceylon No. 1 smells to my nose like they must have been from extremely old trees because they have that transporting effect that very very few ouds have. However, I have to say that I can smell the experience and artistry of Taha's hand in Ceylon No.1 which takes it to the highest level - that is an oil where everything walla patta is in perfect balance, including notes I have not seen anywhere else: sheer thrumming hues of golden honey being the backdrop. I really get the feeling that @Taha and walla patta are a match made in heaven, and that oil by itself is an utterly convincing argument in favour of walla oils.
But overall, and especially for the lower quality oils, I certainly see and agree with your point. I think it's mainly the smell of white wood that gives it the sharpness, and the prevalence of white wood is, I assume, because Sri Lanka is too small to have a lot of oud trees.
I am a great fan of the wood however, even the lower grade pieces I have. I find the sinking-grade pieces I have to be very beautiful indeed, and I'd put them up there with the best of my small wood collection.
The truth of the matter is that I mainly agree with you. Perhaps of all the species, walla patta is the least therapeutic for oils under the $500 mark, for me at least (the greatest exception being Ceylon No.2, and to a lesser extent, Oud Royale SL). The drydown settles in rather too early most of the time and is mainly quite similar in aroma.
However, I would consider all the oils above the $500 range that I've tried to be therapeutic, with some being unbelievably good, namely: Ceylon No.1, Suriranka Senkoh and Adhirajaya (the original). The wood for Adhirajaya and Ceylon No. 1 smells to my nose like they must have been from extremely old trees because they have that transporting effect that very very few ouds have. However, I have to say that I can smell the experience and artistry of Taha's hand in Ceylon No.1 which takes it to the highest level - that is an oil where everything walla patta is in perfect balance, including notes I have not seen anywhere else: sheer thrumming hues of golden honey being the backdrop. I really get the feeling that @Taha and walla patta are a match made in heaven, and that oil by itself is an utterly convincing argument in favour of walla oils.
But overall, and especially for the lower quality oils, I certainly see and agree with your point. I think it's mainly the smell of white wood that gives it the sharpness, and the prevalence of white wood is, I assume, because Sri Lanka is too small to have a lot of oud trees.
I am a great fan of the wood however, even the lower grade pieces I have. I find the sinking-grade pieces I have to be very beautiful indeed, and I'd put them up there with the best of my small wood collection.
On a different note, my scent of the day is Sri Lankan Sandalwood, courtesy of @Royal Bengal Oud
I hope he doesn't mind me sharing a picture. On the left is the bottle I ordered, and on the right is what was freely given. 'Generous' is not enough of a word!
I hope he doesn't mind me sharing a picture. On the left is the bottle I ordered, and on the right is what was freely given. 'Generous' is not enough of a word!
Congrats on scoring the Sultan Abu Zahi, brother. I can't reveal the exact technique involved, but it's as golden honeyed as I could get Walla to smell without resorting to a chemical soak.....
I do suspect something like lactic acid admixed in the vats would go a long way in 'stripping' the aroma to a more minimalist representation devoid of the mossy, cucumbery components. But to me, that’s what Walla Patta is. Green, mossy, oceanic, cucumber, mimosa. If we fractionate the moss, jungle, algae, ocean, cucumber, we wouldn't be 'zooming in on the wood' and letting it do the talking anymore. It would be purely the hand of the artisan crafting a perfume. Ceylon 1 zooms in on the mimosa note, and I adore it for that. It is my SOTM.
There is no white wood in ANY of our Walla Patta oils, btw. The two videos showing the exact feedstock that went inside the pots should be sufficient to make that clear. In fact, Sri Lanka is one of the last few remaining places on earth where you can still find old growth natural agarwood apart from New Guinea and a small island off the coast of Northern Borneo (politically, "The Philippines").
What the brothers are referring to when they say they don't dig Walla must be a climate thing. It's just too 'cooling' in the winter and I could see myself gravitating towards the more bitter, 'heaty' properties of Vietnam & Cambodia if I lived in a place like Vancouver. In Singapore, though, it is my daily swipe of choice, despite having Pavarotti for a roommate.
Qualitatively, the feedstock that went into the cheapest Walla Patta oil (like People's Ceylon) is older growth and higher 'grade' by far than the most expensive Vietnamese and Cambodian oils being distilled today. The picture Kruger posted on the product page says it all. That wood literally went inside the pot.
Also don't forget, so far as EO goes, these are some of the youngest oils we've ever released. Often within a few months of distillation. Compare that to Tigerwood 1995 or Oud Zachariyya and you can see how an oil like Suriranka or ORSL is bound to be the Oud Ahmad of the next generation.
I do suspect something like lactic acid admixed in the vats would go a long way in 'stripping' the aroma to a more minimalist representation devoid of the mossy, cucumbery components. But to me, that’s what Walla Patta is. Green, mossy, oceanic, cucumber, mimosa. If we fractionate the moss, jungle, algae, ocean, cucumber, we wouldn't be 'zooming in on the wood' and letting it do the talking anymore. It would be purely the hand of the artisan crafting a perfume. Ceylon 1 zooms in on the mimosa note, and I adore it for that. It is my SOTM.
There is no white wood in ANY of our Walla Patta oils, btw. The two videos showing the exact feedstock that went inside the pots should be sufficient to make that clear. In fact, Sri Lanka is one of the last few remaining places on earth where you can still find old growth natural agarwood apart from New Guinea and a small island off the coast of Northern Borneo (politically, "The Philippines").
What the brothers are referring to when they say they don't dig Walla must be a climate thing. It's just too 'cooling' in the winter and I could see myself gravitating towards the more bitter, 'heaty' properties of Vietnam & Cambodia if I lived in a place like Vancouver. In Singapore, though, it is my daily swipe of choice, despite having Pavarotti for a roommate.
Qualitatively, the feedstock that went into the cheapest Walla Patta oil (like People's Ceylon) is older growth and higher 'grade' by far than the most expensive Vietnamese and Cambodian oils being distilled today. The picture Kruger posted on the product page says it all. That wood literally went inside the pot.
Also don't forget, so far as EO goes, these are some of the youngest oils we've ever released. Often within a few months of distillation. Compare that to Tigerwood 1995 or Oud Zachariyya and you can see how an oil like Suriranka or ORSL is bound to be the Oud Ahmad of the next generation.
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Congrats on scoring the Sultan Abu Zahi, brother. I can't reveal the exact technique involved, but it's as golden honeyed as I could get Walla to smell without resorting to a chemical soak.....
I do suspect something like lactic acid admixed in the vats would go a long way in 'stripping' the aroma to a more minimalist representation devoid of the mossy, cucumbery components. But to me, that’s what Walla Patta is. Green, mossy, oceanic, cucumber, mimosa. If we fractionate the moss, jungle, algae, ocean, cucumber, we wouldn't be 'zooming in on the wood' and letting it do the talking anymore. It would be purely the hand of the artisan crafting a perfume. Ceylon 1 zooms in on the mimosa note, and I adore it for that. It is my SOTM.
There is no white wood in ANY of our Walla Patta oils, btw. The two videos showing the exact feedstock that went inside the pots should be sufficient to make that clear. In fact, Sri Lanka is one of the last few remaining places on earth where you can still find old growth natural agarwood apart from New Guinea and a small island off the coast of Northern Borneo (politically, "The Philippines").
What the brothers are referring to when they say they don't dig Walla must be a climate thing. It's just too 'cooling' in the winter and I could see myself gravitating towards the more bitter, 'heaty' properties of Vietnam & Cambodia if I lived in a place like Vancouver. In Singapore, though, it is my daily swipe of choice, despite having Pavarotti for a roommate.
Qualitatively, the feedstock that went into the cheapest Walla Patta oil (like People's Ceylon) is older growth and higher 'grade' by far than the most expensive Vietnamese and Cambodian oils being distilled today. The picture Kruger posted on the product page says it all. That wood literally went inside the pot.
Also don't forget, so far as EO goes, these are some of the youngest oils we've ever released. Often within a few months of distillation. Compare that to Tigerwood 1995 or Oud Zachariyya and you can see how an oil like Suriranka or ORSL is bound to be the Oud Ahmad of the next generation.
I do suspect something like lactic acid admixed in the vats would go a long way in 'stripping' the aroma to a more minimalist representation devoid of the mossy, cucumbery components. But to me, that’s what Walla Patta is. Green, mossy, oceanic, cucumber, mimosa. If we fractionate the moss, jungle, algae, ocean, cucumber, we wouldn't be 'zooming in on the wood' and letting it do the talking anymore. It would be purely the hand of the artisan crafting a perfume. Ceylon 1 zooms in on the mimosa note, and I adore it for that. It is my SOTM.
There is no white wood in ANY of our Walla Patta oils, btw. The two videos showing the exact feedstock that went inside the pots should be sufficient to make that clear. In fact, Sri Lanka is one of the last few remaining places on earth where you can still find old growth natural agarwood apart from New Guinea and a small island off the coast of Northern Borneo (politically, "The Philippines").
What the brothers are referring to when they say they don't dig Walla must be a climate thing. It's just too 'cooling' in the winter and I could see myself gravitating towards the more bitter, 'heaty' properties of Vietnam & Cambodia if I lived in a place like Vancouver. In Singapore, though, it is my daily swipe of choice, despite having Pavarotti for a roommate.
Qualitatively, the feedstock that went into the cheapest Walla Patta oil (like People's Ceylon) is older growth and higher 'grade' by far than the most expensive Vietnamese and Cambodian oils being distilled today. The picture Kruger posted on the product page says it all. That wood literally went inside the pot.
Also don't forget, so far as EO goes, these are some of the youngest oils we've ever released. Often within a few months of distillation. Compare that to Tigerwood 1995 or Oud Zachariyya and you can see how an oil like Suriranka or ORSL is bound to be the Oud Ahmad of the next generation.
What is certain for me is that walla patta is much more therapeutic in warmer climates. Last month I went into the Sinharaja wearing Suriranka Senkoh, and that was one of my all time great oud experiences: it was like I already had the essence of the rainforest on my hand, and in front of me was its extension and development in all its variety and majesty.
Ceylon 1 was my favorite oil ever... but it is not the same now as I had too much air space in my bottle and it's already a shadow of it's former self... I would be very careful with this oil and use a noble gas to seal it every time you open it, or maybe just use it up quickly. I think this goes for any oil with a lighter color, with my samples every single one is now past it's expiration date where every single darker colored oil seems to be ok.
I only had about .5 g in a std 2.5g bottle. Obviously, this just doesn't work out...
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koh kood last night. the dired apricot, peach notes of yusuf and JSL meet bitter floral notes of cambodi's like kanzen. in between a citrusy and green oolong notes of au luong are detected. a hypothetical cambodi/thai co-distillation would smell and feel like this.
this morning: kenmei! needed that vietnam condensed milk, vanilla creme brulee, mint panna cotta and bitter zing underneath it all like fernet branca. can never go wrong with kenmei.
this morning: kenmei! needed that vietnam condensed milk, vanilla creme brulee, mint panna cotta and bitter zing underneath it all like fernet branca. can never go wrong with kenmei.
I noticed the last time I wore this that there was a sudden dip in likeablity, maybe growing pains? It has definitely been on the move and evolving more rapidly than other oils I own, as a new oil, I’d expect this to happen.
Perhaps @Ensar can chime in and give us his thoughts on this oil, and what he forecasts based on the parameters of distillation and wood used, if applicable.
Perhaps @Ensar can chime in and give us his thoughts on this oil, and what he forecasts based on the parameters of distillation and wood used, if applicable.